Downloading Windows Security Centre

 
Essential Information
With Windows XP, one of the best ways to keep your
computer protected is Windows Security Centre. This
is included as part of Service Pack versions 2 and later.
Service Packs are created by Microsoft about once a year
with major security updates for your computer. To get a
free Service Pack you simply need to download it from
the Microsoft website.
Action 1
Log on to update.microsoft.com. This is a clever website
that automatically scans your computer and tells you which
Service Packs and free software updates from Microsoft it
requires. Click on the Express button to begin scanning
your computer (Fig. 1).

Action 2
You will be given a list of the updates your computer
needs. Select all of them or at least those marked as high
priority. This will include the Security Centre if you don’t
already have it.
Action 3
The updates will then install. The Security Centre is a large
file and installing it can take over half an hour, even with
broadband. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete
the installation.
Once installed, you’ll find the Security Centre by clicking
on the Start button on your desktop and then Control
Panel. Fig. 2 shows you what it looks like. The Security
Centre has three sections: Firewall, Virus Protection and
Automatic Updates
EXPERT TIP
With Windows XP, if you cannot see the Security Centre in
Control Panel then you’ve probably got your system set to
Classic View. This is the older style of Windows desktop.
To change this to the more user friendly Category View,
click on Switch to Category View in the top left of the
Control Panel window.