A method for providing a visual indication of the security threat awareness level is disclosed. Such a visual indication helps improve the security of a device or an enterprise by giving a user an indication of the security risks associated with currently open and active applications. In turn, the user can use the visual indication as a cue to take mitigating actions to reduce the security risk, such as by using the application more carefully or by exiting the application. Each application is assigned a security score and the system determines the security threat awareness level based on the security score(s) of the open and active applications.