BleepingComputer.com: Windows Defender Question.

I was just going through my Windows Defender settings etc and noticed that in the section entitled software explorer I have some of my programs which it states as permitted eg all MS/Windows programs + AVG Anti-Virus while other programs such as my Comodo Firewall, mySonic Edge soundcard, my mouseware and I-Touch programs state they are not yet classified. Can anyone tell me how to change these programs to permitted.

I have noticed recently that my PC tends to hang sometimes at sign in and wonder if these programs not being permitted could be causing a conflict of sorts. I looked through the settings but cannot see an obvious solution. In the Options section entitled "Choose if Windows Defender should notify you about" there was an unchecked box entitled " Software that has not yet been classified for risks" which I then checked and saved thinking this was a possible solution but nothing seems to have changed and I still have the samme settings on the programs mentioned above.

Click the link "Using Software Explorer" to open help which explains how the feature works. For more info see the link here.

Don't be concerned about programs identified as "not yet classified" as long as you know what they are. There are a lot of programs that MS throws into this category like NOD32 anti-virus. Even though a program may be listed as "not yet classified", Defender does not interfere with it running. However, under Startup Programs you can choose to Remove or Diasable. Under Currently Running Programs you can end a task or open Task Manager to do the same.

Although Software Explorer provides some useful information, it is not one of the better features of Defender so I seldom use it.

Thanks for the reply Quietman7. I have been away for a few days hence the late reply to your post.I had a good look through Software Explorer and also googled this "problem" but it seems that there is no function in Windows Defender for the user to change a setting like this. Now I understand this from a security point of view but why does it permit my AVG Antivirus but not my Comodo Firewall. I bet if I uninstalled Comodo and switched on the Windows Firewall it would be permitted then.

I am sure it is Defender causing my PC to hang for up to 60-90 seconds at times from when I press enter until opening my account as when it starts immediately as it should then my 4 start up icons all come up in the following order Comodo-AVG-Philips Sound Agent-I-Touch Volume control. When it hangs they come up Philips- I-Touch at once then after another 10-20 secs AVG will come up followed by Comodo but before this happens I get the Windows Red Shield warning telling me my firewall is no switched on.

I could of course uninstall Defender but as it is the only real time security I have installed and I know that my Comodo Firewall is working I will leave it for the moment.I have AVG-Antispyware / AdAware / SpyBot S&D as well as the new AVG rootkit remover installed but use them on a manual basis.I also have Spyware Blaster running in the background as well.

I just find it irritating that there is no user function in Defender to change "Not yet classified" to "permit" and no one seems to know how long it takes to be permitted by Defender or if indeed it ever does become permitted!!.

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As I said, even though a program may be listed as "not yet classified", Defender does not interfere (or not permit) it from running. I have several programs showing this classification and they work fine.

If your computer is hanging at startup, it may be something else loading in the background besides Defender that is causing the problem or you may have too many applications loading at startup when Windows boots. Some programs are not needed and disabling them can save resources and improve performance. Use MSConfig to check for suspicious or unnecessary applications loading at startup.

1. Go to Start > Run and type: msconfig
2. Click "OK" or press "Enter" and the System Configuration Utility will open.
3. Go to the Startup Tab, and see what programs are listed.

If you are unsure what any of the startup entries are or if they are safe to disable, then search one of the following Startup Databases:
Startup Programs Database
StartupList Index

MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting utility used to diagnose system configuration issues. Although it works as a basic startup manager which allows you to enable/disable auto-start programs, msconfig should not be used routinely to disable startup programs.

A better alternative is to use a startup manager. Since you have Spybot S&D 1.4 installed, launch it, go to Mode and select Advanced. Then go to Tools, select System Startups. You will be provided with a list of programs that load when Windows starts. If you untick an entry it will no longer run at startup. This will allow you to experiment and see how your system performs with any of them disabled. Other startup managers you can download and use for free are Startup Control Panel, Autoruns and Starter by CodeStuff.

FYI: SpywareBlaster blocks spyware tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox. It restricts the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer by adding a list of sites and domains associated with known spyware, advertisers and marketers to Internet Explorer's Restricted Sites Zone. SB does not run in the background. Instead it only requires installation and then enabling of all protection. After that you only have to check periodically for database updates and then enable all protection again.

As a diagnostic test,

you could turn off all of Defender's realtime scanning just to see if it makes any difference.

Open Windows Defender, choose "tools", then "options", then uncheck "use realtime protection."

Then re-boot just to see if you still have the problem.