windows services Smart Card; SCardSvr

Smart Card; SCardSvr

Smart Card Helper; SCardDrv
Used to support smart card authentication hardware. If you don't have a smart card that you use to log in to your system, you can keep these two services set to Manual.

SSDP Discovery Service; SSDPSRV
Provides a directory of Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices that are available on the network. The Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) is part of UPnP support in Windows XP. In late 2001, a buffer overflow vulnerability was patched in this service (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-059). Because UPnP is sparsely used, you can usually set this service to Manual. However, ICF depends on UPnP to provide incoming connections to systems behind the firewall. If SSDP is disabled, you can't use Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance to access systems across the Internet.

System Event Notification; SENS
Notifies system components and applications of events such as logon, screen saver start, or a switch to battery power. Keep this service set to Automatic.

System Restore Service; srservice
Maintains System Restore checkpoints. On most systems, you should keep this service set to Automatic. If you want to change System Restore behavior, open Control Panel, System and click the System Restore tab. If you turn off System Restore on all drives (which we don't recommend), you could set this service to Manual.

Task Scheduler; Schedule
Runs the programs in the Scheduled Tasks folder based on their schedules. Keep this service set to Automatic.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper; LmHosts
Provides NetBIOS name management services in Windows 2000. (See Determining Which Ports Are Active.)

Telephony; TapiSrv
Supports modem connections. If you do not use a modem, you can keep this service set to Manual. However, when used on a system with ICF or ICS running, that service will start the Telephony service.

Telnet; TlntSvr
Provides remote command-line access to the system. This service is a security risk and should be set to Disabled.

Terminal Services; TermService
Supports all of Microsoft's multiple-login and remote access technologies: Windows Terminal Services, Remote Desktop, Fast User Switching, and Remote Assistance. If you do not plan on using any remote access, disable all the features that depend on it and set this service to Manual.

Themes; Themes
Provides support for the new look and feel in Windows XP. This service should be left at Automatic with one possible exception. If you have reverted to the Windows Classic look (Control Panel, Display, Themes) and do not intend to use any of the new user interface features in the future, you can set this service to Manual. (When you do this, the Windows XP theme no longer appears as an option.)

Uninterruptible Power Supply; UPS
Supports the ability of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to notify the computer when power has gone out and the UPS battery is running low. This service is used only if you have a UPS, have connected the UPS to the computer via its USB or serial cable, and have configured the UPS Service via Control Panel, Power Options, UPS. In all situations, you can safely keep this service set to Manual.

Universal Plug and Play Device Host; upnphost
Lets the computer perform UPnP announcements on behalf of noncomputer peripherals, such as a printer or a camera. The peripheral must provide the drivers and software to support UPnP; in mid-2002 such devices are virtually nonexistent. It is probably safe to keep this service set to Manual until vendors start to use this feature.

Volume Shadow Copy; VSS
Manages the volume shadow, a feature of Windows XP that backup programs can use to take a snapshot and then back up volumes with open files. This service should be set to Manual.

WebClient; WebClient
Supports the Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) extensions for HTTP. It isn't likely that you use these, so we recommend setting this service to Manual.

Windows Audio; AudioSrv
Supports playing sounds. You should leave this service set to Automatic. You cannot stop the service from the Services console, which is a strong hint that it should always be running.

Windows Image Acquisition (WIA); stisvc
Provides support for scanners and cameras; not required unless you have one of these peripherals. You can keep the service set to Manual, and Windows will start it if necessary.

Windows Installer; MSIServer
Supports installation, repair, and removal of applications that use Windows Installer (.msi) files. The service can be set to Manual, and Windows will start it when needed.

Windows Management Instrumentation; winmgmt
Provides information about the system configuration to third-party applications and in some cases to Windows itself. This service, part of the plumbing of Windows, should remain set to Automatic.

Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions; Wmi
Supplies an interface to the driver, if you have installed a driver that provides Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) functionality. By default, this service is set to Manual, and you can keep it that way.

Windows Time; W32Time
Provides time synchronization services. Settings for this service are housed in Control Panel, Date And Time, Internet Time. If you plan to set the time on a system manually, you can set this service to Manual. Otherwise, keep it set to Automatic.

Wireless Zero Configuration; WZCSVC
Supports automatic configuration of some brands of 802.11a/b wireless LAN cards. The documentation for your LAN card should indicate whether it uses Wireless Zero Configuration. If it does not, or if you do not have a wireless LAN, set this service to Manual.

WMI Performance Adapter; WmiApSrv
Implements performance counters as part of Windows Management Instrumentation. Keep this service set to Manual.

Workstation; lanmanworkstation
Makes network connections to other servers. Keep this service set to Automatic.

World Wide Web Publishing; w3svc
Provides Web server service, as part of IIS. If you have installed IIS, you should probably have this service set to Automatic so that it will run on startup. Otherwise, you should uninstall IIS.