What is Windows Defender? Do I need it? Since the new year, I have been getting a stop message saying "Application failed to initialize 0x800106ba" and to restart my computer -- which makes no difference. Margaret Healy-Doyle
Windows Defender is a free Microsoft anti-spyware program. It is included in Windows Vista but can be downloaded for XP. The very unhelpful error message suggests that you had the beta version installed; this expired on December 31. You should now uninstall it using the Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs utility.
If you still want to use Defender, install the latest version. If not, Ewido - now renamed AVG Anti-Spyware - is a good free alternative. Otherwise, users can find the answers to most Defender problems by searching the Microsoft news groups at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/newsgroups/reader/
