Scotty Is Back Where He Belongs!

It was the strangest thing and I do not understand why Windows Defender was blocking WinPatrol from startup. True enough, this evening when I started my computer, even with Windows Defender monitoring turned off, WinPatrol was still blocked. Although it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, this is what worked.

From the task bar, I selected "Run blocked program". After a restart, there was still no Scotty.


I was considering reinstalling WinPatrol but first navigated to the BillP Studios folder in Program Files; right-clicked on WinPatrol.exe and selected Run as Administrator. Another restart and still no Scotty. I went back to the BillP Studios folder, right-click on WinPatrol.exe and selected Properties > Compatibility. Run as Administrator was checked so I unchecked it. After another restart, there was Scotty! Just for the heck of it, I reactivated Windows Defender, and after another restart, Scotty was still there.

So what was the glitch? I don't believe that selecting Run as Administrator one time should have resulted in the box being checked nor in Windows Defender blocking it. Regardless, its good to have Scotty back.

Now will someone tell me how to get Windows Defender to change the status of WinPatrol and NOD32 to "Permitted"?

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Microsoft Security Advisory 944653 Released

This alert is to notify you that Microsoft has released Security Advisory 944653 – Vulnerability in Macrovision SECDRV.SYS Driver on Windows Could Allow Elevation of Privilege - on 05 November 2007.

Microsoft is working with Macrovision to investigate new public reports of a vulnerability in the Macrovision secdrv.sys driver on supported editions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. This vulnerability does not affect Windows Vista.

Microsoft is aware of limited attacks that try to exploit the reported vulnerability and is actively monitoring this situation. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This will include providing a security update through our monthly release process.

References:

• MSRC Blog
• Security Advisory 944653
  

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...

Grrrr -- Windows Defender Blocked WinPatrol

Color me very angry!

I suddenly realized that Scotty was not sitting down in the task manager and started investigating. Sure enough, Windows Defender had blocked the WinPatrol System Monitor from startup. Windows Defender comes pre-installed with Windows Vista.


I don't know when that change occurred but will certainly take steps to correct it.

Software Explorer in Windows Defender shows WinPatrol as "not yet classified". Eset NOD32 is also shown "not yet classified" but hasn't been blocked. The option to "Enable" is grayed out, leaving only Remove or Disable, neither of which is acceptable.

I launched Windows Defender, selected Tools > Options and UNchecked monitor Autostart. I have WinPatrol to monitor startup and certainly don't want Windows Defender blocking my favorite software.



I did a shutdown/restart and WinPatrol was still blocked. I completely UNchecked "Use real-time protection" and did another shutdown/restart. WinPatrol was still blocked. Unfortunately I ran out of time but will investigate further this evening.

Watch for a solution, because I will certainly find one! "Scotty the Windows Watchdog" is an important piece of my security package.

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...