Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

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Chapter 15: Protecting Your Computer with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall

Once you have identified the category you want to manage, click an item in the left

pane to view its properties in the right pane. If you want to enable the item, click the

Enable button. If you want to disable the item, click the Disable button. To remove

the item, click the Remove button. You also can view items in the category list for

the current user or for all users of the computer.

Selecting the link to the Windows Defender web site takes you directly to the official

Windows Defender area of Microsoft’s web site. The related pages have invaluable

information concerning help and support using Windows Defender, as well as

Microsoft’s stance against spyware. You can find some wonderful information, in

addition to an online community dedicated to helping users with problems using

Windows Defender.

Troubleshooting Windows Defender

As with all programs associated with computers, you can sometimes have problems

getting Windows Defender to work. The single most common problem with Win-

dows Defender is it not starting at all. If this happens, you must make sure you have

enabled Windows Defender to run on the computer. To check this setting, open the

Security Center in the Control Panel. Under Malware Protection, you will see the

Spyware and Other Malware Protection listing. Make sure you see “On” and a green

circle identifying that Windows Defender protection is on.

If you do not see this listing, you will see “Off” and a button labeled “Turn on now.”

Click the button to turn on the Windows Defender feature and allow the program to

scan the computer for spyware or malware infections. You will see the green light

turn on, showing that the feature is enabled on the computer.

If you have problems turning on the Windows Defender feature, or if you receive an

error stating that the Windows Defender service was unable to start, you can trou-

bleshoot using Computer Management. To open Computer Management, click the

Start button, right-click on the Computer icon, and then select Manage from the

context menu provided.

Once you’ve opened Computer Management, click the Services and Applications

node and then select Services. In the Services view, scroll down on the right side of

the window until you see Windows Defender. Double-click the entry to view the

properties of this service, as shown in Figure 15-11. If the service status is not listed

as Started, click the Start button to start the service. If the Start button is dimmed,

click the Stop button and then click the Start button. While you are working with the

Windows Defender service, ensure that the “Startup type” is set to Automatic.

If you still cannot get the service to work correctly, you can check the event logs for

additional information. In Computer Management, expand the Event View and Win-

dows Logs nodes by double-clicking them and then selecting the System log. Look for

stop errors listed with an X inside a red circle. If the stop error lists an unauthorized

Using Windows Defender

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account that is preventing the service from starting, access the Logon tab of the Prop-

erties dialog box for the Windows Defender service and verify that the “Log on as”

option is set to “Local system account.” If it isn’t, select this option and then click

Start on the General tab to start the service.

If you still cannot start the service, you can visit http://support.microsoft.com and

enter the information from the Event Viewer as your search parameters to help you

determine the source of the problem. Try using the Event ID number or error text as

the search text. Usually you can find information on Microsoft’s support pages to

help identify existing problems and resolutions for errors on your computer. Other

available options include checking for updates to Windows Defender on Microsoft’s

web site, or even reinstalling Windows Defender using the download link listed at

the site. While these may not be the most appealing options, they do work from time

to time.

If you continue to have problems getting Windows Defender to work correctly, you

may need to run an antivirus program on the computer to determine if a computer

file was corrupted, or you may need to contact a computer service company. Calling

in a professional support representative is the most expensive option. Professional

support would also be the last-ditch effort to fix the problem.

Figure 15-11. Checking the status and startup type of the service