When you launch Active Security Monitor, the name of your computer will be displayed in the top left corner of the dashboard. If the name is incorrect, click the button in the Choose a Computer section that corresponds to the name of the PC you are using. (Placing your cursor over any of the buttons will display the name of the corresponding PC.)
The Safety Score for your PC is displayed in the top right corner of the dashboard. The Safety Score is a number from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the more protected your PC is.
Click the Safety Score button to display items impacting your Safety Score. Active Security Monitor analyzes six categories to calculate your Safety Score:
Firewall. Active Security Monitor checks to see if firewall software is installed on your computer to protect against Internet-based attacks.
Virus Protection. Active Security Monitor checks to see if anti-virus software is installed on your computer to protect against viruses and worms.
Spyware Protection. Active Security Monitor checks to see if anti-spyware software is installed on your computer to guard against malicious software that can intercept or take partial control of your PC's operation without your knowledge.
Windows & Browser. Active Security Monitor checks to see if the latest Windows updates are installed on your computer. Active Security Monitor also checks if your Internet Explorer browser is properly configured for maximum protection against web-based security threats.
Wireless Security. Active Security Monitor checks to see if the best security settings are enabled on your wireless home network. This helps prevent unauthorized users from accessing your Internet connection or viewing files on your home network PCs.
Peer to Peer Software. Active Security Monitor checks to see if software from peer to peer file sharing networks is installed on your computer. Files downloaded from these networks can introduce viruses and spyware onto your PC.
PC Utilities. Active Security Monitor checks to see if you have utilities installed to fine-tune your computer for optimal performance and to back up important data files for protection against data loss.
Active Security Monitor calculates and displays a safety evaluation for each category. If Active Security Monitor is unable to calculate the status of any category the evaluation result will display as “Unknown”.
To display more details about specific security categories:
Click the Details button next to the security category in the Active Security Monitor dashboard. (For example, to view more information about your system's Firewall protection, click the Details button next to the Firewall item.)
The Details drawer will open. Then, click the Detailed Status button at the top of the drawer.
The top part of the Detailed Status page ("Problem") explains any issues identified as a risk.
The middle part of the page ("Recommendation") offers recommendations on how to fix the problem, which can improve your Safety Score.
Where applicable, the bottom part of the page ("Suggested Solutions") lists specific software products you can install and use to improve your computer security.