Action Center is a central place to view notifications and take actions that can help keep Windows running smoothly. If Windows finds any problems with your hardware or software, this is where you'll get important messages about security and maintenance that need your attention.
Tap or click to open Action Center.
If you don't see the Action Center icon, then it might be hidden. Press and hold or right-click the notification area, tap or click Properties, and then turn on Action Center.
When there's a problem, you'll see two types of messages in Action Center:
Yellow items. These messages are suggested tasks that you should consider addressing. For example, if there's an update for an app to help it run better on your PC, you'll see a yellow message. Yellow messages don't change the Action Center icon.
You can view all areas that Windows monitors under Security or Maintenance by tapping or clicking the heading or arrow to expand the section.
Checks info coming from the Internet or a network, and then either blocks it or allows it to pass through your firewall to your PC.
Gathers the latest security and PC updates from Microsoft via the Internet.
Detects whether your virus software is turned on and up to date.
Detects whether your spyware protection is turned on and up to date.
Checks to make sure that your security settings are working correctly.
Informs you when a app makes a change that requires administrator permissions.
Helps protect your PC by warning you if a downloaded file is known to be malware or has an unknown reputation.
Helps protect the overall security of the network (mostly used on corporate networks).
Informs you about whether you've activated your copy of Windows.
Informs you about whether your Microsoft account is working properly. (This section will only appear if you've set up a Microsoft account.)
Checks for solutions to software or hardware crashes that happen on your PC.
Runs maintenance tasks to keep your PC running smoothly.
Checks that a homegroup is working correctly (if available).
Checks to make sure your PC is saving copies of your files so you can get them back if the originals are lost or damaged.
Checks to make sure the file system is working correctly and is free of errors.
Checks for whether you need to install additional software for devices to run correctly.