Alerts are marked in Red if they are urgent and Yellow if they can wait

ntAlerts

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ntBefore we get started, let me touch on the fact that just like in Windows 7, the Action Center is the place to go to find important messages about security and maintenance settings that need your attention. Items marked in Red indicate urgent issues that should be taken care of as soon as possible, while items marked in Yellow are issues that are not pressing but that you should consider addressing. Examples of the Red and Yellow alerts are shown. As you can see, something like not having the firewall turned on is an urgent issue while checking for problem solutions is considered a minor issue.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Action Center will alert you by displaying a flag in the notification area

ntThe Action Center will alert you to issues by displaying notifications.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Pick and choose which items on which you want to receive messages

ntBy default, Action Center will display messages on everything in its purview. However, if you select Change Action Center settings, you can select the items on which you want to receive messages.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Security section of Action Center

ntSecurity

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ntIn the Security section of the Action Center, you’ll find a host of familiar items as well as three new items titled Windows Smart Screen, Windows Activation, and Microsoft Account. Let’s take a look. For the sake of being complete, I’ll cover every option.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Change the level of protection offered by the Windows SmartScreen feature

ntNetwork firewall

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ntAs you know, Windows Firewall is designed to check information coming from, or going to, the Internet or a network to prevent hackers or malicious software from gaining access to your computer. If the data is safe it can pass thru the firewall. If it isn’t safe, the data is blocked. Action Center shows that Windows Firewall is actively protecting my example PC.

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ntWindows Update

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ntWindows Update will automatically download and install updates from Microsoft. As you can see here, Action Center shows that Windows Update is turned on.

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ntVirus protection

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ntAs you may know, in Windows 8 the antivirus capabilities of Microsoft Security Essentials have been incorporated into Windows Defender and is now built into the operating system – you no longer have to download it separately. Action Center shows that Windows Defender is on.

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ntSpyware and unwanted software protection

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ntWindows Defender still protects you from spyware. Action Center shows that Windows Defender is protecting your system.

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ntInternet security settings

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ntThe Internet security settings are configured through the Security tab in Internet Explorer. As you probably know, Internet Explorer provides security settings in four security zones (Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites). If these zones are properly configured to protect your system, Action Center shows OK.

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ntUser Account Control

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ntJust like in Windows 7, the User Account Control feature is configured in such a way as to protect your system from inadvertently performing actions that make system wide configuration changes, yet isn’t overly protective and annoying. You can make changes to the User Account Control settings by clicking the Change settings button.

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ntWindows SmartScreen

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ntWindows SmartScreen, which is currently built into Internet Explorer but will now be built into Windows 8, is designed to provide protection against phishing Web sites and malicious downloads. (For more information on how the SmartScreen Filter works in Internet Explorer, check out this FAQ.) Now, if you click the Change settings button, you’ll see the Windows SmartScreen dialog box, where you can change the level of protection offered by this new feature.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

Details about activation can be found in the Windows Activation applet

ntNetwork Access Protection

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ntNetwork Access Protection is an enterprise feature controlled by a domain server that can determine if your system meets an established baseline security policy. Unless you are in an enterprise, Action Center will show this as turned off.

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ntWindows Activation

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ntIn addition to showing the Windows Activation status on the System page ([Windows]+[Break]), Windows 8 includes it in the Action Center. Clicking the View activation details takes you to a Control Panel applet. As you can see, in addition to the activation details, you can use the links to purchase additional copies of Windows 8 or learn more about the license terms.

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ntMicrosoft account

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ntThe Microsoft account feature links your Windows 8 user account with what is currently called Windows Live and is designed to seamlessly provide access to all sorts of features in the cloud, such as photos, documents, and other files from places like SkyDrive, Facebook, and Flickr. You can also share status and contact info with Hotmail, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Of course, this is all optional and configurable. (For more information on a Microsoft account, check out the Windows 8 Release Preview FAQ.)

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ntThe View Microsoft account settings link doesn’t appear to be working at this point in time, but you can investigate and configure Microsoft account settings in the PC Settings app: Just press the [Windows] key, type PC Settings, select Settings, and click Use similar settings on all the PCs you use. (I’ll be covering Microsoft account features in more detail as the product line transitions from Windows Live.)

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

The Maintenance section of Action Center

ntMaintenance

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ntIn the Maintenance section of the Action Center, as shown, you’ll find only one familiar item – Check for solutions to problem reports – the rest are new.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

You can change the time that Automatic Maintenance runs

ntCheck for solutions to problem reports

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ntJust like in previous versions of the operating system, Windows 8 keeps track of problems found in the system and will check for solutions. This Action Center option allows you to configure whether this feature is enabled and how frequently to check for solutions.

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ntAutomatic Maintenance

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ntAutomatic Maintenance is essentially a new name for a functionality that has been around in Windows in some form or fashion for a long time. This feature that will automatically perform maintenance tasks such as software updates, security scans and system diagnostics. If you click Change Maintenance Settings, you can choose the time that you want the Automatic Maintenance to run.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

You can manually run Automatic Maintenance any time you want

ntYou’ll also notice that you can configure Automatic Maintenance to wake up your system when it is plugged in so that it can run at the scheduled time. This also means that if you have a tablet or a laptop running on battery, Automatic Maintenance won’t wake up you’re your system, thus preserving battery power.

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ntWhen you are connected to a power source, you can then click the Start maintenance button and the maintenance tasks will commence. When it does, you’ll see a message to that effect,. You’ll also see a clock appear next to the Action Center flag on the taskbar. If any problems are found, you’ll then see appropriate messages in Action Center.

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ntHomeGroup

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ntIf you are using the HomeGroup networking feature, this item will inform you that you are connected to a HomeGroup and allow you to view and configure HomeGroup settings.

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ntFile History

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ntFile History is a new feature in Windows 8 that works like a combination of Previous Versions and Windows Backup and Restore. Since File History is such a powerful feature in and of itself, I’m going to cover it in a separate article where I can go into more detail. (Stay tuned.)

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ntDrive status

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ntAs its name implies, Drive Status will allow you to keep tabs on the health of any drives that you have connected to your system.

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ntDevice software

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ntIf any device that requires a separate driver is having problems related to the driver, you’ll see information here that will help you to solve the problem.

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ntAll images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.