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What is secdrv?

The genuine secdrv.sys file is a software component of SafeDisc Digital Rights Management by .
"Secdrv.sys", a driver created by Macrovision, (now part of TiVo Corporation, formerly Rovi), was formerly included in Windows operating systems for use of CDs/DVDs published using SafeDisc Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. SafeDisc and its competitor SecuROM were intended to limit piracy (unauthorized copies), mainly of computer games used on Windows machines. SafeDisc went through 4 different technological versions. It was used in 40% of discs in 2004, which decreased until in 2008 only a few games used Version 4. "Secdrv.sys" resided in "C:\Windows\System32\drivers" and validated the digital signature created on the medium by SafeDisc in the first 10-20 seconds of use. In September 2015, Microsoft excluded "secdrv.sys" from Windows 10 and disabled it via updates in Vista, Win7 and Win8 because of well-known security vulnerabilities, but provided workarounds to reactivate it. Rovi Corporation, based in San Carlos, CA, USA, took TiVo's name after acquiring it in 2016.

SecDRV stands for Secure Digital Rights Validator

Secdrv.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 operating system, hardware etc. The free file information forum can help you determine if secdrv.sys is a Windows system file or if it belongs to an application that you can trust.

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

Secdrv.sys file information

The process known as Macrovision SECURITY Driver or Security Driver belongs to software Macrovision SECURITY Driver or Security Driver or Security Windows NT/2K/XP or Security Windows NT by Macrovision Corporation, Macrovision Europe Limited, and Macrovision Japan and Asia K.K (www.macrovision.com) or Macrovision Europe (www.macrovision.com).

Description: Secdrv.sys is not essential for Windows and will often cause problems. Secdrv.sys is located in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder. Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 20,480 bytes (67% of all occurrences), 11,376 bytes and 9 more variants. file.net/process/secdrv.sys.html 
The driver can be started or stopped from Services in the Control Panel or by other programs. The program has no visible window. Secdrv.sys is not a Windows system file. There is no detailed description of this service. It is a trustworthy file from Microsoft. secdrv.sys appears to be a compressed file. Therefore the technical security rating is 20% dangerous, but you should also take into account the user reviews.

Recommended: Identify secdrv.sys related errors

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as secdrv.sys. Therefore, you should check the secdrv.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

As far as I know, you wouldn't miss it until you put in a game cd. You would then realize how important it is. The copy protection program by Macrovision Safe disk. The last security update by Microsoft update took it off and now any game new or old requiring a cd in the cd rom drive will NOT RUN!!!!!!!!!!!
  Computor users everywhere  
On Windows 7 Forums i had learned this. It is a file for authenticating games and is a known cause of Blue Screens.
  RingAnimated  
The driver, secdrv.sys, is used by games which use Macrovision SafeDisc. The driver validates the authenticity of games that are protected with SafeDisc and prohibits unauthorized copies of such games to play on Windows. The secdrv.sys is included with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista to increase compatibility of the games on Windows. Without the driver, games with SafeDisc protection would be unable to play on Windows. SafeDisc remains inactive until invoked by a game for authorization to play on Windows.
  What is secdrv.sys?   (further information)
Macrovison is NOT safedisc. Guys need to get their facts straigt. Macrovision is a DRM driver that prevents playback and recording of copyrighted movies on analog video devices via computer.
   
Macrovision-Malware
  uwe   (further information)
It's a standard shipping component from XP onwards and it's basically a shim to make Macrovision's SafeDisc system work with these OSes. It is not unsafe, per se, a vulnerability which exploited it (and required logon access anyway) has long since been fixed and it doesn't interfere with your system beyond being part of 'protecting' certain software.
  Gaidheal  
It did came as a result of game instalation and yeah it is part of the safe disk cd protection sys rated it dangerous because for some reason it doesn't alow my avast 5 to properly start (starts with all real time protection disabled)
  grraf  
it is added with some EA games (i found the file on the installation CD!!!)
   
More comments can be found here:
    (further information)

Summary: Average user rating of secdrv.sys: based on 98 votes with 9 user comments. 25 users think secdrv.sys is essential for Windows or an installed application. 4 users think it's probably harmless. 18 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. 25 users suspect danger. 26 users think secdrv.sys is dangerous and recommend removing it. 6 users don't grade secdrv.sys ("not sure about it").


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Best practices for resolving secdrv issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with secdrv. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc /scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.

To get your computer running as fast as it did on day one, you can 8reset your PC. Your personal files will remain intact, but any programs you installed will need to be reinstalled.

To help you analyze the secdrv.sys process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. A good Bantivirus software detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.



Other processes

secdrv.sys [all]