How do I... Secure Microsoft Windows XP Professional?
On Defender's initial startup, an update is performed to get the latest engine and definitions.
There are two update choices from which to choose:
- Use recommended settings: The recommended settings for Defender join you to SpyNet (more later) with a basic membership and automatically remove the worst spyware from your system when it is detected. Further, new spyware definitions are automatically downloaded and applied to your copy of Defender. This is the best option you can choose for Defender. SpyNet is actually a good thing as it is basically a community that tracks what actions were taken for a particular piece of spyware. You are then provided a recommended course of action based on what others are doing. However, some personal information transmittal to Microsoft is inevitable so check your organization's security policies before enabling this feature.
- Install definition updates only: As the name implies, the only thing that happens automatically is the installation of definition updates. At a minimum, you should select this option.
- You can also choose to make your decision later on.
- Once you make a selection, the Windows Defender installation completes and Defender starts up, checks for updates, and then performs a quick scan on your system. The current screenshot and the next one give you a look at Defender's initial startup screens.
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| 07/23/07
