Get Started Today with Windows Live OneCare.
Congratulations! Windows Live OneCare is ready to help you protect your computers. Getting started is fast and easy.
Notice the Windows Live OneCare icon in the notification area of your Windows taskbar.
This icon confirms that Windows Live OneCare is running behind the scenes protecting your PC. The icon changes color depending on the state of your computer:
 | Green: status is Good. Windows Live OneCare is running continually and monitoring your system to prevent threats from viruses and spyware. |
 | Yellow: your status is Fair. There is no immediate threat to your system, but you should take care of the action(s) indicated by Windows Live OneCare as soon as possible to return stays to green. |
 | Red: your computer is At Risk. OneCare cannot provide proactive fixes or recommendations because of the Internet connection is lost or the OneCare two-way managed Firewall is turned off. You should restore connections and turn on the Firewall immediately to return stats to green. |
Step 2: Get Green
When the Windows Live OneCare icon is green, you know you’re safe. To help keep your icon green, you should be sure to set your preferences.
To set your protection, performance, and backup preferences:
1. Double-click the Windows Live OneCare icon to open the main window.
 | Common Tasks and Help: Run virus or spyware scans, back up or restore your files, or change your OneCare preferences and settings for automated tasks. |
 | PC Health Meter and Actions to Take window: Check the status of your home network to see whether you need to run a tune-up or back up your files. This area is used to notify you about any home network health-related issue. |
 | Protection Plus: Know when real-time antivirus and anti-phishing monitoring are on, when your virus definitions and antispyware software were last updated, and the status of your firewall. Also use the links here to run the two-way managed firewall, Microsoft Update integration, and wireless network security management. |
 | Performance Plus: Check here for the status of your last OneCare tune-up and when your next one is scheduled to run. Use the links here to run an on-demand tune-up or view a report of the most recent one. |
 | Backup and Restore: See when you last performed a backup, and when your next one is scheduled. If you have an external hard drive or writable CD or DVD drive, you can use the links here to back up your files or, in the event of data loss or corruption on your PC, restore files from a previous backup. You can also task advantage of the new centralized backup feature, and store important files from up to three PCs in a single location. |
Step 3: Staying Green is Easy
 | If Windows Live OneCare shows a yellow or red icon in the notification area of your Windows taskbar, double-click the icon to open the main window. You’ll find instructions under Actions to Take to restore your status to green. |
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