WinPatrol can help you keep your computer safe from ill-intentioned applications. It focuses on detecting malware executed along with system startup. It has an intuitive tabbed interface. Thus, by clicking on the corresponding tab, you can have easy access to the desired function. However, I feel that there are too many tabs, perhaps because of the huge number of features available. Unfortunately, you will not be able to switch to some of the tabs because they are not activated in the trial version.
WinPatrol works mainly by letting you decide which programs should really start along with the system. One of its assets is that it can display not only common startup entries but those included in the so-called “secret startup locations.” It allows you to view information about startup entries, disable or delete unnecessary ones, or add new ones. Besides, you can also delay the execution of given applications so that your system takes less time to boot.
In addition to controlling your startup lists, WinPatrol can also be used to monitor Windows Task Scheduler and remove unnecessary or potentially dangerous tasks. Similarly, you can also view other lists, such as cookies, file types, hidden files, and recently executed programs.
In general, the information provided by WinPatrol can help you effectively prevent malware infections. As it runs from the System Tray, it continuously alerts when an application tries to include itself in the Startup list. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this program depends on the user’s skills to take appropriate decisions.
v30.0 [Jan 24, 2014]
WinPatrol 2014 Preview
The computer industry is changing. After 16 years, it's time for WinPatrol to make some dramatic change both inside and out. WinPatrol 2014 will be introducing a new user interface that looks as modern as Windows 8 but will continue to work just as easy on Windows XP. In our first 2014 release you'll see a preview of some of our new graphics but the best is yet to come.
Best Performance Yet
While the time has come to improve the look of WinPatrol it was still more important to optimize portions of the WinPatrol real-time monitor. It's clear that many older machines are still providing a service even if they have a single core CPU and minimal memory. Our first version of WinPatrol 2014 isn't a beta edition. It's being released now to take advantage of many new enhancements but it's still a "Preview" of what's to come. Many common system checks that we previously read from the Windows registry are now stored in WinPatrol's local memory and updated only if needed. This not only saves CPU cycles but it also saves our disc access. Other programs may rely on third-party software libraries but we still maintain complete control over every instruction executed by WinPatrol to detect changes. Users with programs like Process Explorer will see the improvement immediately.
Reports
The WinPatrol report and Hijack report have also been updated to be more useful. Since internally Windows 7 and Windows 8 are still considered Windows version 6 we've made sure to do the proper conversion letting reports accurately provide version numbers for both Windows and Internet explorer.
New Cookie Support
Unlike many programs WinPatrol has never relied on 3rd party program libraries for popular features. The code in the two main WinPatrol components uses the "C" programming language and has been written at a Windows API level by WinPatrol's developer, Bill Pytlovany. One exception is a DLL called SQLite3.dll which is used to access files which are part of the SQLite database. Both Firefox and Chrome use the open source, public domain SQLite database to store their cookies. The only way for WinPatrol to access these cookies is to use the SQLite code. In December a new version of SQLite3.dll was released and has been included with WinPatrol 2014.
The new version of SQLite should fix some cookie bugs which have been reported. We also plan on adding support for Chrome and Firefox plug-in's so having the new verion is also great incentive. If you look at the files we list under the Hidden tab you'll notice files starting with etilqs_. These are typically temporary files that are used by a program which uses the SQLite database.
Windows Update Handling
WinPatrol notifications include information on the removal of any programs which are currently on the list of auto running files and control panel entries for installed programs. We've found that during normal Microsoft Windows updates these entries are replaced and are expected changes that won't need notifications. As with previous notifications WinPatrol wants you to know when a change occurs but not overwhelm you with messages.
Restore Position and Size
WinPatrol is one of the few programs that use a tabbed interface but allow you to resize your window. Over the years based on user feedback we do provide a maximum and minimize button. In the past our maximize setting was not always saved from one session to another. This new version fixes that problem and other issues related to changes in multi-monitor configurations.
Typo
Other changes to WinPatrol 2014 are minor but very important. In our last version a typo was introduced in the text displayed by the Scotty system tray icon. Instead of letting you know Scotty was ready to pounce our typo said he was ready to bounce. While Scottie's can certainly bounce I was pleased that so many of you reported this error. It's a very embarrassing but I'm glad to know that folks are reading our messages. It helped us review many of our text messages to make sure they would be useful.
Delayed Start
One of the new favorite features, Delayed Start has been updated to handle some unique filename and parameter combinations which did not work as we expected. We've also optimized our background monitor while waiting for programs yet to be launched. The ""-express"" parameter is used when WinPatrol first launches so we can provide the quickest start time possible. We still believe computers should turn on as quickly as TV's. While computer are starting quicker it's sad to see our new TV's seem to be taking longer.
