Provided is an in-context security advisor that unifies computer system security, and generally improves computer system security by proactively and reactively monitoring for changes to security settings made by users and programs. By operating in real time, advice comprising meaningful feedback is given for any intrusion, thus giving a user the proper context about the consequences of changes to security settings that negatively affect the level of protection on computer systems, and allowing automated correction. Files can also be monitored, e.g., to prevent certain files from being remotely accessed or transmitted. The security advisor may adjust its operation based on user preferences, policy information, and via a connection to a remote source such as a backend server. The security advisor can also output security-related information, such as to a log and/or to components that evaluate the overall health of the machine.