Anything like WinPatrol?

[anonymous]

Hi, I loved WinPatrol, but I think I finally need to stop using the old thing. Is there any program out there that is comparable?

Thanks,

Rick

[BATcher]

Two questions:

1. why did you get WinPatrol in the first place, and does it still do what you want?
2. why do you want to get rid of it now?

BATcher

Data is not the plural of anecdote...

[Elly]

WinPatrol takes a snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you to any changes that may have occurred without your knowledge. It was a pioneer in using a heuristic behavioral approach to detecting attacks and violations of your computing environment,and provided an easy tabbed interface that allowed exploration deep inside your machine without having to be a computer expert.

WinPatrol appears to have been abandoned, with no updates since 2017.

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

2 users thanked author for this post.

SueW, Cybertooth

[anonymous]

Yes, WinPatrol was a WONDERFUL program and was part of my arsenal for keeping my laptop running for 10 years. But as mentioned above, it has been abandoned for a long time with no updates.

Nonetheless, I have used it on my computer up till now, fearing that it is just too old and may have something to do with recent freezing. Just ordered a new laptop, and will not install it. Was hoping that there might be a comparable (up to date) program.

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

Elly

[ScotchJohn]

I too regret that WinPatrol has not been supported since 2017, but it still earns its place on my computer for what it does in alerting me to changes.  It appears to make only minor demands upon my system.  I’ll go on using it, unlike those two “brand extensions” Anti-Ransom and Firewall (was Privacy), which were of little worth.

I see they are still selling these products; I don’t know which is more surprising, that they are still selling them, or that folks are buying them.  And they seem to have turned into subscription ware.

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

[WSbellboy]

I too have had Scotty on Patrol on my computer for several years and it still does all I require. I think I will keep it until it starts doing something unusual or fails to notify me when something is amiss.

[MikeyD215]

Win Patrol was developed originally by Bill Patovlany and sold through his company BillP Studios. Sometime prior to 2017 I have the recollection that Bill, or some family member,  was having some health problems and he subsequently retired and sold the company, which now goes by the WinPatrol moniker. Bill’s delightful blog seems to have disappeared into thin air.

I quite agree that it still is a very useful program, but it is also true that it is not being updated, although it continues to be available and is compatible with WIN 10–at least through my 1903 update. Too bad, it really does warn the user any time there is an attempt to install anything or uninstall something, including critical WIN files. I have been using WP for as long as I can remember, but am at a complete loss as to where I learnt about it. Maybe from Woody or Brian back in the “old days?”

[WSPerrorist]

I’ve been a longtime user of WinPatrol. It works well and I see no reason not to continue using it.

[anonymous]

I have been using WP for years and was dissapointed to learn when I tried to reregister as a paid user that it is no longer supported. However, with that said, the program, even as old as it is, still catches registry and startup changes which I may or may not have authorized. Like some of the above posters, I see no reason to remove it from my computer. I am running the latest W10 with all updates as well as paid Malwarebytes along with Windows Defender. So far, so good.

Sherm

[Klaatu]

Site states, “We’ve already begun work on the next release of WinPatrol.  This is going to be a major upgrade containing upgrades to existing features and some exciting features.”  Appears whoever wrote that is a bit ethically-challenged.  I’m another long-time user.

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[vlaslow]

You might take a look at Glasswire (Glasswire.com). While it doesn’t have the immediacy of WinPatrol, it does tell you when a never before seen program has been been run for the first time, amount of data being sent/received and by what programs, and other data.

I find it to be complimentary to what WinPatrol does.

[oblivion]

As many others here, I’m both still using WinPatrol and disappointed in the new owners apparent abandonment of it.

I have even emailed Bret Lowry (I think!) to ask about WP’s future but, perhaps unsurprisingly, got no response.

I do recall Bill P, when he took the decision to retire, saying that he’d tried very hard to find a good home for Scotty. I imagine he must feel very let down, as WinPatrol was very much his “baby”.

He had another great product too, Task Catcher, that would monitor running programs and restart anything that the user had said should always be running – so if you had both TC and WP, you could ensure that nothing malicious had terminated WP behind your back. Simple, effective and again it’d be good to find a supported equivalent.

[sb06794]

For those that have found this webpage looking for information about WinPatrol, I found these two links which have historical interest:

1. Bill Pytlovany still has a blog here: https://billpstudios.blogspot.com/  However, the latest posting is dated NOVEMBER 18, 2017.
2. In the above blog, he has an interesting history of WinPatrol here: https://billpstudios.blogspot.com/2012/11/long-history-of-winpatrol-15-years-old.html?m=1 dated November 21, 2012.

I’ve been using WinPatrol for many, many years, dating back to Windows XP.  It still is working without problems for me.  However, if it does start causing problems, I will sadly retire it.

[Author]

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