How to Disable Antivirus Alerts When Security Center Does Not Detect Installed Antivirus Application
Published: August 4, 2004
If you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Windows Security Center should tell you the status of your antivirus software and display an alert if it stops working. Some antivirus programs are designed to report specific information about the program to the Security Center. For example, if there's a new virus on the loose and your antivirus software requires an updated file to protect your computer from the threat, Windows will alert you that you need to download that file.
However, not all antivirus programs are designed to report this information. In fact, there are some antivirus solutions that the Security Center won't detect at all. If you use an antivirus program that Windows doesn't recognize, and you keep it up to date and properly configured, you may want to disable the antivirus Security Center alerts.
Note You should only disable these alerts if you are sure that your computer is protected by the full version of an up-to-date antivirus program. In addition, once you disable alerts, even if your program receives an update that makes it fully detected within Security Center, you will not receive alerts unless you clear this check box.
To specify that you're using an antivirus program that Windows does not find
1. | Click Start and then click Control Panel. |
2. | Double-click Security Center. |
3. | In the Security Center, under Virus Protection, click Recommendations. (The Recommendations button is not available when your Virus Protection setting is marked ON.) |
4. | In the Recommendations dialog box, select the I have antivirus software that I'll monitor myself check box, and then click OK. |
When you use this procedure, the Security Center displays your Virus Protection setting as Unknown, and does not send you alerts.
Note If your computer is part of a domain (a group of computers on a network), your security settings are typically managed by your network administrator. In this case, the Security Center does not display your security status or send alerts.
