Is Data Execution Prevention (DEP) to be recommended?

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While idly looking through System Properties panel I discovered Data Execution Prevention (DEP) about which I know almost nothing.  It is set to the default “Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only”.

(My computer’s processor supports hardware-based DEP)

My question is: Should I change it to “Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:”, and if so what type of programs should I list in the exclusion box?

Many thanks

Keith

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I always turn DEP on for all programs as part of any feature upgrade. I have been doing this since Windows 7.

It has not caused any problems, ever. I figure if there is a problem with some app trying to execute a data area, I want to know (via fault if needed).

 

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If you run some 32 bit applications, old games… you better turn DEP off.

More about DEP :

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-xp/disable-turn-off-dep-windows/

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Data Execution Prevention.
If a program (programming error bug in legitimate code; malicious intrusion) takes a ‘wild branch’ to a portion of memory that contains data (not intended to be executable code) … that is not good. If one is fortunate, the data that are being executed will cause an Operation Exception (bad Op Code), and crash the program. Less fortunate is when the ‘data’ appears to be legitimate, but which when executed causes subsequent havoc. Early computer programs were rife with these errors. My guess is that the referenced 32-bit programs were not properly written, and included intentional branches to ‘data’, which data had been created by the program with the intention of its being executed.

JC Zorkoff’s post is right on. Thus …
DEP is goodness ‘unless proven otherwise’. I have it On for everything except for one 1990’s program – and I don’t remember why I excepted that one.

1 user thanked author for this post.

rog7

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