WinPatrol and Windows Defender work and play well together. The only time we see a problem is when a particular change is made giving administrative privledges to our small background monitor, "WinPatrol.exe". WinPatrol has two main components. The powerful WinPatrol.exe is a small file that runs when you first boot or restart your computer. This component monitors for changes but doesn't require special permissions to look at critical system locations. If we elevate security permissions you'd have to respond to the Windows "User Account Control" screen everytime your restarted your computer. Sometimes you or other Fans of WinPatrol may try to improve your computer security by telling Windows "WinPatrol.exe" can "Run as Administrator". Windows Defender won't like it if WinPatrol tries to run with higher security access.

If Windows Defender conflicts with WinPatrol just be sure to uncheck this box in the Properties dialog screen. You can access Properties by right-clicking WinPatrol.exe in the Windows File Explorer or the file in the WinPatrol list of Startup programs. Both allow you to access the same Windows Properties.


• Does WinPatrol Detect Cryptolocker?
CryptoLocker has been a moving target but it has been on our radar for a while. I wouldn't feel comfortable saying WinPatrol will protect you against this kind of threat. WinPatrol's protection by design is focused on a program infiltrating your computer so it can hide and mess with your system on a regular basis. Crypto style programs aren't sophisticated in the way they remain on your system. In fact, if you remove the Trojan part of the threat it could prevent you from seeing the instructions on how to save your files. While I highly recommend daily backups over paying an extortionist it would be possible to restore their files via our History button.

I'm currently spending a lot of time researching this threat so I do have a bit of experience. Using WinPatrol PLUS I have been able to detect the infiltration in time before any damage was done. Using the free version some files were compromised. However, this was under lab conditions and not by a typical user who would have allowed CryptoLocker to run in the first place. My experience is that typical users could fall prey to the download but instinct would kick in the moment they clicked.

I'm pleased to note I have not received any reports of attacks by WinPatrol users. That either means WinPatrol users are very careful or Scotty has alerted them in time. I still wouldn't try it unless I knew everything was backed up or I was running in a virtual sandbox. The target audience for CryptoLocker may not be the same as those using WinPatrol. I can confirm if your files have already been encrypted WinPatrol will not be able to help at this time.

I have actually been looking at a solution using some older code for WinPatrol. I believe it would provide a solution for CryptoLocker however it uses the same technology common in root kits. I'm not sure if most users would find that acceptable.

I can also confirm while these kinds of threats have always been around, the visibility of CyptoLocker is not good for the bad guys. I have been recruited to join with others to prevent this kind of behavior in the future. It may be our old code could be donated to the cause. For now, use extra care and if you own a business train your users and keep a firewall between your employees.


• Programs in Delayed Startup do not run.
There are some programs which don’t allow themselves to be delayed. Sometimes an error can be caused if another program prevents WinPatrol from starting or if a firewall program blocks the launching of a program by a second program like WinPatrol. This is common in firewalls to prevent malware from launching additional programs designed to protect each other.

1) If you’re using some kind of firewall program that first place to check is in their list of safe programs. Make sure both WinPatrol and your application are on the list of approved programs.
2) You can check to be sure WinPatrol.exe is running by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del and looking in the Task Manager for "WinPatrol.exe". If WinPatrol is running, it will mostly like be your firewall which isn't allowing WinPatrol to launch your program.
3) The last place to check is in your list of Services to see if there is a program that works along with the program that fails to launch. Frequently, if a partner Service expects a program to run at startup it will cause problems when WinPatrol tries to launch it at a later time.



• Does WinPatrol work on Windows 8?
Yes. WinPatrol works fine with Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows RT and Windows Phone run different processors and WinPatrol like most programs will not run. If you are not sure which version of Windows 8 you have you should read The Four Faces(Versions) of Windows 8.



• Why don't I get my PLUS Info?
  On the Options tab, there is a new check box that says “Allow PLUS data collection”. This feature is not support by all systems. If you checked this box you might want to uncheck it.
  
  We’ve also found that many registry cleaner programs remove the WinPatrol Name/Code information. When you click on the WinPatrol PLUS tab, do you see your name and code?
  
  When you press the PLUS Info button or Free Info button WinPatrol passes the address of a web page that should be loaded. Typically, Windows will look up the location of your default browser and connect you to the internet via that browser. If you've recently installed a browser enhancement program and then Uninstalled we've seen cases where the removal does not restore the default browser back to its pre-install settings. This problem will affect other programs besides WinPatrol so it's important to restore your default browser settings. One program other users have recommended to fix this problem is called "DefaultBrowser" by Ramesh SRINIVASAN
• WinPatrol no longer runs automatically at boot up
While obviously, this isn’t normal behavior I have had other reports with our new version that I can’t explain yet.
The install program should be creating an auto Run entry in the appropriate Windows registry location. WinPatrol should appear in the list of Startup Programs

What you can do is open the main tabbed interface and click on “Options”. There is a check box that says “Automatically run WinPatrol…”. If this box is not checked WinPatrol isn't in the list of Startup Programs like is normally is. Go ahead and check this box and WinPatrol should start normally when you reboot. If this box is checked already, check the list of Active Tasks to see if "WinPatrol.exe" is active. If it's actively running but no Scotty icon is showings up report this and see the next support item below.

If the box is not checked is it possible other security programs or registry cleaner type programs have changed the permissions of the autorun registry?

When reporting this bug include your Windows version and any security type programs which may be preventing autorun programs to launch.




• Missing Taskbar Scotty icon
We have had some reports of this and it appears to be related to a bug in Windows XP since they've added a "hide inactive icon" feature. Even if you've told Windows to show Scotty sometimes Windows thinks he's not active enough. Microsoft acknowledges the problem and claimed it was fixed in Windows XP SP2 both we have had Vista and Win7 users report similar issues.

What you can do is press CTRL-ALT-DEL and under processes you can verify that WinPatrol.exe is running. If its listed then Scotty is on patrol. If not, then something could be blocking WinPatrol. Typically, it may be another security type program.

Our main tabbed interface is now a separate component which can be opened separately. You can access this from your Start button -> Programs -> WinPatrol -> WinPatrol Explorer. This was done so we could add more features but keep the monitor portion of WinPatrol as small and efficient as possible. When you click Close on the main tabbed interface it will remove WinPatrolEx.exe from memory but the monitor portion which should show up as an icon will still be on patrol.

If it’s a missing icon also, one of our users recently found a web site with more information that may apply. http://winhlp.com/node/16 We haven't fully tested their solution but it sound promising. If we can come up with a work around this Windows bug we'll release a new build.

Ultimately, what I recommend for now is to create a short-cut to our main tabbed interface. You can do this by right-clicking on the desktop and have it point to the location of WinPatrolEx.exe. Generally, this will be c:\program files\BillP Studios\WinPatrol\WinPatrolEx.exe.


• Windows 98/ME and Windows 2000 not support?
  • Some new features are not supported at this time. http://www.winpatrol.com/wpsetup17.exe is still available for download to support legacy systems.
• Can't Activate PLUS when I click Apply
  You must be connected to the internet when you activate your PLUS features. If you have a firewall program you may have to tell your firewall that WinPatrolEx.exe is a safe program.
• What is the difference between WinPatrol and WinPatrol Explorer?
  WinPatrol is split into two components to provide the best possible performance.
  
  WinPatrol.exe is the small component which monitors for changes on your system. This is the program which displays the little Scotty in the taskbar and remains running in the background at all times.
  
  When you double click on the little Scotty icon it launches our main tabbed interface or WinPatrol Explorer (WinPatrolEx.exe). The program provides the main interface and allows you to review all your various programs. When you click on "Close", this program is removed from memory so only the smallest required portion of WinPatrol is running.

• I can't view my Firefox cookies
  
  Unfortunately Firefox needs to be closed to view your cookies and use the checkbox removal method in WinPatrol. Firefox locks the cookies file so other applications can open it. I'm working on a better way to handle this issue and my efforts to support Firefox users will continue.
  One of our fans has created a help file with more information on Firefox cookies and especially modifying the cookie folder if Scotty isn’t able to find the cookie file. While I continue to work on better solutions this page might be of interest. http://winpatrolhelp.blogspot.com/2009/10/winpatrol-2010-and-firefox-cookies.html
• WinPatrol doesn't report if I change the HOSTs file
  Host files are also handed differently in the newest WinPatrol. We frequently ran into conflicts with other security programs that monitored the host file. It’s one of the rare conflicts we’ve had with other security related programs. It resulted in a cycle or alerts that didn’t make for a good user experience.
  The new WinPatrol will detect if other programs are monitoring the HOST file including UAC levels. Scotty will give priority over to the other program that user has running to prevent a never ending loop of alerts.

• I keep getting Repeating messages about my HOST file change
  Typically this behavior occurs if you have another program which is also monitoring the HOSTS file and is doing so by creating backups and restoring them. This would explain the frequent messages. If you're using another program that also monitors the HOSTs file having both programs doing is redundant. I would suggest turning off HOSTs monitoring on either WinPatrol or your other program..
  
  To disable HOST monitoring click on the Options tab in WinPatrol. On this page you'll see a check box in front of the text "Warn if changes are made to my Internet HOSTs file..". Uncheck this box or on newer versions set the Patrol Time to 0. This will stop Scotty from checking the HOSTs file.
  
  If you're interested in more information on hosts file we recommend the following site. http://accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html
  
  To see how some other AntiSpyware programs may use it see: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
  
• I have Two Scotty's or the main Tabbed interface opens on startup.
  This can happen if you have multiple copies of WinPatrol in your Startup list. In the newer versions of WinPatrol I have implemented a quick fix.
  
  
  • Open up the main WinPatrol tabbed Interface.
    
  • Click on the Options tab.
    
  • You should see a check box that says, “Automatically run WinPatrol when computer starts”
    
  • Just Unclick the box in front of this message.
    
  • Now Click it again so the checkbox remains.
    
    This action will remove the multiple copies of WinPatrol in the Startup List and initialize the correct startup setting.

• Scotty is barking a number of times but I don't see any alert
  What you're hearing is not normal behavior but we have had multiple reports .
  
  The barking appears to be the result of some kind of corruption of the WinPatrol files. What typically resolves the problem is to download and install the newest version of WinPatrol.
  
  You can always download the newest version of WinPatrol by going to our web site, http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html.

• WinPatrol doesn't open when I double-click on Scotty
  Do you have Multiple Monitors?
  We have had reports of problems when Scotty gets confused about where on the screen he’s suppose to open. We save the window position when you last closed the tabbed interface and we have had reports of incorrect coordinates. Essentially, it means WinPatrol is opening but you can’t see it because it’s off the visible screen.
  This kind of error occurs most often on systems with multiple monitor configurations. WinPatrol’s tabbed interface is open but not on a visible portion of the screen. We do have a script that will fix this particular problem.
  
  Open the main WinPatrol tabbed interface and click on Options. On this tab screen you should see a button on the right bottom that says "Repair and Reset...". Click this button and you'll see a number of check boxes. There should be one that says "Initialize Saved Screen Size and Positions...". Check this box and click Apply. If that’s not the problem let me know and I’m sure we can help.
• I keep getting repeating File Type changes
  It appears you have two programs fighting over the same file type association. I would recommend disabling File Type monitoring for the specific file type that is giving you a problem.
  
  If you're only having problems with a single file type it might be easiest to remove monitoring of that file type. Open up the main WinPatrol interface and click on the File Type tab. Look at your list of file type programs and find the EXT type that is being displayed. Select the program currently associated and then click "Remove".
  
  This will not make any changes to Windows and how it handles file types. It will only tell Scotty not to monitor this particular Extension type.
  
  To disable all File Type monitoring, bring up the main WinPatrol interface and click on the File Type tab. On the upper right side you'll see either a clock image or a blue checkmark above the work "Monitor". Click on this image and set the Patrol Time to 0. If Real-time monitoring is checked, Uncheck it first.

If you don't find your answer here, Email support@WinPatrol.com