{"id":11014,"date":"2022-07-04T22:50:09","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T05:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=11014"},"modified":"2025-12-28T23:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T07:33:15","slug":"wscsvc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/wscsvc\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Windows Services: Security Center \/ wscsvc"},"content":{"rendered":"<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"no-lazy-load\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/windows-security-center-service-150x150.webp\" title=\"Security Center Service (wscsvc)\" alt=\"Security Center Service (wscsvc)\" border=\"0\" ><\/div>\n<div id=\"blog-toc-container\" style=\"margin-top:20px;\">\n<p id=\"blog-toc-title\">In this article&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-wscsvc-service\">What is the Security Center (wscsvc) service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#wscsvc-technical-info\">Technical information<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#stop-wscsvc\">What happens if I stop Security Center?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ok-to-disable-wscsvc\">Is it OK to disable the Security Center service?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#wscsvc-questions\">Questions? Problems?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"what-is-wscsvc-service\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What is the Security Center (wscsvc) service?<\/h2>\n<p>The Security Center service is an important <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guard_dog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;watchdog&#8221;<\/a> focused on protecting your computer.<\/p>\n<p>From the service&#8217;s description:<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog-qa-question-box\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/quotes-transparent-21x21.png\" width=\"21\" height=\"21\" \/>&nbsp;The Security Center service monitors and reports security health settings on the computer. <\/p>\n<p>Those health settings include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Firewall (on\/off)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Antivirus (on\/off\/out of date)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Antispyware (on\/off\/out of date)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Windows Update (automatically\/manually download and install updates)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>User Account Control (on\/off)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Internet settings (recommended\/not recommended)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>In summary, <b>Security Center&#8217;s purpose is to let you know when your computer&#8217;s defenses are down<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>To illustrate how the service works, we turned off the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Windows_Firewall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows Firewall<\/a> (which protects your PC from outside attackers). A couple of seconds later, Security Center raised a warning on our desktop, urging us to re-enable the firewall:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/windows-security-firewall-alert.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Security Center Windows Firewall alert\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/windows-security-firewall-alert.png\" title=\"Security Center Windows Firewall alert (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Security Center Windows Firewall alert\" border=\"0\" width=\"364\" height=\"214\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"wscsvc-technical-info\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Technical information<\/h2>\n<p>The service\u2019s name is <b>wscsvc<\/b>. It runs inside the shared services host process, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Svchost.exe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">svchost.exe<\/a>:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-windows-service.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"wscsvc service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-windows-service.png\" title=\"wscsvc service (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"wscsvc service\" border=\"0\" width=\"406\" height=\"468\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>The service&#8217;s startup type is <b>Automatic (Delayed Start)<\/b>. As a result, Windows launches the service a couple of minutes after your machine boots.<\/p>\n<p>wscsvc runs in the built-in <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/win32\/services\/localservice-account\">Local Service<\/a> account:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/wscsvc-log-on.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"wscsvc service: Log On\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/wscsvc-log-on.png\" title=\"wscsvc service: Log On (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"wscsvc service: Log On\" border=\"0\" width=\"406\" height=\"468\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"stop-wscsvc\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">What happens if I stop Security Center?<\/h2>\n<p>Since Security Center safeguards your machine, stopping the service may leave you in the dark about your computer&#8217;s defenses. For that reason, <b>Microsoft has made it very difficult for you to stop the Security Center service<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, not even members of the powerful Administrators group can stop (or change) the service! If you open the <a href=\"\/blog\/windows-services\/essential-tools-windows-services-msc\/\">Services<\/a> application, you will notice that all the command buttons are disabled:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-administrator-permissions.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Security Center: Administrator permissions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-windows-service.png\" title=\"Security Center: Administrator permissions (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Security Center: Administrator permissions\" border=\"0\" width=\"363\" height=\"445\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>In our research, we identified only three obscure, built-in Windows accounts that have enough rights to stop Security Center. Those accounts are <b>DcomLaunch<\/b>, <b>SecurityHealthService<\/b> and <b>TrustedInstaller<\/b>:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-service-users.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Security Center: Special user accounts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/security-center-service-users.png\" title=\"Security Center: Special user accounts (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Security Center: Special user accounts\" border=\"0\" width=\"363\" height=\"445\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Clearly, Microsoft has taken great pains to &#8220;lock down&#8221; the Security Center service. Best to heed their advice; do not try to stop it.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ok-to-disable-wscsvc\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Is it OK to disable the Security Center service?<\/h2>\n<p>Again, because of tight security settings, you will not be able to disable the service from the Services application. And the SC command won&#8217;t work either:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/sc-disable-wscsvc.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Disabling wscsvc with SC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/sc-disable-wscsvc.png\" title=\"Disabling wscsvc with SC (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Disabling wscsvc with SC\" border=\"0\" width=\"461\" height=\"211\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>However, if you are hell bent on hobbling the service, you can try hacking the registry. Setting the <b>Start<\/b> value in the <b><span class=\"break-long-words\" >HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\wscsvc<\/span><\/b> key to <b>4<\/b> should do the trick. You may have to reboot afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>But don&#8217;t be surprised if that fails too. For example, Windows 11 restricts access to the registry key to a few built-in accounts. Not even an administrator can update the registry entry. And as you can see, Windows rebuffed our attempt to change the registry value:<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/images\/failed-to-disable-wscsvc.png\" class=\"zoomPopup\" title=\"Failed to disable wscsvc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-padding\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/failed-to-disable-wscsvc.png\" title=\"Failed to disable wscsvc (click to enlarge)\" alt=\"Failed to disable wscsvc\" border=\"0\" width=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Caveat_emptor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caveat emptor!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wscsvc-questions\"><\/a><\/p>\n<hr class=\"blog-section\">\n<div style=\"width:100%;margin-bottom:30px;\">\n<div style=\"margin:0px;float:right;\"><a href=\"#top\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.coretechnologies.com\/images\/top.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"50\" height=\"18\" title=\"Go to the top\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"blog-caption\">Questions? Problems?<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to know more about the Security Center service &mdash; or if you have a specific problem with it &mdash; please feel free to <a href=\"\/support\/\">get in touch<\/a>. We&#8217;ll do our best to help you!<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top:30px\" align=\"center\">\n<div class=\"cta-button-1\">\n<table role=\"presentation\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\"><a href=\"\/blog\/tag\/essential-windows-services\/\" title=\"Find more important Windows Services\"><span><nobr>More Essential Windows Services&#8230;<\/nobr><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- relpost-thumb-wrapper --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-wrapper\"><!-- filter-class --><div class=\"relpost-thumb-container\"><style>.relpost-block-single-image, .relpost-post-image { margin-bottom: 10px; }<\/style><h3>You may also like...<\/h3><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><!-- relpost-block-container --><div class=\"relpost-block-container relpost-block-column-layout\" style=\"--relposth-columns: 3;--relposth-columns_t: 2; --relposth-columns_m: 2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/alwaysup\/prevent-interactive-services-detection\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"How do I Prevent the Interactive Services Detection Window from Constantly Coming Up?\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/isd-150x150.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">How do I Prevent the Interactive Services Detection Window from Constantly Coming Up?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/restart-remote-service\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Q&amp;A: How do I Restart a Windows Service on a Remote Computer?\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/restart-remote-service-150x150-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Q&amp;A: How do I Restart a Windows Service on a Remote Computer?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/essential-tools-windows-services-msc\/\"class=\"relpost-block-single\" ><div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" alt=\"Essential Tools for Windows Services: Services.msc\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/services-150x150.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1\/1\"><\/img><div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\"  style=\"height: 75px;font-family: Arial;  font-size: 12px;  color: #333333;\"><h2 class=\"relpost_card_title\">Essential Tools for Windows Services: Services.msc<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><!-- close relpost-block-container --><div style=\"clear: both\"><\/div><\/div><!-- close filter class --><\/div><!-- close relpost-thumb-wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article&#8230; What is the Security Center (wscsvc) service? Technical information What happens if I stop Security Center? Is it OK to disable the Security Center service? Questions? Problems? What is the Security Center (wscsvc) service? The Security Center &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-services\/wscsvc\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[78,143,282,196,281],"class_list":["post-11014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows-services","tag-essential-windows-services","tag-security","tag-security-center-service","tag-windows-services-2","tag-wscsvc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11014"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13299,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11014\/revisions\/13299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}