and Winsock providers (Winsock LSPs). In each Explorer, every element is rated as either "Known", "Unknown" or "Potentially Unwanted". The first and last categories carry a link to learn more about the particular item, and the second category invites users to submit the program to Microsoft SpyNet for analysis by community members. The Software Explorer feature has been removed from Windows Defender in Windows 7. Notification of startup programs that run as an administrator Windows Defender in Windows Vista automatically blocks all startup items that require administrator privileges to run (this is considered suspicious behavior for a startup item). This automatic blocking is related to the User Account Control functionality in Windows Vista, and requires users to manually run each of these startup items each time they log in if they desire the item to run at startup. Conversion to antivirus Windows Defender was released with Windows Vista and Windows 7, serving as their built-in anti-spyware component. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Defender was superseded by Microsoft Security Essentials, an antivirus product from Microsoft which provided protection against a wider range of malware. Upon installation, Microsoft Security Essentials disabled and replaced Windows Defender. In Windows 8, Microsoft upgraded Windows Defender into an antivirus program very similar to Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 and using the same virus definition updates. Microsoft Security Essentials itself does not run on Windows versions beyond 7. In Windows 8 and Windows 10, Windows Defender is on by default. It switches itself off upon installation of a third-party anti-virus package. Windows Server 2016 was the first version of Windows Server to include Windows Defender. UI changes Until Windows 10 version 1703, Windows Defender had a dedicated GUI similar to Microsoft Security Essentials. Additionally, Windows Security and Maintenance tracked the status of Windows Defender. With the first release of Windows 10, Microsoft removed the "Settings" dialog box from Windows Defender's GUI in favor of a dedicated page in the Settings app. Then, in the 1703 update, Microsoft tried to merge both Windows Defender's GUI and Windows Security and Maintenance into a unified UWP app called Windows Defender Security Center (WDSC). Users could still access original GUI by alternative methods, until the 1803 update, which saw the UI removed altogether. The Security and Maintenance app, however, was never removed. With the release of Windows Server 2016, Microsoft introduced a Defender module for PowerShell, which allows