Is live protection really on?

Hello everyone!
I notice a message in my windows action center that says spybot is not on. I clicked it to start it and it attempts to but never come on. I checked with the spybot start center and it says live protection is on and enabled. However, every time i open something, i used to get a spybot scan bar in the bottom right, now i do not. Sometimes, before this problem started, i had to start live protection and a dialog box would come up and it would start. I dont know why it would just stop working.

Anyone have this problem or any suggestions?
Thanks

Hello. :)
Try rightclicking the Spybot Start Center and selecting Run as Administrator. Click the live protection status in the start center to open Live Protection settings. Is there a checkmark beside Scan all programs before they start?

I have this same issue. I get this every time I startup the tablet. (SurfacePro Win10)
I've check the status as suggested above and, yes, the checkbox is ticked.
Does this mean I should ignore the pop-up and the defender security box that says that SpyBot protection is off?
(As above, if you try to switch SpyBotS&D on is does nothing.)

No, don't ignore the defender security box or the popup.
Please reopen Live Protection. Does it say anything above the Scan all programs before they start checkbox? Does it say "Live Protection is installed, running, but not active!"?

it says its active.
since I posted this the pop-up only appears occasionally. its very glitchy and seems like defender is a bit confused.
next time it happens I'll check the live status before doing anything else to see what it says.
(btw, I've never seen a scan bar that was mentioned mentioned in the original post!)

I believe it's a bit unusual for you not to have seen the Spybot scan bar associated with Live Protection at the bottom right of your screen. Usually if a process starts, etc. you'd probably see that scan bar, and as far as I am aware that is still part of Spybot's Live Protection. Therefore, you might like to contact Spybot support. There is a contact form here. :)
https://www.safer-networking.org/support/#contactform

had the warning popup again, checked the live protection status and it showed active and scan programs as they start. I presume this means that its working? don't understand why the warning appears.
to confirm, re task bar, have attached pics of task bar. SpyBoy icon appears if you tap the up-arrow. but there is no activity bar there. does this look right?

Attachment 13132

Attachment 13133

Yes, that does look right. That is the Spybot tray icon, from which you can get Spybot to perform various functions. :) However, it is not actually Live Protection.
Live Protection does not actually have an icon down by the clock, like teatimer did.
The "spybot scan bar in the bottom right" mentioned in the first post by BigBear is a tiny little scan icon like thing that appears, for instance when Live Protection is scanning a process that opens, etc. I don't currently have Live protection, but I believe it is still normal for that little scan thing to appear when Live Protection is scanning something, for instance if you open a program, etc. ,and it hasn't been changed. If Live Protection is showing as active and the 'scan programs before they start is checkmarked, it would seem it is active. However, where you are getting the defender popup and there is no scan bar in the bottom right appearing intermittently, I am a bit worried. Therefore, I would prefer if you contacted Spybot support to ask them about it and be sure, I would not want you to be going about without some sort of real-time or live protection on your computer. It doesn't mean it isn't working, but I'd like it if you would double check with them. So, if you could please contact them with the contact form, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. :)
https://www.safer-networking.org/support/#contactform

ok, thanks :santa: I'll get in touch with support.
I'm still trying to see if there's some specific thing I'm doing/is happening when the defender pop-up arrives or whether its totally random! I assume there must be something triggering the warning.
thanks for your help, appreciate it :)

edit to previous post -
pop up just happened as I was on here.
looks like it comes up twice. first time clicking 'turn on' does nothing. second time it works and the SpyBot popup window asking if I'm sure I want spybot to change the system comes up.
looks like something is switching spybot off. (although previous time it happened I went straight to check live protection and apparently it was on.
beguiling.

You're welcome, and thank you very much for contacting Spybot support. Please tell them everything you told me here, especially about the Windows Defender Security Center popup. :)

Also, ordinarily it is best to only run one resident (real-time protection, live protection, etc.) at a time. For that reason Windows Defender will shut it's real-time protection off when it detects another antivirus. However, for the time being in light of the Windows Defender popup saying that Live Protection is off sometimes, it's probably best for you to make an exception and see that Windows Defender real-time protection is turned on until you hear back from Spybot support and everything is resolved, as an extra precaution. You could follow the instructions on this page to see if Windows Defender's Real-Time protection is set to on or off:
https://www.isumsoft.com/windows-10/...rotection.html
If it is set to off, you could follow this page to turn on Windows Defender real-time protection for the time being until everything with Live Protection and the Windows Defender Security Centre popup is resolved:
https://www.safer-networking.org/pt-...er-windows-10/

thankyou, that's useful. I'll do all this tomorrow.
btw, I don't have the defender shield icon either!

You're welcome.

Oh, yes, you don't have the defender icon down by the clock, do you? I didn't notice that in your screenshot. An alternate way to open Windows Defender Security Center is to select it from the start menu under w. :)

On defender it says 'status is unavailable - check SpyBotS&D for information'. I'm guessing SpyBot is on.
not really using this tablet much at the mo, so not panicking yet.
Have sent to support, btw.
(ohh, i can't type on a surface!.... help!)

Haha! I like typing on my tablet, because the onscreen keyboard guesses the word before I'm done typing. Then I move to the laptop and press t and sort of wait for it to spell the word 'the' for me, and nothing happens. :laugh:

Glad you sent to support. Looks like Live Protection is 'On', but where Windows Defender Security Centre is showing popups about it being off, under the circumstances you might want to turn defender's real-time protection On, even if you don't use the Surface much. You can do that by following this. It's a precaution to help keep you safe, just in case. :)
https://www.safer-networking.org/pt-...er-windows-10/

had pop-up again while reading this, just after starting windows.
again, there are two initial pop-ups. first one says spybot is off -
Attachment 13134
second says it's on, and defender is off.
(though a couple of times it has said both off.)
I'd like go know what's triggering that sometimes.

yes, I'll switch defender on for time being.

I'm better at the screen keyboard when reverting to two-finger mode! this is my first tablet so getting used to it :)
I like that you get a selection of keyboards - having arrow keys is handy!

That is strange, isn't it? I'd love to know what is triggering that, as well.

Thanks for switching defender on for now. I'm a bit of a worry-wart, as you can probably tell! :D:

I kind of like that the onscreen keyboards have a nice selection of smilies. I have bad luck with voice assistants, they never understand what I'm saying. I can ask them to look up dogs, and I get frogs or something.

Have a safe and happy New Year. :)

Yes, happy new year!
Looks like we'll never know. Answer from support was re-install. Did this. (Very different installation process from when I downloaded from website, more dialogs, etc.)
So far only had one pop-up warning - when SpyBot first ran and defender got switched off in the process.
Live protection seems to be on.
But still not seeing this progress icon in the task-bar. Don't even know what I'm looking for!
There is now a little SpyBot icon at the clock end of the task-bar which wasn't there before. Is this it?

(Also, Start Center is still saying the computer has never been scanned, but it has. I'll do another scan later and see if it wakes up!)

Don't even get me started on voice assistants. Like on the phone as well,.. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Please say..."

Thank you. :)

Good, glad that you've only had one pop-up warning from Windows Defender Security Centre since reinstalling.

I think I may have found an answer to you not seeing the progress icon in the task bar. It's an old one from 2013. However this is a post from dj.turkmaster that mentions that

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dj.turkmaster

Now it displays a popup on the lower left corner of the screen, whenever it scans a process.

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among other things.
https://forums.spybot.info/showthrea...ction-Annoying
There is an answer from the Spybot creator that says:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PepiMK

The notification window will only appear if the scan takes longer than a certain time, meaning if you've got the AV option checked, but not the AS one, it won't usually appear.

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https://forums.spybot.info/showthrea...l=1#post441513
You can disregard the mentions of scan using AS and scan using AV, as those no longer appear in the Live Protection window. But I would presume that might be why BigBear and you did not see the pop-up/notification window scanning the processes, if that thread still holds true, it only appears if it takes a certain length of time. My apologies, I was unaware of that thread, or perhaps I read it and forgot about it. You could doublecheck with support about the popup/notifications from Live Protection appearing when scanning processes, if you like, just to be certain.
I did try to find a screenshot of the progress icon that would appear so that you could see it, but I couldn't find one. It was a little tiny box that would appear, and you would see a tiny scan going across when Live Protection was scanning a process.

That icon that appeared might be the Spybot tray icon. If you rightclick it, you can perform various actions such as selecting Update, or making sure there is a checkmark next to Live Protection, etc.

Yes, as long as you did a scan since redownloading Spybot, it should show it. I'm not sure why it's not.

Huh, guess if you or I got one of the Smart Speakers, it would be interesting, haha. :D:

Yes, I think it's the tray icon.
Think the re-install did the trick. Still not had any further pop-up warnings.
These answers are enough to satisfy me! Thankyou for going to the trouble to look for that.
The second scan was ok as well.
Your help is much appreciated. Thank you :) We seem to be up and running.
Now all I have to do is get used to this surface keyboard...!

-edit - I don't know what a Smart Speaker is. I'm missing something here, where have I been?

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help. :)

Oh, sorry, smart speakers are those Google mini and Alexa type speakers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_speaker
Since voice assistants don't understand me, I figure one of those won't either. :D:

Oh, oh. It's back :confused:
blue pop-up appears in bottom right of screen, clicking this opens window to turn spybot or defender on.
snip of this -
Attachment 13135
If you click turn on spybot, the spybot confirm request comes. click yes, seen flashes and nothing happens.
This time it refuses to be turned on.
However, the spybot tray has a tick next to live protection.
I'll report back to support with this picture.
Looks like a glitch somewhere.
I'll let you know what comes of this.

I'm sorry to hear that. I wonder what causes that?

Quote:

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I'll let you know what comes of this.

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Okay, thank you. :)
You might like to turn on windows defender real-time protection as a precaution again, until you hear back from Spybot support, as well. If Live Protection is showing as On in the Spybot Start Center "show details" view, then perhaps it might be a glitch in the Windows Defender security center. However, that isn't totally certain and it is better to be safe than sorry. :)

So, back when we last spoke, support said go to security centre services and check 'active after reboot'. It was already checked.
I said it was checked and problem still ongoing.
No response for 6 days.

As I can't be sure that live protection is on, looks like I'll just switch off live protection and use defender on a permanent basis.
Wish I'd stuck with the free version now. And issues with Anti-Beacon not immunising pending, too.

But thanks for all your patient help, appreciate that 🙂

(btw, I installed a picture viewer and made it the default for jpg and png , keep getting messages saying picture default has been reset to photos. I wonder if Win10 is getting a bit more vigorous abt it's own preferred settings? Yes, I'm just wild guessing now!)

You're very welcome. :)

I've never worked via email with Spybot support on any problems I have had, so I'm unsure of how long the replies/responses usually take. But six days does seem like a while. Since it's been six days you might want to double check that they didn't send a response and it was sent to spam mail in your email program. If a response wasn't sent to spam mail I think if it was me, I might send a follow up reply email to them again from their last response, something along the lines of it's been awhile since I heard back, I was just checking in to be sure you got my reply, or if there is a solution to the problem yet, something along those lines.

I had a look around for anything to help with fle associations being reset to defaults, and I did find this article about an app called Stop Resetting My Apps:
https://www.ghacks.net/2016/10/28/st...tting-my-apps/
You could read through and see if it seems like what you might be looking for, etc. I downloaded it to check it out and it seems safe/okay. It does have a note on the program not shown in the article above to please associate the desired file types with your preferred program before blocking, so you might want to switch .jpg and .png back to your preferred program if it was switched back to the photos app as default recently, before applying the stop/block option for Photos.
If the app is something you think you'd like to try, it's download page is here:
https://www.carifred.com/stop_resetting_my_apps/

Had reply from support.

"Yes, you can ignore these warnings.
These only mean that the service responsible
for telling Windows that Spybot is active is not
functioning correctly or is not being properly
recognized by windows.
We are currently investigating this issue."

I'll go with this. Had a feeling all along it was just Windows tripping over it's own shoelaces anyway.

Thanks for checking the default app query as well. I'll look at those links tomorrow!
:thanks:

(hmm, seem to be getting a bit better with this surface keyboard...)

I'm glad you got a reply. I was hoping it would be something like that. All's well that ends well.

Quote:

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Thanks for checking the default app query as well. I'll look at those links tomorrow!

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You're welcome. :)

I see some laptops have a screenpad now. I'm not sure if I'd get the hang of that quickly or not, I still use a touchpad. Maybe they'll gear something like that up for tablets someday also, a small screenpad connected to them. I bet it'd take me a long time to get used to it, haha! :laugh:

FYI - Turns out the picture viewer is still set as default (works when you open a pic file) despite windows reporting it had been reverted to photos.

Sounds familiar? !

Oh, that is odd.

I was unaware of it, but I did have a look around and it looks like there have been some problems with file associations related to an update released, and it says it is sometimes erratic. I'm not 100% certain, but I wonder if it's related to what is happening with your default programs and file associations. There is an article here:
https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/micros...otched-update/
And this article(though for some reason I can't see the pictures associated with the article):
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/new...-associations/
That article has an update at the end, with links. One of the links is to this page:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...date-kb4462933
Under known issues, it says that issue is resolved with a later update:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4467682

I'm not sure if that applies to you or not, but you could have a look, if you like. :)

Thanks for the links. :) Interesting. Sounds pretty buggy!
Could be something hanging on in there after the Windows updates maybe. I won't bother with this too much tho, no major problems so I won't tinker with it!
Just a bit curious about the misreporting pop-ups - in fact everything is fine!

You're welcome. :)

p.s. Happy tablet typing practice, hehe! :laugh:

I have an ASUS Laptop, Windows 10, S&D Professional version. The only issue I have is that I get a message in the top right hand corner that says Live Protection is partial. When I go to settings and try to Start Live Protection Scan the message Driver could not be started comes up. I am also running Windows Defender and Kaspersky. Can anyone shed any light?

Sounds like you should start a new thread for this ?

Hi, lps5005 and iansne. :)

lps5005, when I had 'Driver could not be started' before, I uninstalled and reinstalled Live Protection and it worked after that. You could try that if you like. You could follow this to disable and uninstall:
https://www.safer-networking.org/faq...ve-protection/
Then follow this to re-enable and re-install Live Protection:
https://www.safer-networking.org/faq...ve-protection/

Also, since you have a couple security programs, I'll just quote the FAQ for you about Live and Real-time Protection in case you need to see it:

Quote:

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Does Spybot conflict with other antivirus programs?

In the case you are using another antivirus program that contains Live Protection, real-time Protection or some equivalent, this could be conflicting with Spybot’s Live Protection.

To avoid conflicts that might arise in this case, please disable the Live Protection on either Spybot or your other antivirus program.

Please see the link below for info on the dangers of running more than one form of real time protection:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20341...-than-two.html

To disable Live Protection in Spybot, please do the following:

• Open Spybot by right-clicking on the Spybot icon and choosing the option to Run as Administrator.
• In the Start Center, click on Show Details then click on Advanced User Mode.
• Click on Settings then go to the Live Protection tab.
• Untick the checkbox for Scan programs before they start.
• Click Apply and OK, and restart Spybot for your changes to take effect.

https://www.safer-networking.org/wp-...otection-1.png

Settings

There is also a button for Show Live Protection advanced controls on this page. If you click this button you will see two options. You can choose either of these:

1. Uninstall Live Protection (this may require you to reboot)
2. Deactivate Live Protection

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https://www.safer-networking.org/support/spybot-2-faq/

If the driver doesn't start after uninstalling then reinstalling it, you might want to contact Spybot support on the contact page here:
https://www.safer-networking.org/support/#contactform