WINDOWS SERVICE
wscsvc: Security Center
Monitors and reports the security health settings of the PC: firewall, antivirus, antispyware, Windows Update, User Account Control and internet settings. Microsoft documents that security products register their state with it, and that the Windows Security app reads the PC's protection status through it.
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
| Service name | wscsvc |
|---|---|
| Display name | Security Center |
| Runs from | C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe |
| Command line | svchost.exe -k LocalServiceNetworkRestricted -p |
| Runs as | LocalService |
| Verdict | Leave it alone |
Paths, signer and service account observed on Windows 11 build 26300 on 11 November 2026. Run the commands below to check your own PC.
Should you touch it?
Leave it aloneMicrosoft's guidance for Windows 10 and 11 IoT Enterprise rates it Don't disable, and Microsoft notes that disabling the services behind Windows Security leaves the PC in a lowered protection state, even with a third-party antivirus. Windows registers it as a protected service.
What PC Tweaker does with it
PC Tweaker does not change this service. No control in the catalogue stops it, disables it or edits its start type.
Check it yourself
See its state and start type
PowerShellGet-Service wscsvc | Format-List Name, DisplayName, Status, StartType sc qc wscsvc
Common questions
What does the wscsvc service do?
Monitors and reports the security health settings of the PC: firewall, antivirus, antispyware, Windows Update, User Account Control and internet settings. Microsoft documents that security products register their state with it, and that the Windows Security app reads the PC's protection status through it. It runs C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe (svchost.exe -k LocalServiceNetworkRestricted -p) as LocalService.
Can I disable wscsvc?
Leave it alone. Microsoft's guidance for Windows 10 and 11 IoT Enterprise rates it Don't disable, and Microsoft notes that disabling the services behind Windows Security leaves the PC in a lowered protection state, even with a third-party antivirus. Windows registers it as a protected service.
Does disabling Security Center turn off Microsoft Defender?
No. Microsoft states that these services do not affect the state of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, and that disabling or modifying them does not disable it: it leads to a lowered protection state, even if you use a third-party antivirus product.
How do I check that it is the real service?
On Windows 11 build 26300 it ran in its own svchost.exe -k LocalServiceNetworkRestricted -p process as LocalService and loaded C:\Windows\System32\wscsvc.dll, signed by Microsoft Windows. It depends on RpcSs, and sc qprotection wscsvc reports the protection level Windows light.