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Even if you have other security software installed, SmartScreen can protect you from something your main security program might miss. We do not recommend this, though! SmartScreen is a useful security feature that can help protect your PC from malware. If it is deemed safe, Windows launches the application or file normally. Windows launches it if it isn’t already running and you’ll see it use a bit of CPU and memory resources as it computes a hash of the file, sends that to Microsoft’s servers, and waits for a response to see if the file is safe. However, if you have SmartScreen enabled and you download a new application or file, SmartScreen kicks into gear. Windows may automatically close the process at times when it isn’t being used, so you may not even always see it running in the background. You may see it hovering at 0% CPU and just a few megabytes of memory used in the Task Manager. Most of the time, the SmartScreen process sits in the background and uses almost no system resources. Having a security system with multiple layers helps keep your PC safer, even if you use another antivirus program and a web browser with its own anti-malware features. SmartScreen is just another layer of security in addition to Windows Defender, which is represented by the Antimalware Service Executable process on your PC. RELATED: What Is 'Antimalware Service Executable' and Why Is It Running on My PC? It helps even if you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as your browser, or download the files with another application. However, the operating system SmartScreen process helps protect you no matter what application you use to download files.

This service is also used in Microsoft Edge and Store apps to block malicious web content.

If it hasn’t been seen before and Windows isn’t sure whether it’s safe, Windows prevents the app from starting and warns you it may be dangerous, but lets you bypass this warning. If it’s been seen before and is known to be dangerous malware, SmartScreen blocks it. If the file has been seen before and is known to be safe-for example, if you download the installer for Chrome or iTunes-SmartScreen will allow it to run. Whenever you download an application or file, the SmartScreen filter checks it against a Microsoft database. SmartScreen was added for Windows 8, and it’s been improved in Windows 10. RELATED: How the SmartScreen Filter Works in Windows 8 and 10

Windows protected your pc microsoft defender smartscreen