Controlled Folder Access blocking OSprofileCollector

Hi Carl3397, and welcome to the forum

There is a legitimate program on my Windows 10 called OSProfileCollector.exe with the same file path you quote. I believe it is part of Dell Update. It is not listed in my Apps and Features either (but Dell Update is).

Windows Defender's "Controlled Folder Access" feature is meant to prevent files and folders being changed during a ransomware attack. Of course Dell Update when running will make changes to files and folders. It is likely that one of these changes was interpreted as a (false positive) attack by Windows Defender.

If your computer is otherwise behaving well, I think you can allow this app through.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

I'm curious if you have Control Folder Access enabled on your Dell?  Did you also encounter osprofilecollector.exe being blocked and had to allow the app through?

I'm wondering why I didn't see other people post about this problem?

Hi again.

I don't use Windows Defender (WD) for Win 10 as my antimalware/AV. It is disabled (but not uninstalled) automatically by my use of Malwarebytes 3 over the past 2 years. When I went into the WD settings, I found that Control Folder Access was indeed turned off, as you would expect for this module of a disabled WD. Which would explain why I did not see what you did. I am surprised that more folks did not report this glitch, given the widespread use of Dell Update. It is possible this was a false positive that was detected and corrected quickly.

As an aside, if this was a case of a false positive detection by WD, it does not change my positive opinion of WD in general. All AVs and antimalwares suffer from the occasional false positive detection, sometimes (rarely) with catastrophic results. I continue to recommend WD as an acceptable alternative to paid protection.

I guess it's ok:

http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-3386096/malwarebytes-windows-defender-time.html

Joe53,

Regarding false positives, I get multiple occurrences of osprofilecollector being blocked on a daily basis.

It is absolutely ok to use WD with Malwarebytes free. I did it for years.

As a general rule, one should avoid running 2 AVs or anti-malware programs in real-time (constantly running in the background) to avoid conflicts that actually can degrade protection. However Malwarebytes Free is an on-demand scanner that provides no real-time protection.

Yes, I reinstalled Windows 10 (clean install) which got rid of all Dell software.

This situation is now happening to me many, many times a day ever since dell updated umpteen times just before xmas. I am a novice who believes windows defender is competent enough to deal with malware and I use it alone. I have no idea what dell now wants to know about me/my laptop (it smells of spying) that it has never needed to know before and I don't care!  If I use "system restore" to take me back before these updates, will dell just annoy me all over again....? Advice welcomed please!

i have the same problem with my dell product that I bought one month before

Well here I am nearly four years later, and this just started today. I've had my Dell XP 15 for a little over a year, and it's never come up before. I followed Joe's great instructions from 

Thanks Robn for the feedback on an old issue.

Glad to see old advice is still of use.

Joe

*sigh* Ah well, I spoke too soon. It was ok for a couple of hours, and now it's back. Any other suggestions? I'm going to be finishing the steps in the MS instructions: 

 5. If you selected the Next button, the .NET Framework Repair Tool displays a dialog box like the following. Select the Finish button to send diagnostic information to Microsoft

I imagine I may hear something in a month or two...:-)

But Thanks Joe.

Robin