Viewing the Action Center

The first location for checking security issues is the Action Center. To view the Action Center in Windows 10, press the Win+A keyboard shortcut to swipe in from the far right edge of the screen.

The Action Center lists items requiring attention, such as updating software or checking the status of a failed backup. At the bottom of the Action Center lie the Quick Settings buttons, which provide shortcuts to common Windows features. Figure 19-1 illustrates the Action Center, though no important messages appear.

Checking the Windows Security Center

A recent update to Windows 10 moved all security related features to a single location. (Well, almost all the features.) This location is called the Windows Security Center, shown in Figure 19-2.

To access the security center, locate the Windows Security notification icon on the taskbar, as shown in the margin. Click this icon to display the Windows Security Center window. If the notification icon is hidden, click the chevron to the right of the notification area on the taskbar.

The Windows Security notification icon as well as the items in the Windows Security window feature tiny green check marks when no security issues are present. Otherwise, you see a yellow warning flag on the notification icon as well as on a specific tile in the Windows Security Center window. This yellow flag is your clue that an item needs attention: Click the flagged tile to receive more information and directions on what to do next.

• Not every warning in the Windows Security Center window is serious. For example, the App & Browser Control item offers issues specific to the Microsoft Edge browser. If you don’t use this browser, the issue is of no concern.
• The other location where you can find security related features is the Settings app, covered elsewhere in this chapter.

• The old Windows Defender (antimalware) app is now part of the Windows Security Center, shown as the Virus & Threat Protection tile. In older versions of Windows, Windows Defender was a separate program.

Checking the update status

In Windows 10, updates are applied automatically. You can delay a pending update to a more convenient time, though I recommend that you install it after you’re alerted — as long as you’re not about to board a plane or go somewhere remote. The goal is to install the update when you have both time and an Internet connection.

To check for a pending update, follow these steps:

1. Press the Win+I keyboard shortcut to summon the Settings app.

2. Choose Update & Security.

   Windows Update should be chosen on the left side of the Settings app window. If not, tap that item.

3. On the right side of the screen, click the Check for Updates button.

   You are alerted to any pending updates that haven’t already been queued for the day.

If updates are waiting, click the Install button to download and configure them. When critical updates are done installing, you see a Restart button. Click it to complete the process, which takes only a few minutes.

• Some critical updates are installed automatically, even to the point of restarting the laptop for you. You see this type of automatic restart occur only if you leave your laptop on all the time. Otherwise, all restarts are prompted.
• You can avoid clicking the Restart button — for a brief time. Eventually, Windows installs the update itself, usually automatically when you restart or shut down the laptop.

Postponing an update

Updates are important, so install them as they appear. Microsoft is understanding, however, especially for a laptop that may need to avoid an update while you’re in an area with spotty Internet access or busy working or traveling and you don’t want to wait for an update.

To postpone an update, visit the Windows Update screen in the Settings app; refer to Steps 1 and 2 in the preceding section. Choose the item titled Pause Updates for 7 Days. Upon success, you see an urgent-looking Resume button appear, which you click to resume the normal update schedule.

Doing a virus scan

Windows constantly checks memory and files for signs of malware and other nasty items. You need not do a thing — unless the laptop has been turned off a while and an automatic virus scan hasn’t been performed. If so, obey these steps:

1. Pop up the Start menu.

   Press the Windows key on the keyboard.

2. Type Windows Security to see a list of matching search results.
3. From the list of matching items, choose the Windows Security Center app.

4. Click the Virus & Threat Protection tile.

   You see the Virus & Threat Protection screen, illustrated in Figure 19-3.

5. Click the Quick Scan button.

   Windows performs a quick scan of memory and files to ensure that no infections lurk undetected.

If a suspicious file is located, it’s placed into quarantine. See the later section “Dealing with a quarantined file” for what to do next.

Most other items on the Virus & Threat Protection screen are configured automatically. You can review them at your leisure to understand and appreciate the protection Windows offers. These items include Ransomware Protection, which helps guard against malware that locks your computer with a payment required to unlock it.

• The malware most likely infected your system due to social engineering. See the sidebar “The social engineering threat,” earlier in this chapter.

• If you remain suspect about an infection yet the virus scan comes up empty, try running the scan again in Safe mode. See Chapter 21 for information about Safe mode.

Dealing with a quarantined file

When Windows antivirus protection locates a suspect file, it places it into quarantine. This placement doesn’t delete the file, but it does prevent the malware from doing its nasty deed. It also allows you to rescue falsely accused files from imminent peril.

To review quarantined files, follow these steps:

1. View the Virus & Threat Protection screen.

   Refer to Steps 1 through 4 in the preceding section.

2. Click the Protection History link.
3. Ensure that Quarantined Items is selected.

4. Click the View Details button.

   You see a list of any suspect files.

It’s okay to keep the files in the list; they do no further harm.

To rescue an incorrectly identified file, click to select it from the list and then click the Restore button. Please be extra certain that the file isn’t infected! Do an Internet search on the filename to see what others have discovered. (That’s how I once rescued a wrongly accused file.)

To remove actual infected files, select them in the list and then click the Remove All or Remove button. The infected files are obliterated and shall never harm your laptop.

Finding the firewall

The Windows Firewall is configured to be on and working all the time. To view the status of the Windows Firewall, obey these steps:

1. Open the Windows Security Center app.

   Click the Start button on the taskbar and type Windows Security. Choose the Windows Security app item from the search results.

2. Choose Firewall & Network Protection.

The Windows Firewall window is rather plain. As long as each item shown in the window is On or active and no warnings appear, you’re good; Windows Firewall protection is active.

If any options on the Firewall & Network Protection screen are disabled, enable them: Choose the option and set the master control gizmo to the On position.

• The key to setting the level of protection offered by Windows Firewall is to properly configure the network to public or private. That configuration takes place when you first connect to the network, which is covered in Chapter 16.

• For a private network, the firewall is at its lowest setting. On public networks, the firewall is on full-bore.

Dealing with a firewall warning

Windows Firewall lets you know when suspicious Internet access takes place. Because Windows Firewall is paranoid, it flags a warning for Internet activity, both suspicious and suspect.

When Windows Firewall freaks out, a pop-up message appears, similar to the one shown in Figure 19-4. The message alerts you that either a program is attempting to access your computer from the Internet or a program on your computer is trying to access the Internet.

When the warning appears, read it. The name of the program is listed. In Figure 19-4, the Red Dead Redemption 2 game is attempting to connect with the Internet. In this instance, I started the program myself, and it does request Internet access. Therefore, the warning is expected: Click the Allow Access button when you recognize why a program has triggered the firewall warning. Otherwise, click the Cancel button. You’re safe.

• Take the firewall warning seriously! It’s not a panic situation, because nothing bad has happened. Yet! Still, don’t let yourself develop the habit of automatically clicking the Allow Access button.

• It may seem like you see a lot of firewall warnings, especially for a new computer or new network configuration. This bombardment of warnings passes as you choose which programs to allow or deny. After you train Windows Firewall awhile, the firewall alerts appear less frequently.

Browsing in secret

You can’t avoid it. No matter where you go on the Internet, your web browsing history is being tracked. The web page ads record which ads you click. Online shopping sites remember which products you look at. Information from social networking sites targets advertising based on your age, sex, and likes, and even your friends’ likes.

This type of snooping is nothing new. It’s just a more sophisticated way to gather consumer information than has been previously available. You can avoid being tracked by using a private browsing window.

• In the Windows 10 Edge browser, the feature is called Browsing InPrivate. To open a new InPrivate window, press Ctrl+Shift+N.
• If you use the Chrome web browser, open a new Incognito window by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N.
• Other web browsers feature similar, private windows. My guess is that Ctrl+Shift+N also brings up a secret browsing window in these programs as well.

The new, private browser window offers instructions on how it works. You browse in the window just as you would in a nonprivate window, though no cookies are tracked, cookies aren’t remembered, forms aren’t automatically filled in, and your website journeys aren’t recorded in the browser history.

The good news is that none of your actions in the private window is tracked — supposedly. You can browse without a record being made of where you went or what you did. Even so, some websites and advertising links monitor your laptop’s IP address, which is another way to track your activity.

End your private browsing session by closing the private window.

Purging your web browsing history

The web browser dutifully keeps track of every web page you’ve visited. The information is stored as your web browsing history. You can use the history to revisit web pages, create bookmarks, or see what your lying, cheating partner has been doing recently.

When you forget to use a private browsing window, you can review and purge the web page history. If you’re using Windows 10 and the Edge web browser, follow these steps:

1. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Del, where Del is the Delete key on the laptop’s keyboard.

   The Clear Browsing Data panel appears. It’s chock-full of items that are recorded as you visit websites.

2. Ensure that the Browsing History item is selected.

   It’s the only option you should zap; choose other items in the window at your own peril.

3. Click the Clear Now button.

   History is gone and doomed to be repeated!

In the Chrome web browser, follow these steps to purge historical information:

1. Click the address box and type chrome://history.

   Do not type a period after the word history.

2. Press Enter to view the Chrome History screen.
3. Click the check box by those web page items you want to purge.

4. Click the Delete button.

   They’re gone.

To prevent the web browser from tracking your web page visits, you can use a private browsing window. See the preceding section.