Why Would a Security Product Interfere with Windows Task Scheduler?

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One day, you look in the Windows Task Scheduler and see the message:

The selected task “{0}” no longer exists.  To see the current tasks click Refresh

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Well after you click OK and then click Refresh, you are still missing that task.  And Windows is really great about not informing you of what that task is.

Other articles on the Internet suggest going through the actual Tasks folder to determine where the disconnect is.  I think I have an easier solution for anyone using a Symantec security product, particularly the Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (also known as Symantec.cloud).

Open an elevated command prompt and issue the following commands:

cd \
cd program files\symantec.cloud\antivirus
avagent –SHOW_UI

The GUI will be displayed. (Norton Internet Security users simply open the product.)  Depending on your version, the screen’s appearance may differ from the one shown below (which is from NIS 21.5.0.19)

Click on Settings, and select the General tab.

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When you click the question mark to the right of the Idle Time Optimizer, you see the web page that explains that this “feature” automatically defragments the hard drive when the user is inactive for a period of time.

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I find this too pretentious for words.  If I have set a disk defragment schedule on my computer, or any of my clients’ computers, I fully expect those schedules will be maintained and adhered to.  I certainly don’t expect my security software to come along and interfere with them.  Even worse, is the error message that ends up being displayed as a result of Symantec’s change.

So, turn off the Idle Time Optimizer.  Click OK to apply.  Close the GUI, and the command prompt.

After you turn off this setting, click the Windows Start button, type “defrag” (without the quotes) in the Search bar to launch the Windows Defragmenter.  Change any one of your existing settings to force the entry back into the Task Scheduler.   You can reset the minor change immediately, and then close the Defragmenter.

Now, go back to the Task Schedule and see that there is no error message.

There you have it, an amazingly simple solution to a vexing (and stupidly annoying) error message.

Your Firefox Search Results Have Changed Without Your Knowing It

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On December 1, 2014, Mozilla released Firefox 34. The major change with this release was the deal the organization struck with Yahoo to place that search companies’ product as the default search engine, displacing Google, which had been the search engine for years.

If you use Google as your home page, and you conduct searches from there, you will not see any difference. However, if you search using either the Address bar or the Search bar (located to the right of the Address bar), you are now using Yahoo to perform your search. That is, unless you change your search providers.

Here’s how to do just that. Click to the immediate right of the magnifying glass in the Search bar. You should see a menu option appear underneath titled, “Change Search Settings.” Click that option and the following window appears:

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In the search preferences window, select a default search engine in the drop-down menu.

Then, add or remove the check mark next to “Provide search suggestions” to turn them on or off.

In the lower half of the window, remove the check mark next to each search engine you don’t want to use. This will keep them in the list of available search engines if you decide later that you want to use them. But, if you simply don’t want to use any one of the listed entries, check each one and click the Remove button.

When you are finished, click OK.

If, at any point, you think you may have made a mistake, you can click the Restore Default Search Engines button to bring the list back. It will still be up to you to select the search engines you want to use.

To find out more, click the Help button.

More Windows 7 Tips

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I have seen it time and time again. A client has a Windows desktop that is completely covered with dozens of icons — a veritable sea of Word, Excel, and Adobe reader files. I often ask, “How do you find what you need?” And the response I get is that it takes a while, but they know where something is (eventually).

Would you like to be a little more organized than that? If so, then I suggest you try these two built-in features of Windows 7 to help you:

  • Jump Lists
  • Pin program to Start Menu

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