Cannot install DU Meter: Base Filtering Engine (BFE) is not installed properly

What is Base Filtering Engine?

Base Filtering Engine Service (BFE) is a service that controls the operation of the Windows Filtering Platform. Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) is a network traffic processing platform that allows software to "hook" into Windows networking stack. DU Meter depends on BFE for network traffic accounting, and will display an error if BFE is not working properly.

Why BFE is missing or disabled on my computer?

There are viruses/trojans that disable and remove the BFE service as a first step in the infection process. Some popular antiviruses can stop the infection, but cannot prevent or revert the deletion of BFE service.

How to restore Base Filtering Engine

There is no Microsoft-approved way to reinstall this service. Your options are:

  1. System Restore - Roll back to a previous restore point when this service was still working
  2. Reset Windows - Use Windows Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC
  3. Reinstall Windows - Clean installation will restore all system services

For legacy systems (Windows 7/Vista), our 2012 blog post describes a manual registry-based fix, though this approach is not recommended for modern Windows versions.

Common issues