Add Microsoft Security Essentials icon to Control Panel

Adding an icon to Control Panel manually using Registry Editor

The Microsoft Security Essentials applet, is not in the Control Panel by default so we can add it.

1. To add any item to Control Panel, you need to know the full command line/path of the command you are adding.

2. To begin, you will first need to install Microsoft Security Essentials on your computer.

3. For every item you add to Control Panel, you need a unique GUID/CLSID. Class IDs for hundreds of ActiveX objects are stored in the Windows Registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ key. If the command you want to add does not have a GUID, then we can generate it.

4. Download GUIDEN.exe (Win7 version) and run it. It is a self-extracting, compressed exe. Extract it to any path such as a folder on the Desktop and click OK to continue.

5. Open the folder where you extracted it and run GUIDGEN.exe. Select 'Registry Format' and click Copy, so it will be copied to the Clipboard.



6. Now open the Registry Editor and go to this key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID

7. Right click the CLSID key -> New -> Key and paste the name of the key you copied in step 5 here by pressing Ctrl+V. The resulting key should be:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8B037CCD-1617-4669-BA65-C5BE50701AAE}

8. Now with the key you created {8B037CCD-1617-4669-BA65-C5BE50701AAE}, in the left pane, double click the (Default) value in the right pane. Type the name of the item as you want it to appear in Control Panel - Security Essentials.

9. Create another string value in the right pane and give it the name "InfoTip". Type the description you want to see as the tooltip when you hover over that item.



10. Now, right click the {8B037CCD-1617-4669-BA65-C5BE50701AAE} key in the left pane and create another key called DefaultIcon. In the (Default) value of DefaultIcon key, enter the path to the icon you wish to use for the Control Panel item you are adding - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\eppmanifest.dll



11. Right click the {8B037CCD-1617-4669-BA65-C5BE50701AAE} key in the left pane again and create another new key called Shell. Right click the Shell key and create a new 'subke'y called Open. Finally, right click the Open key and create a key called Command.

12. With the Command key selected, type the path to the Control Panel item that you wish to add - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\msseces.exe



13. Finally go to the Registry key where we must add this GUID so Windows knows that it must show in the Control Panel.

Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\

14. Right click the Namespace key -> New -> Key. Enter or copy-paste the GUID as this key's name.
In this example, the key created will be:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\{8B037CCD-1617-4669-BA65-C5BE50701AAE}
The Default key on the right, double-click and type Security Essentials