IPsec Policy Agent - Windows Vista Service
Internet Protocol security (IPsec) supports network-level peer authentication, data origin authentication, data integrity, data confidentiality (encryption), and replay protection. This service enforces IPsec policies created through the IP Security Policies snap-in or the command-line tool "netsh ipsec". If you stop this service, you may experience network connectivity issues if your policy requires that connections use IPsec. Also,remote management of Windows Firewall is not available when this service is stopped.
This service also exists in Windows 10, 11, 7, 8 and XP.
Startup Type
| Windows Vista edition | without SP | SP1 | SP2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Manual | Manual | Manual |
| Home Basic | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Home Premium | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Business | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Ultimate | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
Default Properties
| Display name: | IPsec Policy Agent |
| Service name: | PolicyAgent |
| Type: | share |
| Path: | %WinDir%\system32\svchost.exe -k NetworkServiceNetworkRestricted |
| File: | %WinDir%\System32\ipsecsvc.dll |
| Error control: | normal |
| Object: | NT Authority\NetworkService |
| Privileges: |
|
Default Behavior
The IPsec Policy Agent service starts as NT Authority\NetworkService and runs in a shared process of svchost.exe. If IPsec Policy Agent fails to start, the error is recorded into the Event Log. Windows Vista startup proceeds, but a message box is displayed informing you that the PolicyAgent service has failed to start.
Dependencies
The IPsec Policy Agent service won't start, if the following system components are stopped or disabled:
Restore Default Startup Type of IPsec Policy Agent
Automated Restore
1. Select your Windows Vista edition and Service Pack, and then click on the Download button below.
2. Save the RestoreIPsecPolicyAgentWindowsVista.bat file to any folder on your hard drive.
3. Right-click the downloaded batch file and select Run as administrator.
4. Restart the computer to save changes.
Note. Make sure that the ipsecsvc.dll file exists in the %WinDir%\System32 folder. If this file is missing you can try to restore it from your Windows Vista installation media.