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I keep getting "Data Execution Prevention" error in Windows Live Messenger. I have noticed that this is happening usually when I leave computer to get coffee, and screensaver comes up, WLM breaks.

Is there any way to prevent this error from happening?

I see I can turn off this "Data Execution Prevention", but is that safe, since I know that WLM is under heavy attacks from spammers/hackers?

Thanks

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Do you use a virus-scanner? Have you tried to uninstall and re-install? Because the first thing that comes to mind is a corrupt exe of dll file. – Stijn Sanders Jul 20 '09 at 16:01
yes, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, but if I have to choose between reinstalling Kaspersky and not using WLM, I'd not use WLM :) since it's not my primary IM I only use it for some contacts. – Andrija Jul 20 '09 at 16:50
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2 Answers

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DEP prevents applications from running code from an unauthorized place in memory. There is Hardware enforced DEP and software enforced DEP. The DEP messenger has in place is basically exception handling which checks that the exception is code from within the program, and not malicious code elsewhere in memory. It is fine to disable this, it is not hackers trying to get into your computer.

Simply type this in command prompt to disable it and reboot:

bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff
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up vote 1 down vote

Does your system happen to be an Acer laptop with Vista? This appears to be a known issue according to this forum discussion, and a patch can be applied from here.

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no, it's on dektop PC with Vista, not branded PC – Andrija Jul 20 '09 at 16:44
The root cause doesn't appear to be consistent through all the web searching I've done. There are those that require registry changes, downgrading to an earlier MSN Messenger version, etc., but most of the posts point to an issue with Acer systems and Vista. – Isxek Jul 20 '09 at 19:11
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