Windows 7 Action Center

Question

I would appreciate it if someone can guide me to the new MS APIs necessary for modifying/controlling the Windows 7 Action Center. What I need to do is integrate the Backup notification messages in my application which is a backup application in the Action Center. In other words, I want Windows to show that the backup operation was successful after the third-party software completes its backup operation.

To be even more specific.... is there a way to treat backup notifications the same way as the security notification/status messages... for example after installing an Anti Virus application... Virus Protection field in action center shows a message similar to this one:

<App Name> reports that it is up to date and virus scanning is on.

Where <App Name> is the third-party application name.

Is there a way to do something similar to that but on the Backup section of Action Center??.

Answer 1

Applications can communicate status through registry keys for backup purposes. See MSDN docs here.

Answer 2

I've found that Microsoft have some sort of hidden APIs that are only given on a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and those have to be requested from [email protected].

This seems to be the only method available to register an Anti Virus or a Firewall application in Windows Security Center. Still I haven't found any hints if there are any APIs that MS is keeping for themselves for security reasons to enable the registration of a backup application in WAC (Windows Action Center) or if the application registration is even possible.

Still waiting for a reply from MS to clear the matter.