Here is a short tutorial that explains how to use Action Center in Windows 8 PC to keep the your Windows 8 PC running smooth.
Action Center alerts you for various security and maintenance settings. It even lets you change various settings regarding security and maintenance to make your Windows 8 PC more secure and smooth. Action Center was introduced in the previous version of Windows as well, but in Windows 8 it has been updated with some new features.
You can use Action Center for various purpose, like to disable User Control Account, disable Smart Screen, etc.
In this tutorial, you will learn how can you use various Action Center settings in you Windows 8 PC.
Using Windows 8 Action Center:
Windows 8 doesn’t provide any shortcut to launch the Action Center. However, you can access the Action Center by searching for it. Press Windows Key + S from your keyboard, and then type the “Action Center” in the search box. Click on the Action Center option from the results. It will redirect you to the Action Center in a new window.
Another alternative to access Action Center is press Windows Key + X, and then click on Control Panel from the popped Power User Menu.
In Control Panel (icon view), you will find Action Center on the top. Clicking on it will redirect you to the Action Center in a new window.
In the Action Center, you will find two different categories: Security and Maintenance. As the name suggests, Security lets you take actions for various security related settings, while Maintenance provides settings for various maintenance related settings.
Changing Security Settings In Windows 8 Action Center:
Security Settings in Windows 8 alerts you about different security related issues in your PC, like: Network Firewall, Virus Protection, etc. It alerts you via taskbar notification.
It even lets you change the security settings for User Account Control and Windows SmartScreen.
User Account Control, notifies you when new apps try to make changes in your Windows 8 PC. Click on Change Settings option available with UAC to change the security level regarding the same. Also learn in detail, how to unable/disable UAC in Windows 8.
Windows SmartScreen helps you to protect your Windows 8 PC when any unrecognised app/file is downloaded to your PC. You can enable\disable it as per your preference. To change the setting of Windows SmartScreen, click on the Change Settings option available with Windows SmartScreen.
Also learn how to disable/enable security related notifications in Windows 8.
Changing Maintenance Settings in Windows 8 Action Center:
Maintenance in Windows 8 Action Center alerts you about various maintenance related information. It even lets you manually run maintenance whenever you want, or even lets you schedule automatic Maintenance in your Windows 8 PC.
In Maintenance, you will find various options to customize: Check for solutions, Automatic maintenance, Home Group, File history, etc.
Check for Solutions feature automatically check for the problem reports. To disable it, or change your priority, click on settings option available with Check for Solutions. Click on any radio button as per your preference. If you don’t want to disable it, then click on last radio button that says “Never Check For Solutions” (be sure what your choosing).
Automatic maintenance lets you schedule your Windows 8 PC for automatic maintenance. To schedule it, click on “Change maintenance settings” and then schedule time as per your preference. Learn in detail, how to set frequency for Automatic maintenance.
HomeGroup lets you create a group to share your files and printers with other users on your network.
File History keeps copies of the files of your Windows 8 PC. You can schedule the frequency for File History as well. To schedule, click on advance settings option and choose the frequency from the option. Also learn how to backup files in Windows 8 using File History
Conclusion:
As you would have guessed by now, Action Center is a pretty powerful option in your Windows 8 PC. If you understand it and use it efficiently, you can make better use of your Windows 8 PC.
