Turn Off Security Messages and Other System Notifications in Windows 7

Windows Vista is constantly giving me security alerts that I don’t want to see. For instance, I intentionally have Automatic Updates and the Windows Firewall disabled on one of my systems, and every day Windows Vista finds it necessary to bring this to my attention. Fortunately, Windows 7 gives you more control over the Security Messages and other Notifications that you may or may not want to receive.

For starters, you can configure how notifications are handled on the Taskbar—choosing to hide certain types of notifications, such as Action Center messages, Network messages, Windows Update Automatic Updates messages, and so on.

For more granular control, you can go to the Action Center (by clicking Control Panel | System and Security | Action Center) and select to Change Action Center Settings. This allows you to disable specific types of messages, including messages about Windows Update, Internet security settings, User Account Control, Windows Backup, and more.