Security Center (wscsvc) Service Defaults in Windows 8
The WSCSVC (Windows Security Center) service monitors and reports security health settings on the computer. The health settings include firewall (on/off), antivirus (on/off/out of date), antispyware (on/off/out of date), Windows Update (automatically/manually download and install updates), User Account Control (on/off), and Internet settings (recommended/not recommended). The service provides COM APIs for independent software vendors to register and record the state of their products to the Security Center service. The Action Center (AC) UI uses the service to provide systray alerts and a graphical view of the security health states in the AC control panel. Network Access Protection (NAP) uses the service to report the security health states of clients to the NAP Network Policy Server to make network quarantine decisions. The service also has a public API that allows external consumers to programmatically retrieve the aggregated security health state of the system.
Default Settings
| Startup type: |
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| Display name: | Security Center | ||||||||||||||||||
| Service name: | wscsvc | ||||||||||||||||||
| Service type: | share | ||||||||||||||||||
| Error control: | normal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Object: | NT AUTHORITY\LocalService | ||||||||||||||||||
| Path: | %SystemRoot%\System32\svchost.exe -k LocalServiceNetworkRestricted | ||||||||||||||||||
| File: | %SystemRoot%\System32\wscsvc.dll | ||||||||||||||||||
| Registry key: | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wscsvc | ||||||||||||||||||
| Privileges: |
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Default Behavior
Security Center is a Win32 service. It is starting automatically after the operating system and most important software have been loaded and started in all editions of Windows 8. This service is starting automatically during the operating system startup in all editions of Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Update 1.
When the Security Center service is started, it runs as NT AUTHORITY\LocalService in a process of svchost.exe, sharing it with other services. If Security Center fails to start, the error details are added to Windows 8 error log. When the operating system startup is complete, the user is being notified that the wscsvc service hasn't been started.
Dependencies
Security Center can't start, if any service from the list below is disabled or not available:
Restore Default Startup Configuration of Security Center
Before you begin doing this, make sure that all the services on which Security Center depends are configured by default and function properly. See the list of dependencies above.1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Depending on the version of your operating system, copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER.
For Windows 8 Core, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise:
sc config wscsvc start= delayed-auto
sc start wscsvc
For Windows 8.1 Core, Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Update 1 Core, Windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro, Windows 8.1 Update 1 Enterprise:
sc config wscsvc start= auto
sc start wscsvc
3. Close the command window and restart the computer.
The wscsvc service is using the wscsvc.dll file that is located in the C:\Windows\System32 directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 8 installation media.