How to remove an afd error

Afd.sys is a Windows driver. A driver is a small software program that allows your computer to communicate with hardware or connected devices. This means that a driver has direct access to the internals of the OS, hardware etc.
The free file information forum can help you determine if afd.sys belonging to the Windows system or an application you can trust.

Run a free scan to check for afd drivers in need of updating

Afd.sys file information

The process known as Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock or AFD belongs to software Microsoft Windows Operating System or Ancillary Function Driver for Winsock or AFD Networking Support Environment or Omgeving voor AFD-netwerkondersteuning or Ancilliary Function Driver for Winsock by Microsoft (www.microsoft.com).

Description: afd.sys is located in the folder C:\Windows\System32\drivers. Known file sizes on Windows 7/XP are 138,496 bytes (85% of all occurrences), 131,968 bytes and 6 more variants.
The driver can be started or stopped from Services in the Control Panel or by other programs. Afd.sys is a Windows core system file. The program has no visible window. File afd.sys is a trustworthy file from Microsoft. afd.sys seems to be a compressed file. Therefore the technical security rating is 0% dangerous, however also read the users reviews.

Recommended: Identify afd.sys related errors

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as afd.sys, particularly when located in the c:\windows or c:\windows\system32 folder. Therefore, you should check the afd.sys process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

Score

User Comments

Adress F61E67FC

My MP4 device couldn't connect to my computer
Asmerom

obviously it works in kernel mode, and its a TDI Client.
Himanshu Pareek (further information)

keeps making a blue screen show on my laptop running vista
pete

its bloody important
manglah (further information)

knowledge base
andreas

unless it is new from MS, i do not trust it as an experienced computer user having not seen it before am vary.
AD

It's a system kernel driver, aka "AFD Networking Support Environment" and is part of the Windows TCP/IP stack, supporting socket operations. Some versions of Windows apparently exhibit a memory leak with this driver (link: http://dn.codegear.com/article/30362) and, while Windows diagnostics reports that it does accept the "stop" command...it's probably best to understand its role first. See "link for more info's", i.e., "How To: Harden the TCP/IP Stack." My advice? Don't mess with it, unless you know *exactly* what you're doing.
Kirk M. Schafer (further information)

This is one of three dependencies for the DHCP service. If the file goes missing, DHCP will fail to start. Some infections may corrupt the file. Errors like RPC server is unavailable when trying to renew the systems IP address via DHCP. You can simply replace the adf.sys file from another system running the same OS and Service Pack.
David

If you are running a Network Using DHCP, you need this Driver to do it. The DHCP Service on a Domain Controller Depends on AFD
NA

it works with ie, i remove it and my ie was not working
Donavon Simonette

It crashes windows 7 RC1
vincent

network driver

AFD.sys is a Windows-integrated file. Windows will crash without it.
stopspyware.eu (further information)

Required component for WS2_32 operation
Matt

Its needed for proper DHCP and TCP/IP operation
CEC

David's advice worked for me; used the copy in winnt\system32\dllcache. Don't know for certain, but the original might've been damaged by a Trojan from a web site.
Bob

Virus/trojan trapped by AVG software but the "fix" left me with a corrupt winsock interface. Tried everything; netsh, winsockfix, etc. No good. Per this thread, ran a binary compare (fc.exe) and found the afd.sys files differed between system and dllcache. Restored the system32 version and problems solved. Thanks!
Mark

Threat W/32...
Niel

my virus protection said it was a root kit and everything choked.I ran a scan got new driver now everything is flying fast
dave

It is used for winsock and a dummy driver in its place crashes even if you don't use winsock.
Robert Arkenin

Summary: Average user rating of afd.sys: based on 21 votes with 21 reviews.

13 users think afd.sys is essential for Windows or an installed application. 3 users think it's probably harmless. 2 users suspect danger. 3 users think afd.sys is dangerous and recommend removing it. 4 users doesn't grade afd.sys ("not sure about it").

Afd scanner

Security Task Manager shows all running Windows tasks including embedded hidden functions (e.g. keyboard or browser monitoring, autostart entry). A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware, keylogger or a Trojan.

MalwareBytes detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, malware and tracking threats from your hard disk. Ideal supplement to Security Task Manager.

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