I have created a Windows service that will run an exe file periodically to check for files on an FTP site, process any that are found, enter data into an SQL database and print a label to a local printer.
Currently we are running Windows XP Professional but if we moved to Vista (or Windows 7) would the increased security prevent my service from functioning? We do not have any Vista machines available so testing is a problem.
The service uses the Local System account and reads from the registry for the trigger period and exe to call. I understand the exe runs in the same level as the service so no user interaction is generated to the screen. We use a label printer connected to a USB port and I know this works on XP even before a user has logged in.
The short answer is probably ‘no’ (it does not), but I don’t think that posting a question on SO will eliminate the need for testing your application (especially since the long answer is of course ‘it depends’ – on the security configuration and other software, hardware firewall, etc etc).