METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING AN ALERT LEVEL FOR NOTIFYING A USER AS TO THREATS TO A COMPUTER

A method and apparatus for managing alert level of the user computer is described. In one embodiment, the method for dynamically adjusting an alert level for notifying a user as to at least one threat to a computer includes applying heuristic information to environment data to identify vulnerability indicia regarding a computer, wherein the environment data comprises at least one usage statistic related to a user associated with the computer and determining an alert level based on the vulnerability indicia, wherein the user is notified of at least one threat to the computer in accordance with the alert level.