Every now and then Windows 7 and Windows 8 show a flag on the bottom right corner of the screen with a red cross above it indicating the presence of a problem. These messages come from the Windows Action Center, which scans your PC for any computer security and maintenance issues . For example, if there is no antivirus or if Windows Defender in Windows 8 is disabled, you will be repeatedly asked to " Turn on virus protection " with a message and a flag icon in the notification area. The Windows 7 and 8 Operations Center is a centralized dashboard for viewing alerts and keeping track of all activities that keep the system in perfect shape.
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You can open the Operations Center by clicking on the flag icon in the notification area or by searching for Operations in the start menu or in the Control Panel.
The Action Center panel displays two main sections: security and maintenance. They are located in the center of the window.
The Action Center has a sidebar with several important links for accessing different Windows tools.
Among these, the ones to configure the UAC user control and the Smartscreen filter (only in Windows 8) are important, from which you can configure the permissions to install new programs and run files downloaded from the Internet. Below the main sections are the buttons for troubleshooting and restoring the computer, to be used if the computer stops working properly.
The main part is made up of two sections, one related to maintenance, the other to safety.
The security checks carried out by the Action Center are:
- if a firewall is installed or if the internal one of Windows 7 and 8 is active.
- If the computer is protected from viruses (which in Windows 8 is insured by Windows Defender)
- If your computer is protected by Spyware
- If Windows Update is active
- If the smartscreen filter is active
- If user account control is active
- If the internet security settings are the recommended ones (related only to Internet Explorer)
- If you use a Microsoft account
- If network access is secure (specific for Windows Enterprise)
The maintenance checks instead relate to:
- If automatic maintenance is activated
- If there are various problems
- If File history is active (backup in Windows 7)
- If the disks (drives) are undamaged
Whenever any of these things are not configured as expected or if there is something missing, a warning appears on the notification bar with a red cross flag . The flag may have a black dot that looks like a clock when there is a scheduled task running in the background (e.g. a Windows Defender scan or if automatic maintenance is in progress).
The unwary or inexperienced user should pay attention to these warnings and follow all instructions to correct and solve the problem when you see the red cross. If, however, they are warnings related to things that have been deliberately disabled, such as the UAC control or the smartscreen filter, then you can ask that the alert message is disabled and no longer appears.
You can also deactivate the Operations Center entirely if you think it is not useful. To do this, open the Operations Center and click on the link on the left to change the settings. Then deselect the options that are not relevant and click OK to finish. You can also disable all Action Center notifications directly from the taskbar. Click on the up arrow button next to the clock and click on Customize . Search for the Action Center and, from the drop-down menu, choose to hide icon and notifications.
The Windows operation center is a useful part of the system for knowing if everything is protected and everything is working well. I would always leave it on, possibly disabling some warning that doesn't need to be displayed every time and disabling the icon anyway asking to show only notifications.
