Last week I talked about the Automatic Updates part of the Security Center in Windows XP. Now to discuss how the Firewall and Virus Protection part work. A firewall is a specialized hardware or software designed to secure a computer or network from unauthorized access. The Windows Firewall is a software firewall. If you are in the NWLS network, you should keep the firewall disabled. The point of this is because computers in the library system are not really in a “direct threat from hackers”. To make changes to the firewall, scroll towards the bottom of the Security Center Window and click on the Windows Firewall icon. When you click the button to disable the firewall off it will display a message that “Your computer might be at risk”. This message will keep showing up until you either turn it back on or disable the error message. To turn off this error message: while in the Security Center Window located on the left side of under Resources you will see “Change the way Security Center alerts me”. Once you click this, you will see three check boxes that give you the option to inform you if any of the three security elements are disabled or need attention. The message should disappear after you uncheck the box for the firewall.
Next, is setting up the Virus Protection setting. If your computer is on the NWLS network the setting should be “Not Monitored or Off”. The reason for this is because NWLS uses Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 8.1. Your computer should have the Symantec yellow shield in the lower right hand corner. The antivirus client software on the computer is not found by service pack 2 because the antivirus software does not let other kinds of software detect it. The reason the antivirus software does this is to protect itself from virus software that will try disabling the antivirus software on a computer so it is not detected. Click on the Recommendations… button and check the box stating you have antivirus software that you will monitor yourself. More information on the Windows Security Center can be found at: http://support.microsoft.com/xpsp2installed.