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Q: How do you unpin a program from the start menu when there is no option in the program itself to not run at startup?  Specifically, in Windows Vista, Windows Defender starts up automatically?  I run Cox Security Suite with McAfee and Defender is redundant.  I would like to uninstall Defender, since on startup it now generates an error “Application failed to initialize: 0x800106ba”, but there is no option to in the Add/Remove menu to uninstall.  I guess that’s two questions.  I really enjoy your column and the information is invaluable. 

– Chuck K.
Niceville, FL

A: Actually, Chuck, not to pick nits, but I counted at least three questions.  That’s okay, though, because hopefully by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll have the answers to all three, and maybe one or two more that you didn’t even ask.

I think you’re mixing terminology when you say “unpin a program from the start menu”.  When a program is pinned, it merely means that it is prominently placed in the menu, outside the “All Programs” submenu, for easy access.  That does NOT mean it auto-starts.  However, to answer the question, you can unpin a program from the Start menu by right-clicking the Start Menu entry, and selecting “Unpin from Start Menu”.

Windows Defender starts automatically, not because it’s pinned to the menu, but because it is programmed to do so.  Before I tell you how to program it NOT to start, let me just say that I personally don’t believe you can have too much (i.e. “redundant”) protection from malware – every line of defense is a good line of defense, so long as your memory and CPU speed will support it.  Please consider that before you decide to disable Windows Defender.  If you still want to disable it, you can do so by scrolling down within Defender to the “Administrator Options” section and unchecking the button that says “Use Windows Defender.”

If you’d rather fix Windows Defender than uninstall it, Microsoft has an article in their knowledge base that deals with the exact error message you’re getting.  Check out http://tinyurl.com/2qwzja.

By the way, the reason there’s no uninstall option for Windows Defender on your system is that you’re running Vista.  Defender is a part of the operating system in Vista, therefore it was never “installed” – it was always there.  Thanks for the compliment, by the way – it’s always nice to hear directly from readers that you’re actually getting something out of the column!

TIP OF THE WEEK: In a recent column, I recommended going to CNet’s website to download a particular registry cleaning program.  One user had problems with the download, and upon investigating, I noticed that at the top of the page (and almost all pages on CNet) was a banner ad with a big button that said “Start Download”.  Please be aware that the CNet download link is not in a banner ad, but is partway down the page, accompanied by the words “Download Now” in blue, and “Tested spyware free”.  Like all things on the internet, you need to be aware of exactly what you’re clicking on, or you may get unexpected results.