Microsoft security center_disabled/by Zone Alarm??

[kibot]

Hi, I'm SO happy to have SpyBot again, it was always great until an error message kept me out (freshly installed tonight, need to uninstall the first one) I've read a few of the threads re the message in the title but am still unclear about what it means for my system. I have been using Zone Alarm on a trial basis for a week...do I even need the Microsoft security system? I have unchecked it for now because I am not that computer savvy. Any thoughts? TIA!

[Zenobia]

No,Zone Alarm doesn't disable Security Center,that I know of.What do you have for an Antivirus,and is it a security suite?
http://www.spybot.info/en/faq/46.html

[kibot]

I'm not sure what you mean by security suite....I have Avast installed but after the computer crashed and I accidentally did a full system recovery on someone's advice everything got all messed up including Avast's licence key. I emailed for the key but the one sent shows as invalid. I need to get to the bottom of it. I also use AdAware but I'm starting to get the idea I'm not covered for antivirus.

I've been unchecking the box for the MicrosoftWindowsSecurityCenter_disabled entry and checking everything else that comes up. What should I do about it?

[Zenobia]

Unless you disabled Security Center yourself,or you have an antivirus,etc. that disables Security Center to avoid double warning messages,you might want to let Spybot fix Microsoft.WindowsSecurityCenter_disabled.This should reenable Security Center,which will notify you if your antvirus isn't on and up-to-date,along with giving you a notification if your Firewall isn't on,or if Windows Automatic Updates isn't on,it will notify you.
Niether Avast nor Zone Alarm disable Security Center,that I know of.You did not disable Security Center yourself?Are you have any malware type problems with your computer?
If you decide to let Spybot fix Microsoft.WindowsSecurityCenter_disabled,but Security Center doesn't come on,let me know.I can help you reenable the Security Center service manually.

[kibot]

Thank you so much, I'll let you know if there is a problem with it coming back. I'm not sure about malware, I thought the SpyBot or ZA would detect any? I do have an intermittent problem with 40 to 60 windows multiplying in seconds and the original problem with everything freezing to the point where I can't turn off the computer without disconnecting the power plug has occured a couple of times. Malware?

[Zenobia]

You're welcome.Are the 40 to 60 windows that multiply in seconds identical,or do they have different things on them,like advertisements,etc.?
When your computer freezes,is that happening when you're scanning with Spybot?

[kibot]

They are identical blanks. It's only frozen twice scince I reinstalled Spybot and not while scanning. The alerts are back and I need a good (free?) antivirus. It's sort of creepy that I didn't know I didn't have one, what an idiot I am.

[Zenobia]

A computer can freeze for a lot of reasons,including viruses or malware.Since you were running without an antivirus,it might be best to have something to look at,to be sure.Maybe you could post a Spybot log,and then I'll see if I can maybe nab one of the helpers to peek at it,if that is okay with them.
http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.p...29&postcount=2

Which version of Internet Explorer do you have?The identical multiple blank windows could be a problem unrelated to malware.
This is a bit dated,but you might like to have a look here for the problem with the multiple windows opening:
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers/29.html

Here are two free antiviruses:
http://www.free-av.com/
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v
It's not good to have two antiviruses scanning in the background,so you'd only want one of those,if you decide to download an antivirus.You might also want to check in add/remove programs,to see if Avast is still listed there,and try uninstalling it if it is(just to be sure part of it wasn't left behind.)
Or,if you liked Avast,you could maybe try uninstalling what is left(if any),then reinstall,or repair install,etc.,instead of downloading a new antivirus.

[billyscotth]

When someone gets a chance, I would love to know how to turn my MS Security Center back on. My spybot picks it up everytime I do a "Check for problems" but no matter if I say fix it or not, it keeps comming up. I also when to my control pannel, then security center and tryed to turn it back on there but could'nt. I was able to turn my firewall back on but the "Change the way my security center alerts me" buttom was unavailable. Any advise? I dont see any signs of malware but could I have a problem anyway?

[md usa spybot fan]

billyscotth:

What antivirus and firewall do you have?