3cdminic

3CDMINIC.exe

(3Com)

3Com DMI Agent (DMI = Desktop Management Interface).  This task is installed when you install the full driver suite for many 3Com network cards – it runs as a background task on Windows 9x/ME and as a service on Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003.  This version of the 3Com DMI Agent allows any DMI management browser to access information about your 3Com network card such as the driver version, size and  statistics on number of packets sent, CRC receive errors, and much more.  DMI also enables your network card to be remotely configured for features such as Remote Wake Up, OS‑absent alerts, and the 3Com Managed PC Boot Agent.

Recommendation :
The main purpose of this task/service is to provide statistical and troubleshooting information to the Network Administrator in large organisations, particularly at times when there are network performance issues or application issues on parts of the network or on specific PCs .  Ironically, however, our recommendation is that if you are using Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 and you experience unexplained random illegal operations, access violation errors, or Dr Watson crashes, then this is one of the first services to set to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  when troubleshooting the problems !   While we have yet to come across error messages or data which emphatically points to  3CDMINIC  as the culprit, our empirical evidence seems to show that the crashes lessen or disappear altogether if this service is disabled.  Other than the above, if you are a home user with 3Com network cards, or you operate a small company network, you most probably will have no need for this task/agent, in which case you can either de‑install the  3Com DMI Agent  in the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel, or you can decide to initially simply disable the task on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter in Windows 9x/ME, or set the startup mode of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter in Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003  (look for the  3Com DMI Agent  service).  In all cases, if you are simply an end-user, you should consult your Network Administrator before  permanently  de-installing or disabling this task/service.

3dfxman

3dfxMan.exe

(3dfx Interactive Inc)

3dfx Tools Task Manager.  System Tray task installed by the drivers for 3dfx graphics cards, or Voodoo graphics cards from the Voodoo 3 onward.  It enables you to manipulate and configure the various features of your 3dfx/Voodoo graphics cards straight from the System Tray.

Recommendation :  
Down to end-user preference.  Unless you are a gamer, we recommend you disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter as you will rarely, if ever, make use of it and yet it adds to the clutter of the System Tray.

Aaar

Aaar.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Aasd

Aasd.exe
 

See   IWAR.

Acao

Acao.exe
 

See   IWAR.

Acbtnmgr_x63

Acbtnmgr_x73

Acbtnmgr_x83

AcBtnMgr_X63.exe

AcBtnMgr_X73.exe

AcBtnMgr_X83.exe

(Jetsoft for Lexmark)

Lexmark X63/X73/X83 Button Manager, also called  “Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program”.  System Tray icon for the Lexmark X63/X73/X83 multifunction printer/scanner/copier.  Through that icon you can access from your PC all the functions available on the control pad of your Lexmark X63/X73/X83 :  scan, scan to e‑mail, scan and fax, scan to OCR, copy, scanning resolution settings. 

Recommendation :  
Down to end-user preference.  This program is not strictly necessary for the proper operation of your Lexmark X63/X73/X83 as you can use most of the above features via the printer’s control panel.  However you need this System Tray program to scan to e-mail, fax, or OCR, and to change the machine’s defaults, such as the default scanning resolution, the email address to scan and e-mail to, etc...  Should you decide to disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, you can start it at any time via  “Start \ Programs \ Lexmark X63/X73/X83 \ Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program”.

Acbtnmgr_x84-x85

AcBtnMgr_X84-X85.exe

(Jetsoft for Lexmark)

Lexmark X84/X85 Button Manager, also called  “Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program”.  System Tray icon for the Lexmark X84/X85 multifunction printer/scanner/copier.  Through that icon you can access from your PC all the functions available on the control pad of your Lexmark X84/X85 :  scan, scan to e‑mail, scan and fax, scan to OCR, copy, scanning resolution settings. 

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  This program is not strictly necessary for the proper operation of your Lexmark X84/X85 as you can use most of the above features via the printer’s control panel.  However you need this System Tray program to scan to e-mail, fax, or OCR, and to change the machine’s defaults, such as the default scanning resolution, the email address to scan and e-mail to, etc…  Should you decide to disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, you can start it at any time via  “Start \ Programs \ Lexmark X84/X85 \ Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program”.

Acmonitor_x63

Acmonitor_x73

Acmonitor_x83

ACMonitor_X63.exe

ACMonitor_x73.exe

ACMonitor_x83.exe

(Jetsoft for Lexmark)

Lexmark X63/X73/X83 Button Monitor.  Background task installed by the drivers for the Lexmark X73 or X83 multifunction printer/scanner/copier.  This background task monitors the X63/X73/X83 for activity and interacts with  ACBTNMGR_X73/83  above for operations involving the PC (e.g. scan to e-mail).  Also, for large copy jobs it relays the current copy count back to  ACBTNMGR_X63/X73/X83  so you can view it on your PC.

Recommendation :  
In the main this task is necessary, so leave it alone.

Acmonitor_x84-x85

ACMonitor_X84-X85.exe

(Jetsoft for Lexmark)

Lexmark X84/X85 Button Monitor.  Background task installed by the drivers for the Lexmark X84 or X85 multifunction printer/scanner/copier.  This background task monitors the X84/X85 for activity and interacts with  ACBTNMGR_X84/85  above for operations involving the PC (e.g. scan to e-mail).  Also, for large copy jobs it relays the current copy count back to  ACBTNMGR_X84-X85  so you can view it on your PC.

Recommendation :  
In the main this task is necessary, so leave it alone.

Acsd

AolAcsDaemon1

Aolacsd

ACSd.exe

AOLacsd.exe

(AOL)

AOL Connectivity Service.  Background task introduced with version 9.0 of AOL and which supposedly reconnects you to AOL if you lose your connection while online.  It runs as a task in Win9x/ME, and as a service under WinNT4/2000/XP/2003.

Recommendation :  
At the time of writing, 15‑Dec‑2003, this task is an annoying feature of the latest AOL.  For a start the concept itself beggars belief since we cannot see how the task can check for loss of connection without constant pinging of a particular Internet address (be ready for ACSD firewall alerts!) – in short unnecessary traffic on your connection; the very sort of behaviour normally attributed to spyware !   But that is the least of the problems :  this task is responsible for boot-up errors on some PCs, constant autodials on boot-up of some PCs, it is incompatible with some programs on others (you have to terminate ACSD to use the programs without problems), on other PCs it uses inconsiderable amounts of memory for what its role is, on some Win2000/XP PCs we have found it running away with CPU resources and incredibly slow PCs as a result, and, worse, it stays around when you have deliberately closed your Internet connection.  This, in our opinion, is  TerribleWare !   Unfortunately, at the time of writing we do not have a solution to the problem :  even if you disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  on Win9x/ME, or set the service to manual on WinNT4/2000/XP/2003, opening AOL starts the task anyway.  Out of frustrations some users have reverted back to AOL 8.0.  The advice for those who stay with version 9.0 is that it is unthinkable that AOL will not eventually address the problem, so keep downloading those AOL updates whenever you are prompted by the software. 
Update (16-Jul-2004) :   from our records, sometime in March 2004 AOL finally fixed the worst problems with this task in AOL 9.0 Optimized and in the process gave it a new name too – AOLACSD.EXE.

Actionagent

ActionAgent.exe

(Dell)

Part of Dell’s OpenManage Client Instrumentation software which allows the user or system administrator to view, and sometimes set, various statistics, characteristics, configuration, and performance data of specific hardware components in your Dell PC.  This task/service is used to  set and reset  configuration parameters of a particular hardware item  (e.g. your network card).

Recommendation :
Such software is not critical to the good running of your PC, so you may decide to disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Windows 9x/ME,  or set the startup mode of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter in Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003.  Note :  if you are troubleshooting problems with your PC or server, then we strongly suggest that if you fail to home in on the cause of your problems, you should also try disabling this task/service during your investigations.

Ad-watch

Ad-Watch.exe

(Lavasoft Sweden)

There is no better description of Ad‑Watch (an option available only with the paid version of Ad-Aware) than Lavasoft’s own description :   “Ad‑Watch is a real time monitor add‑on included in the Ad‑Aware Plus  and  Ad‑Aware Professional  software programs.  It runs silently in the background, waiting for adware, spyware, and other parasites that may try to install themselves or modify your system.  While Ad‑Aware detects and cleans your system from known malware and advertising parasites, Ad‑Watch goes even further by catching these programs before they even integrate in your system.  If malware/parasites are detected, Ad‑Watch pops up, unloads the particular module and launches Ad‑Aware.  You can change the action taken by Ad‑Watch in the Preferences menu.”.

Recommendation :  
Down to end-user preference.  In our view, however, Ad-Watch should only be used by advanced users as they alone will be able to work out at all times which programs should be allowed to modify the Windows Registry, and which ones should not.  All other users, through insufficient technical knowledge of such issues and through insufficient experience in understanding all the consequences of a particular action, run the risk of preventing software that they actually need, from running properly or at all (even to the point of the much needed software running into intractable installation problems).  Should you want to, you can disable Ad‑Watch by going into Ad‑Aware, clicking  Settings,  then  Ad‑Watch,  and then unchecking  Load Ad‑Watch on Windows startup.

Addrbook

Addrbook.exe

(Novell)

Novell GroupWise Address Book.  This task appears when you first use the GroupWise Address Book and remains after you have closed the Address Book – the intention here is that the Address Book will open up quicker the next time you call it up.

Recommendation :  
If you have closed the GroupWise Address Book, and you are in the process of troubleshooting a problem, then terminate this task.  Otherwise leave it alone as it does speed up the opening of the Address Book the second time you use it.

Admillikeep

AdmilliKeep.exe

(???)

Trojan virus.  This virus first appeared on the scene in late December 2004 and at the time of writing, 17‑Jan‑2005, most antivirus programs do not pick it up as a problem yet.  We do not yet know how it gets picked up but, typically, the users who have been infected with it have consistently told us they  clicked on something they shouldn’t have !  This is a very strange pest as it both makes itself very easy to uninstall but impossibly difficult to stop !!   For example :  if you try to stop this program,  ADMILLIKEEP,  then its  “brother”,  ADMILLISERV,  restarts it, and vice versa.  Similarly, if you try to remove these from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  they get added back in immediately !

Recommendation :  
Get rid of this immediately :

1)   Restart your PC into Safe Mode by pressing  F8  continually after turning your PC ON till you get a menu where  “Safe Mode”  is one of the options  (if you are unable to start your PC into Safe Mode, then try the following in Normal Mode).

2)   Go to  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel and uninstall  Admilli Service  if you find it in there.

3)   Next, start  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and go to the  Startups  tab and for each instance of either  ADMILLIKEEP  or  ADMILLISERV, if they still exist, do the following :  right-click on it and choose  Delete from the hard disk the file that this Startup points to;  next, right-click on this entry again and this time choose  Delete this Startup entry.

5)   Click the big green  APPLY  button to make your changes stick.

6)   Reboot your PC into Normal Mode.

7)   Download  Ad-Aware  or  SpyBot  from our  Downloads  library and run it to eliminate all possible adware and spyware.

8)   Make sure you have an up-to-date reputable antivirus program and run a full virus scan on your PC.
 

Admilliserv

AdmilliServ.exe

(???)

Trojan virus.  This virus first appeared on the scene in late December 2004 and at the time of writing, 17‑Jan‑2005, most antivirus programs do not pick it up as a problem yet.  We do not yet know how it gets picked up but, typically, the users who have been infected with it have consistently told us they  clicked on something they shouldn’t have !   This is a very strange pest as it both makes itself very easy to uninstall but impossibly difficult to stop !!   For example :  if you try to stop this program,  ADMILLISERV,  then its  “brother”,  ADMILLIKEEP,  restarts it, and vice versa.  Similarly, if you try to remove these from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  they get added back in immediately !

Recommendation :  
Get rid of this immediately :

1)   Restart your PC into Safe Mode by pressing  F8  continually after turning your PC ON till you get a menu where  “Safe Mode”  is one of the options  (if you are unable to start your PC into Safe Mode, then try the following in Normal Mode).

2)   Go to  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel and uninstall  Admilli Service  if you find it in there.

3)   Next, start  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and go to the  Startups  tab and for each instance of either  ADMILLISERV  or  ADMILLIKEEP, if they still exist, do the following :  right-click on it and choose  Delete from the hard disk the file that this Startup points to;  next, right-click on this entry again and this time choose  Delete this Startup entry.

5)   Click the big green  APPLY  button to make your changes stick.

6)   Reboot your PC into Normal Mode.

7)   Download  Ad-Aware  or  SpyBot  from our  Downloads  library and run it to eliminate all possible adware and spyware.

8)   Make sure you have an up-to-date reputable antivirus program and run a full virus scan on your PC.
 

Adservice

ADService.exe

(Iomega)

Active Disk Service.  See  ADUSERMON  below.

Recommendation :
Disable on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Windows 95/98/ME,  or set the startup mode of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Advchk

Advchk.exe

(Symantec)

Advanced Tools Integrity Check.  This is purely a startup task which is included with Norton SystemWorks or Norton AntiVirus 2003 Professional.  This task checks, when your PC starts up, whether the Windows Registry or some of the crucial components of your Norton security software may have been compromised by a virus.  If the components all check OK, the PC continues, otherwise a warning is issued to the end-user.  Either way, the task terminates once it has done its job of checking the integrity of components.

Recommendation : 
Given the function of this startup task we classify it as essential as it ensures that you do not use security products which may have been stealthily compromised by a virus or Trojan task – Leave it alone therefore.  If, however, you experience startup problems with your PC, then you should disable this startup on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  as part of your troubleshooting experiments.

Aerr

Aerr.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Ahqtb

AHQtb.exe

(Creative Labs)

Audio HeadQuarters for SoundBlaster Live! Sound cards !!   In layman terms :  System Tray application installed with the drivers for Creative Labs’ SoundBlaster Live! Sound cards and which enables you to bring up that utility from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
There are many reported problems with AHQTB, from startup error to crashes under Windows XP.  If you absolutely want to start this application from the System Tray, then make sure you have the very latest updates and patches for your SoundBlaster Live! Software !   Otherwise we recommend strongly that you disable this item on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  since you can run it from  “Start \ Programs”.

Ahqtbu

AHQTbU.exe

(Creative Labs)

Audio Headquarters for SoundBlaster Live! Sound cards !!   In layman terms :  System Tray application installed with the drivers for Creative Labs’ SoundBlaster Live! Sound cards and which enables you to bring up that utility from the System Tray so you can set/unset various settings on your soundcard.

Recommendation :
There are many reported problems with AHQTB and AHQTBU, from startup error to crashes under Windows XP.  If you absolutely want to start this application from the System Tray, then make sure you have the very latest updates and patches for your SoundBlaster Live! Software !   Otherwise we recommend strongly that you disable this item on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter  since you can run it from  “Start \ Programs”.

Aim

AIM.exe

(AOL)

AOL Instant Messenger.  This is AOL’s own Internet chatting software, equivalent to MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, and many others.  You either have it currently open or minimized to the System Tray as an icon.

Recommendation :
As a startup item it is down to end‑user preference.  If you do not want AOL Instant Messenger started automatically, or if you do not use it at all and only have it there because it was installed by default when you installed AOL, then open AOL Instant Messenger and configure the preferences so that it does not start with Windows.

Alarmapp

AlarmApp.exe

(Palm)

System Tray background task which ensures that you get on your PC/laptop the alarms that you have either set in the Palm Desktop software, or that you set on your Palm organizer and then transferred to your PC through a hotsync.

Recommendation :
Essential if you want your Palm alarms notifying you when working on your PC.  You can enable/disable this option in the  “Tools \ Options \ Alarms”   tab in the Palm Desktop software, or through disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  This task has a history of problems (crashes, strange error messages, and worst, non-notification of alarms!!), particularly under Windows XP.  Most of those problems, however, were resolved in version 4.1 or later of the Palm Desktop software.  If you have version 4.1 or later of the Palm Desktop software and are experiencing problems with this task, do a hotsync to ensure both your PC and your Palm are in sync, then fully de-install the Palm software through the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel, delete this task from the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter (if it is still there), reboot your PC, re-install the latest version of the Palm Desktop software, re-hotsync with your Palm, and then set the options in the  “Tools \ Options \ Alarm”  tab in the Palm Desktop software to re-enable this task.  At the time of writing, 28‑Mar‑2004, this usually solves most problems associated with this task.

Amra

Amra.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Annclist

Annclist.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Announcement Listener task for Microsoft WebTV.   Microsoft WebTV was first introduced in Windows 98, and was also part of Windows Millennium.   At the time of writing however, 14‑Dec‑2003, Microsoft WebTV is an obsolete technology that has been superseded by Windows Media Player and Windows Media Streaming.

Recommendation :  
Unless you use Microsoft WebTV, disable or delete this task with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Aoldial

AOLDial.exe

(AOL)

Dialer introduced with AOL 9.0 Optimized and which enables you to connect to the Internet via AOL without first having to start your main AOL software and connect to your email.

Recommendation :  
The installation of AOL 9.0 Optimized automatically inserts the dialer as a startup item.  The problem with this is that not everyone necessarily wants to connect to the Internet immediately after turning the PC ON, and on PCs which use modem connections rather than broadband this task can not only add significantly to the boot-up time of the PC, but, worse, on some PCs, because of timing issues, it will give errors either on boot-up or on shutdown, or both.  On such PCs our recommendation is to disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and simply let your browser connect you when you decide to go onto the Internet.

Aolsp scheduler

AOLSP Scheduler.exe

(AOL)

AOL Spyware Protection task introduced with AOL 9.0 Optimized and which is AOL’s contribution to the anti‑spyware and anti‑adware movement.  Once a week this task scans the PC’s hard disk(s) for known spyware and adware.  You can modify the frequency of the scans within AOL 9.0 Optimized, and you can also turn it off altogether.

Recommendation :   
At the time of writing, 18-Jul-2004, we have some reservations about AOL Spyware Protection and our main reservation is that it is made by Aluria Software whose own anti-spyware offerings think, in some versions, at the time of writing, that our product, The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  is spyware and as a result prevent it from opening !!    Basically, unlike with antivirus software, we believe that most anti‑spyware programs are not yet safe enough to be run in the background and unattended.  Our reasons for this are that in this day and age of Internet enabled software, there are hundreds of  safe programs  out there which communicate over the Internet  legitimately  and which are not spyware.  Yet, from our experience and our research there are few anti‑spyware programs which are rigorous enough in their research to have a very high degree of accuracy in only ever targeting  known spyware programs and tasks  and  never  making guesses.  SpyBot is one such program in our opinion, but there are others.  Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Aluria Software’s anti‑spyware products are not products we would trust to run in the background and unattended.  The last thing you want is to find that a program that is important to you, and which is actually safe, has been incorrectly identified as spyware, and disabled, and you have no idea that that is what happened because it ran in the background and you did not check the results.  Our recommendation, therefore, is that you disable automatic spyware protection scanning within AOL, disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  and simply manually run the  AOL Spyware Protection  as necessary.  How often you should do this depends on how often you download and install from the Internet, how often you open emails from unknown sources, and whether you use file sharing programs such as KaZaA.  Note :  On 20‑Jul‑2004, the Director of Operations of Aluria Software swiftly acknowledged to us that Aluria Software was indeed incorrectly identifying some components of The Ultimate Troubleshooter as adware/spyware, and indicated that the problem would be resolved in updates later in the same week.  He also stated  “False positives do occur with the best programs out there including antivirus programs, it is not a case of guesswork but unfortunate similarity”.  Aluria’s Director of Operations then named a few products which have recently had the same problem.  At this point, from experience, we disagree.  After a careful initial selection, years ago we used to use Dr Solomon AntiVirus both in-house and at our corporate customers, and never experienced a single  “false positive”  in years of usage.  Then Dr Solomon got bought out and, alas, we experienced such nightmares with the product within a month or two of it having been bought out, that we had to move to a different product.  This time, again after a careful and lengthy evaluation of all leading products on the market, we homed in on Norton AntiVirus.  Well, in the 5+ years since we have used it, in‑house and at our corporate customers, we have not once experienced a single  “False Positive”.  Not once !   Sure, we have had the occasional problems with the product, rectified with updates, but not once have we had Norton AntiVirus identify a legitimate program as a virus or spyware/adware.  If Dr Solomon can do it, if Norton AntiVirus can do it, then our view is that that has to be the yardstick for this particular industry.

Aoltpspd

Aoltpspd.exe

(AOL)

AOL TopSpeed  background task which implements AOL’s new web caching technology introduced in AOL 9.0 Optimized and which results in significant speed gains when accessing the Internet via dial‑up modem 
(note that independent tests have shown that AOL TopSpeed technology also results in faster access on broadband lines although the gains are not as significant as they are over dial-up – around 10% gain).

Recommendation :   
An essential component of AOL 9.0 Optimized without which you cannot browse the Internet through the AOL browser.  Leave alone.

Aoltsmon

AOLTSMon.exe

(AOL)

AOL TopSpeed Monitor  service installed on Windows 2000/XP and introduced in AOL 9.0 Optimized.  We do not yet know the exact purpose of this service, but we do know that without it you cannot browse the Internet using the AOL browser.

Recommendation :  
As an AOL user you should in general leave this task alone.  If you are an advanced user and do not use AOL’s own browser but use, instead, a browser like Mozilla or FireFox which both have inbuilt web acceleration caching of the type used by AOL TopSpeed technology, then you can disable this service by setting its  Startup Mode  to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Aornum

Aornum.exe

Aornumsp.exe

Ornum.exe

(iWon.com)

Background data collecting task from iWon.com which connects back to iWon servers to supply them with miscellaneous information about your Internet browsing and which also pulls up popup advertisements when you are browsing the Internet with Internet Explorer.  An extract from iWon.com’s Privacy Policy on 13‑Apr‑2003 : “If you elect to install certain software products (the “iWon Software Products”) provided by iWon to its users, such as iWon PLUS, the iWon Messenger, or iWon Co-Pilot, iWon may collect additional information about you. This happens because iWon Software Products automatically communicate over the Internet with iWon’s servers and, in order to provide you with information or services, may convey to iWon certain information regarding your activities, including, for example, the URL of sites you visit. iWon Software Products may also upgrade their functionalities from time to time without further action on your part, and some of these functionalities may expand the scope of the information that is communicated to iWon’s servers.”.  In short, what we call adware and, also, potentially spyware.  AORNUM, which appeared on the scene around August 2002, used to originally only be installed if you installed the iWon Prize Machine software.  As per the above extract, it is nowadays also installed by iWon Plus and other iWon software products.

Recommendation :
If you absolutely want to play iWon’s $1 million game, you have no alternative but to keep AORNUM on your PC.  If, on the other hand, you have no time for it then you should de-install  all  iWon programs that you find in  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel (note that, in addition to sending information about you, AORNUM significantly slows down the boot-up period of your PC, it often prevents ScanDisk and Defrag from completing, and on some PCs it consumes 100% of CPU resources, effectively locking up the PC).  Unfortunately, a  full de‑installation of all iWon software is only the beginning of the cleanup operation as, totally unacceptably, the AORNUM software still remains after de‑installation of iWon software and in many cases is even concealed by being renamed !!  This is unacceptable.  To fully rid yourself of AORNUM after de‑installation of all iWon software, run SpyBot Search & Destroy from our  Downloads  page.

Apasserv

APASServ.exe

(Sunbelt Software)

Sunbelt Software’s Auto-Start service for the  AutoPilot  software – Windows XP only.  AutoPilot  is automatic “System Tuning” software which claims to tune your XP system for peak performance on-the-fly taking into consideration at all times the PC’s changing workload and its CPU specific capabilities and fine tuning facilities (Intel and AMD).

Recommendation :
This service is essential for the proper functioning of the AutoPilot software.

Apropos

Apropos.exe

(POP! – PeopleOnPage)

Advertising Internet Explorer add-on installed by the software from POP!, or PeopleOnPage.  PeopleOnPage’s own description of themselves :  “We are the first company to develop the technology necessary to make one‑on‑one chatting possible on any website on the world wide web - not just on specialist chat sites or on sites with added chat features.  So for the first time ever, instead of having to visit a particular community or dating website to chat, you can TAKE chat to any website.  To get started, you simply download a basic item of software to let you see the profiles of other POP! users on the same site as you - whichever site that happens to be.  Then, if you want to contact them, you simply click to email or chat with them, right there and then.”.

In addition, as of 25-Jan-2004 the license agreement for downloading and installing PeopleOnPage’s software, specifically states :  “POP! World is being provided to you free of charge in exchange for your agreement to download and view advertising served via Apropos (a proprietary browser-based advertising delivery system).  Apropos will deliver advertising on your computer screen on behalf of POP advertising clients.  These advertising clients may be competitors of the publishers whose Web pages users may be viewing or may have viewed recently.  By viewing advertisements served via Apropos ("Apropos Ads"), POP is able to subsidize the cost of providing you POP! World.”.

Recommendation :  
From the explanations above, Apropos is clearly advertising software, or adware – if you are experiencing annoying popup or pop-under ads, then this task will be one of the culprits.  Additionally, as per the license agreement this task will sometimes  “collect anonymous computer usage information and/or update user information” – what we call spyware (sending information from your PC out to PeopleOnPage).  From this point on the decision to keep APROPOS is yours :  if you use PeopleOnPage, then you are required to keep both POP! and APROPOS, as per the license agreement.  If you do not use PeopleOnPage, then get rid of this software immediately.  Aside from being adware and spyware, it is responsible for Internet Explorer lockups and severe slowdown in the PC’s operation with programs taking much longer than usual to open, or with APROPOS showing as  “not responding”.  To remove APROPOS, use the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel and remove  POP  and  AM Server  if the latter does not get removed automatically when you remove POP.  Next, use  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  to remove any  APROPOS  startup entries that may still be left behind.  Finally, reboot your PC.

Aspnet_state

ASPNet_State.exe

(Microsoft)

The ASP State Service provides support for out‑of‑process session states for ASP – Windows XP/2003.  Microsoft’s explanation :  “ASP has a concept of session state – a listing of values associated with the client session is accessible from ASP pages through the Session property.  There are three options provided to store session data : In process; SQL database; and out-of-process.  The ASP State Service stores session data out-of-process.  The service communicates with ASP using sockets.”.

Recommendation : 
Essential if you want your PC/server to be able to process out of process ASP session requests or if you use  Norton Ghost v9.  Unless you work with ASP, or you use Norton Ghost v9, this service is usually not necessary and its  Startup Mode  may be set to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 
Note :  if you change the startup mode from its default, do not set it to  “Disabled”, keep to our recommendation of merely setting it to  Manual  as this ensures that if another program on your PC needs this service, it will be able to start it when it finds that it is not running.

Ati2evxx

Atievxx

Atipolab

ATI2evxx.exe

ATIevxx.exe

(ATI Technologies)

ATI External Event Utility EXE Module.  Another background task which gets installed when you install ATI display drivers.  Under Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 the service registers as the  “ATI Hotkey Poller”  and further investigation shows that it is related to the handling of various ATI Hotkeys which bring up specific ATI utilities.  Not only is this facility useless to 99.99% of users, but there is also no documentation anywhere on those ATI hotkeys !!   Additionally some of our more inquisitive users have been able to prove that  ATI2EVXX  can sometimes be an incredible resource hog using up to 85% of CPU utilization !!  Older versions of this background task show up as  ATIPOLAB  in the Task List.

Recommendation :
Disable on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Windows 95/98/ME.  If you cannot find it on the  Startups  tab, then read about  ATIPTAXX  below and disable that task as it often is the task that starts ATI2EVXX.  In Windows NT4/2000/XP, go to the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter, find the  ATI Hotkey Poller  service and set its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled.

Ati2mdxx

ATI2mdxx.exe

(ATI Technologies)

ATI 2D Mode Component task installed by the drivers for graphics cards using the ATI Radeon chipset.

Recommendation :  
We do not yet know the role of this task, so we an only recommend that you leave it.

Ati2s9ag

ATI2S9AG.exe

(ATI Technologies)

ATI SmartGART startup task installed by the drivers for ATI Radeon graphics cards on Windows 95/98/ME. ATI’s own description :  “SMARTGART is an advanced diagnostics tool that automatically determines and configures the optimal AGP and PCI bus settings for the most stable graphics performance. SMARTGART will run a series of tests on the first reboot after a driver install.  During the test SMARTGART may blank the screen.”.  Additionally :  if you, as the end-user, decide to go and modify some of your ATI graphics card settings through the Control Panel ATI icon, these settings will be saved but on the next reboot this startup task will run and check whether the new settings will work without stability problems.  If ATI’s SmartGART startup task believes that the new settings will make the PC unstable, it corrects the relevant settings accordingly.

Recommendation :
Leave alone – this startup task only runs during Windows boot.  Once it has performed all the checks mentioned above, it stops, which is why you will never see it in your Task List.  Note for gamers and advanced users :  if you find that some settings that you set through the ATI icon in the Control Panel, do not stick, it is most probably because  ATI2S9AG  performed its function and decided to modify the settings you had set on account that it felt they would lead to instability.  Thus, if this causes you problems because you want specific settings  regardless  of what ATI SmartGART thinks, then disable this startup task on the  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  to prevent SmartGART from changing your specifically chosen settings.

Ati2sgag

ATI2SGAG.exe

(ATI Technologies)

ATI SmartGART Service installed by the drivers for ATI Radeon graphics cards on Windows 2000/XP/2003. ATI’s own description :  “SMARTGART is an advanced diagnostics tool that automatically determines and configures the optimal AGP and PCI bus settings for the most stable graphics performance. SMARTGART will run a series of tests on the first reboot after a driver install.  During the test SMARTGART may blank the screen.”.  Additionally :  if you, as the end-user, decide to go and modify some of your ATI graphics card settings through the Control Panel ATI icon, these settings will be saved but on the next reboot this service will run and check whether the new settings will work without stability problems.  If ATI’s SmartGART service believes that the new settings will make the PC unstable, it corrects the relevant settings accordingly.

Recommendation :
Leave alone – this service only runs during Windows boot.  Once it has performed all the checks mentioned above, it stops, which is why you will almost never see it with a status of  “Running”.  Note for gamers and advanced users :  if you find that some settings that you set through the ATI icon in the Control Panel, do not stick, it is most probably because  ATI2SGAG  performed its function and decided to modify the settings you had set on account that it felt they would lead to instability.  Thus, if this causes you problems because you want specific settings  regardless  of what ATI SmartGART thinks, then set this service to  Manual  or  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  to prevent SmartGART from changing your specifically chosen settings.

Atiptaxx

ATIPtaxx.exe

(ATI Technologies)

ATI Task Bar Icon.  This is a System Tray icon which gets installed when you install the ATI drivers.  All this icon does is enable you to bring up the Display Properties from the System Tray.  Since the Display Properties can be invoked in many other ways, this icon simply adds to the clutter of the System Tray.

Recommendation :
Go into the Display Properties  (Display icon in the Control Panel) and take the tick off the  “Enable ATI Task Bar Icon”  option.  You will have to seek out this option as it is in different places for different ATI drivers.  Typically, however, you need to go to the  Settings  tab, then click the  ADVANCED  button, and then find the option on one of the tabs that have the  ATI  icon as part of the tab name.  Also, particularly with the recent drivers from ATI, once you have found that option you may find that the option is already unchecked but that the ATI icon is still showing in the System Tray.  When that is the case, check the option, click APPLY, and then uncheck the option again and click APPLY again.  Once you have unchecked that option, delete the  “ATIptaxx.exe”  line on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – this will prevent  ATIPTAXX  starting at boot-up.  Note, however, that  ATIPTAXX  will still get started automatically every time you call up Display Properties, but at least it will not start automatically at boot-up.  If you want to totally disable  ATIPTAXX  from starting  at any time,  and you are familiar with editing the Windows Registry, then home in on the following registry key  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ATI Technologies\Desktop,  then the sub-key  NoAtipta  and set it to  1  instead of its 0 default (our Thanks to the AnswersThatWork user who told us about this).

Atiqipcl

AtiQiPcl.exe

(ATI Technologies)

This is one of the oddest startup entries we have ever come across.  You will never find this program in your Task List , you will only ever find it as a startup item.  The bizarre thing, however, is that in our experience the program file  ATIQIPCL.EXE  can never ever be found on the hard disk !   We believe, therefore, that  ATIQIPCL.EXE  is a program installed purely at driver installation time, which, thanks to this startup entry, runs on the first reboot after you have just installed the ATI drivers, does what it needs to do, and then deletes itself from your hard disk.

Recommendation :
Click on this entry on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If TUT tells you that the file does not exist, then simply delete this entry.

Au

Au.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Beagle.B@mm  /  W32.Alua@mm  /  W32.Bagle.b@mm  virus.

Avgcc

AVGCC.exe

(Grisoft)

AVG 7.0 AntiVirus Control Center.  You either have the Control Center currently open, or it is running in your System Tray (the pretty 4-colour icon – Black, Yellow, Green, Red).  When running in the System Tray, the icon enables you to open the AVG 7.0 Control Center from the System Tray.  From the Control Center you can then fully customize AVG or start the AVG virus scanner itself.

Recommendation :  
At the time of writing, 2‑Jan‑2005, our advice is that it is  not  a good idea to have the AVG 7.0 Control Center automatically load into the System Tray at startup as on some PCs it causes significant problems :  from  “Not responding”  errors to excessive consumption of memory, extreme slowness of the PC, shutdown problems, inability to go on Standby, and even full computer freezes.  This is not good.  Our advice, therefore, is to disable this task from starting on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  You can still start the AVG Control Center through   “Start \ Programs”  if you need to open it to configure AVG or start a virus scan, and your PC will continue to be protected against viruses by AVG irrespective of whether or not  AVGCC  starts automatically at Windows startup.

Avgemc

AVGEmc.exe

(Grisoft)

AVG AntiVirus Email Scanner which scans incoming and outgoing emails.

Recommendation :  
Required if you have email scanning enabled within AVG, otherwise if you have disabled email scanning and this task is still running, then you can in turn disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Avgserv

AVGServ.exe

(Grisoft)

Background service for the  AVG antivirus  software when installed on Windows NT4/2000/XP.  It displays notification messages and also scans incoming e-mails for virus attachments.

Recommendation :
Essential – leave alone.

(Grisoft)

Recommendation :
Essential – leave alone.

Avguard  (1)

AVGUARD.exe

(H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH)

AntiVir Real-time Scanner  service for Windows NT4/2000/XP.  If you have configured your AntiVir antivirus software to scan files for viruses as and when they are accessed, created, or downloaded (ie. the safest setting), this service is the process which, in the background, scans all files as and when you access them.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential to the effective functioning of your AntiVir antivirus software – Leave alone.

Avguard  (2)

Special Firewall Service

AVGuard.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Netsky.G@mm  virus.

Avgw

Avgw.exe

(Grisoft)

You have the   AVG Antivirus  main program currently open.

Recommendation :  
If this items shows on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, then you can disable it (and eventually delete it) as it is usually put there at installation time so that the AVG main program opens (for you to configure it) when you reboot after installing the software.  It is configured to run once only  (hence the  /RUNONCE  switch in the  Command  column) and does not come up again on future boot‑ups.

Avserve

Avserve.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Sasser.Worm   virus.

Avserve2

Avserve2.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Sasser.B.Worm   or   W32.Sasser.C.Worm   virus.

Bartshel

Bartshel.exe

(PeoplePC???)

This task seems to have appeared on the scene in June 2003.  It is installed in the folder structure created by the remote dialup software from the  PeoplePC  ISP, so we can safely assume that it gets installed when you install the PeoplePC software.  While we are not yet sure as to what this task does, what we have observed is as follows :  if we tell the end-user to disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, the endless popup advertisements that the end-user was complaining about, disappear for good.  If the end-user re‑enables BARTSHEL, they come back !   We leave you to put 2 and 2 together .......

Recommendation :  
In addition to the popup ads, some versions of BARTSHEL also generate scripting error and other crashes in Internet Explorer on some PCs – even more reasons to avoid this task !   What you do next depends on your version of  BARTSHEL.  Try first disabling it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If you do not find  BARTSHEL  in The Ultimate Troubleshooter, then rename  BARTSHEL.EXE  to  BARTSHEL.EXE.RENAMED !   You can do a search for it but, typically, it will be located in either  “C:\Program Files\ISP40\bin”  or in  “C:\Program Files\ISP50\bin”.  In our experience disabling BARTSHEL usually does not cause any problems with the PeoplePC connection.  That said, if this solution gives you problems with your PeoplePC connection, then simply re‑enable  BARTSHEL.  If you are a technically advanced user, then try re-creating your PeoplePC connection manually rather than with the PeoplePC CD and see if you can connect through that.

Bbeagle

d3dupdate.exe

Bbeagle.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Beagle.A@mm / I-Worm.Bagle / W32/Bagle@MM / Win32.Bagle.A   virus.

Bcmsmmsg

BCMSMMsg.exe

(Broadcom)

Broadcom Soft Modem Messaging Applet.  Background task installed by the drivers for Broadcom’s range of v92 soft modems.  Broadcom modems are OEM modems which other companies put their names to  (e.g.  “Gateway).

Recommendation :   Essential to the proper functioning of your modem – Leave alone.

Billmind

Billminder

Billmind.exe

(Intuit)

Quicken Billminder task automatically installed by default in the Startup folder.   It reminds the user, on Windows boot-up, of impending bills to pay, impending inputs (e.g. salary), and any other impending financial events the user might have set up in Quicken.

Recommendation :  
Entirely down to end-user preference – some users like to be reminded of such things whenever they turn their PC on (in which case keeping BILLMIND in the Startup folder is necessary), while others prefer to be reminded only when they open Quicken, through the Quicken Reminder window.  This task can be disabled either within Quicken or with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Blengine

BLMessaging
Integration

Blengine.exe

(ClickSpring)

Task which is dropped onto your PC when you run the free  “hidden pornography”  scanner from PuritySCAN.com.  This file is found in a folder called  “PSD Tools”.  At the time of writing, 9‑May‑2004, PuritySCAN.com purports to scan your PC for hidden pornography and help you remove it.  For a start, at the time of writing, 9‑May‑2004, the scan for pornographic content is a total scam and downright dangerous.  The scan will reports files like  ASSETS.GIF  and  ASSETS.EXE  as files containing pornographic material because, wait for it, because ..... the names of the files contain the word  “ass”.  Shocking, shocking, shocking.  If we had gone ahead and  “cleaned”  our test hard drive of the reported files, we would have lost  “ASSETS.GIF”  which is a graphic file that is part of Microsoft Office 2000, and we would have lost  “ASSETS.EXE”  which is asset management software !!  And it gets worse :  STRIPED.GIF will also have been deleted because the filename has the letters  “strip”, and, unbelievably, SUNBANNA.GIF will have been deleted because the filename contains the letters .......... “Anna” !   There are no words to describe a scam like this one. 

It gets worse still :  what this software also does do is drop this file together with a second one onto your PC (The Ultimate Troubleshooter  will also highlight the second file), sets both up as startup entries, and the PC then gets inundated with popup advertisements and also experiences serious Internet browsing performance issues.  As much as it irritates us to be, to be fair there is a license agreement which states, amongst other things, that you agree to receive advertising :  “By installing PurityScan you understand and agree that PurityScan will make the following changes to your Internet Browser:  Several PROMOTIONAL CONSOLES (daughter console/interstitial) may be launched for the duration of time you spend online. These consoles may continue to be launched as long as you have PurityScan installed on your machine. PurityScan does not monitor the activities or collect information from users once they have left PurityScan.  By downloading PurityScan, you understand that these changes cannot be reversed without running the removal executable of PurityScan.  If you try to change the items above manually, your changes will be lost when you reboot or turn off your computer.”. 

This is nightmarish adware posing as a  free service to the Internet community – the publishers know full well that 90% of users never read License Agreements and that they will therefore get conned into running a not only useless but dangerous scan, and they will also get infected with adware (advertising software) !   Since its introduction in 2002 this task not only constantly changes name, to evade detection, but it has also appeared in the Task List of users who have never accessed PuritySCAN.com, so we suspect that ClickSpring have an Affiliates programme which allows unscrupulous websites to co‑brand the PuritySCAN program so they can lure users into running scans of their PCs while at the same time dropping onto those PCs this task which will continually pull up popup advertisements about their products !   Through investigation and talking to infected users, we even have strong circumstantial evidence that this task is obtained, of all places, on pornographic websites which provide a free  “tool to erase all traces of the user’s visit to those sites” !!

Finally, we have also noticed that all users who had this task and who did not have adequate antivirus protection, were all infected with the  Badtrans  virus – we are not yet sure of the reason for this strange coincidence.

Recommendation :
Get rid of this task immediately. 
1) Terminate  BLENGINE  (or its equivalent) on the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 
2) Terminate the second task which The Ultimate Troubleshooter will have also identified as being ClickSpring software.
3) Switch to the  Startups  tab and note the location of the  BLENGINE.EXE  file (or its equivalent) and of the other task identified by The Ultimate Troubleshooter as being ClickSpring software. 
4) Search and Delete both files from your hard disk. 
5) Search your hard disk for a file called PURITYSCAN.EXE.  If you find it, delete it.
6) Delete both ClickSpring entries from the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 
7) Finally, make sure you have a reputable antivirus product, manually update it fully, then reboot your PC into Safe Mode and run a full virus scan of your PC.

Bmqnzkg

Casdvqwa

Bmqnzkg.exe

(???)

You have the  W32.Randex.BE  virus.

Bootwarn

BootWarn.exe

(Symantec)

Norton AntiVirus Boot Warning.  This program is installed as a startup item when you install Norton AntiVirus, and also sometimes when you do a LiveUpdate which updates Norton AntiVirus significantly enough that a reboot is needed to complete the installation.  We believe its purpose to be to warn the end-user that he must reboot his PC before using Norton AntiVirus in those cases when a reboot did not happen with the result that Norton AntiVirus did not fully complete its installation or software updating.

Recommendation :
Start Norton AntiVirus from  “Start \ Programs \ Norton AntiVirus”.  If Norton AntiVirus comes up without problems, then delete this entry from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – it was left behind by mistake and is no longer needed now that Norton AntiVirus is fully installed and opens without error messages.

Calcheck

CalCheck.exe

(ULead Systems)

ULead Photo Express Calendar Checker (versions 2 & 3).  This tray icon gets installed when you install the ULead Photo Express software which comes with many scanners.  Ulead’s own description of the Calendar Checker :  “If you create multiple Weekly/Monthly/Yearly calendars to be your wallpaper, Photo Express will replace the wallpaper automatically. Thus there is a calendar checker in Photo Express 2.0/3.0, which checks the dates of the system, and you don’t need to change the wallpaper manually.”.

Recommendation : 
An interesting feature in theory, not so good in practice.  CALCHECK often comes up with errors at boot-up under Windows 2000/XP, particularly XP.  Additionally, it is responsible for very slow boot-up times as it checks whether the wallpaper needs to be switched.  We strongly recommend not using this feature of ULead Photo Express and deleting this entry with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Ccproxy  (1)

ccProxy.exe

(Symantec)

Common Client Network Proxy Service.  Background task/service (Windows 2000/XP/2003) seemingly introduced by Symantec with the 2004 version of Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Internet Security.  From what we have seen this task seems to be the 2004 version of the  CCPXYSVC  service in the 2003 version of the same products.

Recommendation :
We do not know what this task/service actually does, but we do know it is essential to the proper functioning of the firewall, so leave it alone.

Ccproxy  (2)

CCProxy.exe

(YoungZSoft)

Main component of  CCProxy  the Internet Connection Sharing software from YoungZSoft.  CCProxy enables you to share an Internet connection so that all the PC on a network access the Internet through the PC that is connected to the Internet and which is running CCProxy.  In short CCProxy is an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Connection Sharing which comes bundled with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential for the proper working of CCPROXY – Leave alone.

Recommendation :
Essential – leave alone.

Ccpxysvc

ccPxySvc.exe

(Symantec)

Common Client Proxy Service.  This task is found in Norton Personal Firewall 2003 and Norton Internet Security 2003 under Windows 2000/XP.  We do not yet know what it does.

Recommendation :
We do not know what this task/service actually does, but we do know it is essential to the proper functioning of the firewall, so leave it alone.  That said, this task is often seen “not responding” on some PCs;  when this happens, start any Norton program and do a  manual LiveUpdate  to pick up the latest software updates (as opposed to virus definitions which are the only item “Automatic LiveUpdates” pick up) – this usually solves the problem.

Channelup

ChannelUp.exe
 

See   IWAR.

Chcenter

Chcenter.exe

(IMSI)

Part of the Image Capture module of IMSI’s Hijaak series of graphics software.

Recommendation :  
We do not yet know what this program does, so we can only recommend to leave it alone.

Cissi

Cissi.exe

(???)

You have the  W32.Cissi.A@mm  virus.

Clipsrv

ClipSrv.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows NT Clipboard DDE Server.  Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 service, installed by default as an Automatic service under Windows NT4 but as a Manual service from Windows 2000 onward.  It enables ClipBook Viewer to store information and share it with remote computers.

Recommendation :  
In 2003 there are very few instances, if any, where this service would ever be used.  It is a relic from the Windows LanManager and NT 3.5 days and is available purely for backward compatibility purposes – it has been replaced by other technologies.  If it is not already set to Manual, set it to Manual through  “Control Panel \ Services”  in Windows NT4,  or through  “Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services”  in Windows 2000/XP/2003.

Combobutton

ComboButton.exe

(Maxtor)

Maxtor’s OneTouch Detection background task installed with the software for Maxtor’s  OneTouch  range of USB and FireWire backup drives.  This task detects when the user has pressed the  Backup  button on the drive and immediately activates the Maxtor backup software  (a rebadged version of Dantz’s Retrospect Backup software)  to start the relevant backup.

Recommendation :
Essential if you want your OneTouch Maxtor backup drive to work exactly as designed and expected.

Companion

AOL companion

Companion.exe

(AOL)

AOL Companion.  AOL startup task which brings up a mini-AOL screen from which you can access all AOL programs and functions.  First introduced with AOL 8.0.

Recommendation :  
There is nothing good we can say about this task as it is responsible for an interminable wait at boot-up from the moment that the  START  button appears till the time you can actually use your PC.  And when you can start using your PC, absolutely everything runs slowly when this application is around – shocking.  Since, in addition to the Companion, the installation of AOL also installs a System Tray icon which enables the user to call AOL programs, we cannot understand why AOL thought it a good idea to introduce this terrible task.  Disable immediately either with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, or by clicking on  Settings  on the mini‑screen and unchecking  Autolaunch AOL Companion  that comes up when you choose Exit.

Comsocks

ComSocks.exe

(Linkbyte)

ComSocks Internet proxy/NAT and simple firewall program.

Recommendation :
Essential.  Leave alone.

Config32

Config32.exe

(LGS/Telegraphics)

System Tray icon installed by the drivers for some Internet mice, notably Mitsumi.  It enables the end‑user to configure the buttons on the mouse as well as other aspects of the behaviour of the mouse.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  Most users simply use their mouse in its default configuration and never bother with the more advanced functions that their mouse is capable of – for these users this System Tray icon is of little or no use and can be disabled on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  Note that in 2004 these LGS/Telegraphics’ mouse drivers are no longer supported and may not work properly on versions of Windows that are more recent than Windows 95 and Windows 98 (original edition).  Thus, for Windows 98SE or later, our advice is to de-install these drivers altogether via the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel (look for XMOUSE drivers) and to delete this entry from the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter if it still remains after the de-installation of the drivers.

Createcd

CreateCD.exe

(Adaptec / Roxio)

System Tray icon for Adaptec Easy CD Creator.  This icon enables you to start Easy CD Creator from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
This task often gets in the way of other Windows programs which need to use the CD‑Writer, yet you can start Easy CD Creator through  “Start \ Programs”.  Delete on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 

Createcd50

CreateCD50.exe

(Roxio)

This is either the Roxio Project Selector System Tray icon for Roxio Easy CD Creator 5, or you have the Project Selector window currently open.  The System Tray icon enables you to either start the Project Selector through a double-click, or to choose a particular Easy CD Creator task through a right-click.  The Roxio Project Selector itself, when open, is an easy to use menu which prompts the user as to what he wants to do – create a CD or DVD, data or music or video, or copy a CD – and then starts Easy CD Creator in the appropriate mode.

Recommendation :
If this item shows on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  then it is down to your own preference – if you are totally at ease with Easy CD Creator and on how to use it in different modes, and do not feel you need the Project Selector as a  “mode chooser”, then reduce System Tray clutter and disable this icon by right-clicking on it in the System Tray and then choosing  Disable Project Selector Icon.  You can re‑enable the icon by starting the Project Selector through  “Start \ Programs \ Roxio Easy CD Creator \ Project Selector”  and then clicking the icon in the top left corner of the Project Selector and choosing  Icon in System Tray.

Crypserv

CrypServ.exe

(CrypKey (Canada) Inc, formerly Kenonic Controls)

Background server task/service for the CrypKey Software Licensing System.  If you have this task running on your PC it is because you are using software which is protected against piracy through CrypKey (Canada)’s  CrypKey  software protection system.

Recommendation :  
Essential for the proper operation of one of the programs that you use – Leave alone.  If you terminate this task/service, one of the programs you are currently using will not work.

Csksvr

Csksvr.exe

(LinkByte)

ComSocks Service on Windows NT4/2000/XP.  This service is installed by the  ComSocks  Internet sharing (via NAT) and firewall software.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential for the proper functioning of ComSocks – Leave alone.

Csrss  (1)

Csrss.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows NT4//2000/XP/2003 only.  CSRSS is the Client Server Runtime SubSystem.  CSRSS is started by SMSS.  When the user application makes a Win32 API call, it is usually CSRSS which communicates with the operating system’s Kernel to execute the API call.  CSRSS is also known as the Win32 Subsystem.

Recommendation :
An integral part of the operating system, leave alone.

Csrss  (2)

BagleAV

Key Logger

Csrss.exe

(???)

You have the   Trojan.Gutta   or   W32.Netsky.AB@mm   or   W32.Buchon.A@mm   virus if you have Windows 95/98/ME or if the full path to this program is  either  C:\Windows\csrss.exe  or  C:\WinNT\csrss.exe.

Css_1630

CSS_1630.exe

(Authentium)

One of the central programs of the  Command AntiVirus  software for Windows NT4/2000/XP.

Recommendation :
Essential to the proper functioning of your Command AntiVirus software – Leave alone.

Css-avs

CSS-AVS.exe

(Authentium)

CSS AVScheduler Service of the Command Antivirus software.  This service runs scheduled antivirus scans of the hard disk using the  F-PROT32.EXE  program.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  If you do not have any schedules defined for antivirus scans of your system, then you can set this service to  Disabled, otherwise leave it alone.

Ctdvddet

CTDVDDet.exe

(Creative Labs)

Background task installed when you install the full suite of software for Creative’s  SoundBlaster Audigy 2  soundcards.  This task detects the insertion of a DVD in your DVD drive and starts up Creative’s DVD Audio.

Recommendation :
If you do not have a DVD drive, you can disable this task straightaway on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, otherwise this is down to end-user preference.  For the record, in our case, because of our generally troublesome historical experiences with Creative background CD detection tasks over the years, in April 2004 we still always disable this task.

Ctfmon  (1)

CTFMon.exe

(Microsoft)

CTFMon comes with Microsoft Office XP and Windows XP – it activates the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office XP Language Bar.   As long as the  Text Services & Speech  are enabled in the Control Panel, this program will force itself back into your list of background programs.

Recommendation :
Disable  “Text Services & Speech”  in the Control Panel if you are not using them.  Then, disable CTFMon using Startup Manager.  (Note that if you use Word, Excel or PowerPoint to write in different languages, eg. English and Arabic, then you will be using  “Text Services & Speech”  facilities).

Ctfmon  (2)

Ctfmon.dll

(???)

You have the   W32.Mydoom.B@mm   virus.

Ctltray

CTLTray.exe

(Creative Labs)

System Tray icon installed by the drivers for Creative SoundBlaster Audigy soundcards.  This icon enables you to access some of the Creative utilities that get installed at the same time, and it also allows you to configure some of your soundcard settings (volume, equalizer, effects, etc...).

Recommendation :
While this task does not cause problems for many users, we ourselves do not trust it as our own experience on a number of PCs (but not all) is one of boot‑up errors with  CTLTRAY  complaining that the soundcard is not installed properly when it actually is installed properly and works !   Since very very few users have a need to tweak their soundcards on a regular basis, if ever, we disable or delete this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  The features available via this System Tray icon can all still be accessed through the  “Start \ Programs \ Creative...”  program group and through the Creative SoundBlaster icon that gets installed in the Control Panel.  Your choice !

Ctsysvol

CTSysVol.exe

(Creative Technology)

System Tray Volume Control icon installed by the drivers for Creative  SoundBlaster Audigy 2  soundcards and which replaces the standard Windows volume control.  You can double-click on it to bring up the Creative mixer controls, or you can right-click on it to access some of the more advanced features.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  Gamers may experience the odd conflict between this task and some of their games.  If that is the case, simply disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Cusrvc

Cusrvc.exe

(Novell)

Novell Client Update Service.  First introduced with version 4.90 SP1 of the Novell Client for Windows NT4/2000/XP (For the layman :  the Novell Client is the software which allows you to logon to your Novell server through the red Username & Password dialogue box, and which allows you to use your Novell network to its full capabilities).  This service, which by default starts automatically at Windows boot-up, implements the settings set on the  Update Agent  tab of the Properties for the Novell Client in  Network Connections.  It takes care of downloading updates to the Novell Client, if you have configured it to do so, prompting you for the installation of the updates and/or installing the downloaded updates.

Recommendation :
Another dreaded automatic update feature.  Apart from antivirus and firewall software, our position on automated software updates is :  Never.   Buggy updates have the potential of totally crippling a PC that was previously working absolutely fine.  A case in point, in our experience, was version 4.83 SP2 of the Novell Client for Windows NT4/2000/XP which we had to uninstall and replace with 4.83 SP1 within an hour of first installing it !   Imagine the nightmarish scenario of having 5 or 6 software products on your PC all set to automatically update themselves and coming one morning and finding your PC just does not work – it may take you hours before you start thinking that the problem may have been an automated update, and when you do, which one was it ?   As you will have gathered by now, our recommendation is that you do not set the Novell Client to auto-update, and that you set this service to  Disabled  in  “Control Panel \ Services”  in Windows NT4  or  “Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services”  in Windows 2000/XP.  Look for the service called :   Client update service for Novell.  Manually download updates as and when you actually need to, or when you want to bring yourself up to date, but always keep a copy of the client you are replacing, just in case.......!

Datalayer

DataLayer.exe

Datala~1.exe

(Nokia)

Nokia Data Layer Module support task that is needed by  NCLTRAY  and by the Nokia Connection Manager for either to work properly.

Recommendation :  
Whatever you do with  NCLTRAY, you should do with this task.  If, for example, you decide to terminate  NCLTRAY  because it is causing conflicts with other communications programs, or with your laptop docking station or touchpad, as it sometimes does, then you should also terminate  DATALAYER, and SERVICELAYER,  to ensure that all the conflicts disappear.

(Microsoft)

Recommendation :
Essential – leave alone.

Deam

Deam.exe
 

Delldmi

DellDMI.exe

(Dell)

Dell’s  DMI Service Provider  service.  A DMI Service Provider layer task/service is needed for DMI system management software (Dell’s OpenManage software suite in this case) to be able to access DMI enabled hardware.  In layman terms, the DMI Service Provider is the interface between the System Management software and the hardware items being managed.

Recommendation :
This service is crucial to the proper operation of the  ACTIONAGENT  and  EVENTAGT  services of the Dell OpenManage software.  Thus, if you use Dell’s OpenManage software, you need this service running, otherwise you can disable it by setting its startup mode to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

DeskAdKeep

DeskAdKeep.exe

(???)

Nightmarish adware which has appeared on the scene in January 2005.  This program is responsible for endless popup and popunder advertisements and a slow Internet connection.  At the time of writing, 8‑Jan‑2005, we do not know much more about it except that it is most definitely picked up through file sharing activities, particularly if using KaZaA.  In all cases that we have seen thus far the PC is also infected with other adware, spyware, and, worse, viruses.

Recommendation :  
Get rid of this pest as follows :

1)  Restart your PC into Safe Mode by pressing  F8  continually after turning your PC ON till you get a menu where  “Safe Mode”  is one of the options  (you  must  start your PC in Safe Mode as you will not be able to remove this program in any other way).

2)  Go to  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel and see if there is a  “DeskAd ....”  entry.  If there is, remove it.

3)  Go to the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and for  DESKADKEEP  and  DESKADSERV, do the following in turn :  right-click and choose  “Delete from the hard disk the file that this Startup points to”;  next, right-click on the entry again and this time choose  “Delete this Startup Entry”.

4)  Click on the big green  APPLY  button to make your changes stick.

5)  Start  Windows Explorer  or  My Computer, whichever you’re most comfortable with, and delete the following folder :  C:\Program Files\DeskAd Service.

6)  Restart your PC into Normal Mode.

7)  Make sure you have up‑to‑date reputable antivirus software and run a full virus scan on your PC.

8)  Download  Spybot  or  Ad-Aware  from our  Downloads  library and scan your PC for adware and spyware.
 

DeskAdServ

DeskAdServ.exe

(???)

Nightmarish adware which has appeared on the scene in January 2005.  This program is responsible for endless popup and popunder advertisements and a slow Internet connection.  At the time of writing, 8‑Jan‑2005, we do not know much more about it except that it is most definitely picked up through file sharing activities, particularly if using KaZaA.  In all cases that we have seen thus far the PC is also infected with other adware, spyware, and, worse, viruses.

Recommendation :  
Get rid of this pest as follows :

1)  Restart your PC into Safe Mode by pressing  F8  continually after turning your PC ON till you get a menu where  “Safe Mode”  is one of the options  (you  must  start your PC in Safe Mode as you will not be able to remove this program in any other way).

2)  Go to  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel and see if there is a  “DeskAd ....”  entry.  If there is, remove it.

3)  Go to the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and for  DESKADSERV  and  DESKADKEEP, do the following in turn :  right-click and choose  “Delete from the hard disk the file that this Startup points to”;  next, right-click on the entry again and this time choose  “Delete this Startup Entry”.

4)  Click on the big green  APPLY  button to make your changes stick.

5)  Start  Windows Explorer  or  My Computer, whichever you’re most comfortable with, and delete the following folder :  C:\Program Files\DeskAd Service.

6)  Restart your PC into Normal Mode.

7)  Make sure you have up‑to‑date reputable antivirus software and run a full virus scan on your PC.

8)  Download  Spybot  or  Ad-Aware  from our  Downloads  library and scan your PC for adware and spyware.
 

Deskup

Deskup.exe

(Iomega)

Background task installed by the full IomegaWare drivers for your Iomega drive.  When this background task is running your desktop will show an icon for each Iomega drive that you have, with the icon showing whether the drive is plugged in or not.

Recommendation :   
Down to end-user preference.  Many users like the ability to backup their files by simply dragging them straight onto the Iomega drive icon on the desktop.  Advanced users, on the other end, will know how to create a  “send-to”  icon on the desktop and may therefore decide not to have this task running by disabling it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Recommendation :
"Not responding" on shutdown or problems at startup are the most common problems associated with this task.  There are some workarounds that sometimes work.  For both Windows 2000 and XP a solution that often works is to remove all sound items from "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Device Manager", de-install any Creative SoundBlaster software from "Add/Remove Programs", then search your hard disk for DEVLDR.EXE and rename or delete it, then delete/disable it in "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services", and finally download and install the latest SoundBlaster Live software.  Under Windows XP, instead of installing the latest SoundBlaster Live software you can opt to restart your PC, and when prompted for the drivers for the re-detected soundcard, use the Windows XP CD so that the XP drivers are used rather than the Creative drivers (the same sometimes works with Windows 2000 SP3, although no CD is required in that case).  Walking away from Creative Labs has also been suggested to us as an option...

Devldr16

Devldr16.exe

(Creative Labs)

Background task installed with the drivers for some Creative Labs sound cards – it provides SoundBlaster 16 emulation for DOS applications and games.  Without it, your DOS games will not have any sound.  Disabling this program, however, often gives problems with the general behaviour of sound and of the Creative sound utilities on your PC.

Recommendation :
This is another Creative program which is the cause of many frustrations for AnswersThatWork users.  Once upon a time “Creative Labs” used to be synonymous with quality !  Some users experience unexplained crashes of this program where it is impossible to clear it off the screen;  others experience occasional to total inability to start Windows 98/ME;  some find that their modem no longer works properly;  others experience strange behaviour of their software (Photoshop);  others find that menus do not open up when clicking on them and that the only way to recover is to restart;  some find that the mouse pointer disappears, till a reboot;  some experience unexplained general instability problems;  the list goes on.  Shocking!   For the technically minded all these problems are due to the fact that  DEVLDR16  emulates old ISA sound cards which do not have the ability to share resources in the way that the newer PCI cards can. If you do not use DOS games,  and you want to get rid of this task, the only way we have found to safely disable this task is as follows : 
1)  Disable on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  
2)  Next, in Device Manager (through the SYSTEM icon in the Control Panel), in the Sound section or under  “Creative Miscellaneous Devices”, disable  Creative SB16 Emulation.
Note, however, that this is not necessarily possible on all PCs where DEVLDR16 can be found – sometimes the only way out of this nightmare is to get a new sound card !

Dfssvc

Distributed File System

DFSSvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows NT Distributed File System Service – Windows NT4 Server, 2000 Server, and 2003 Server.  The Distributed File System (DFS) Service manages logical volumes distributed across many servers on a local or wide area network.  Logical volumes enable the network manager in a large organisation to pool similar sets of data into single access points (one drive letter in Windows, ie. H: ) for the convenience of the users of that data.  For example, you could have an organisation with 5 offices, each office having their own fileserver, but all servers linked via a wide area network.  On each server you might have a network share called  HELPDESK  where each office saves helpdesk-type documents for users to search through.  In order to allow some users (eg. enterprise managers) to search through the help documents for the entire organisation when needed, you might create a logical volume which includes all the  HELPDESK  shared folders on each of the servers, thereby enabling those end-users to do an organisation‑wide search through just one mapped drive rather than search the HELPDESK share on Server-1, then the one on Server-2, then the one on Server-3, etc...  The DFSSVC service manages and maintains such logical drives.

Recommendation :
If you do not use DFS, such as in the case of single server organisations, then you can set this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Djfgucxr

Djfgucxr.exe

(???)

You have the  W32.Gluber.B@mm  virus.

Dkservice

DKService.exe

(Executive Software)

Background scheduling task which belongs to Diskeeper and Diskeeper Lite and which runs Diskeeper as scheduled.

Recommendation :
Essential if you have scheduled Diskeeper to run at specific times on specific days.  If, however, you always run Diskeeper manually, then disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Win95/98/ME or, if you have Windows 2000/XP, then set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Dl

Dial32

Dl.exe

(???)

Trojan horse undetected by most antivirus programs and which, in our experience, is picked up through the use of KaZaA or through kids downloading supposedly free games from specific websites.  When running, this task attempts to connect to a particular IP address and attempts to install additional parasite and insecure software which, luckily, gets picked up by most firewalls.  We are not yet sure about what else it does, but we do know you should get rid of it immediately.

Recommendation :
Since this task does not get picked up by antivirus products, do as follows :
1)  Terminate this task on the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 
2)  Next, switch to the  Startups  tab, right‑click on the startup entry for this task, and choose the  “Delete the file that this Startup points to”  option to erase this dangerous parasite from your hard disk. 
3)  Next, delete the startup entry for this program.
4)  Finally, either empty your Recycle Bin, or at the very least delete this particular file permanently from your Recycle Bin and PC.

Dlg

Dlg.exe

(BVRP Software)

Digital Line Detection background task installed with BVRP Software’s Classic Phone Tools software suite which offers, amongst other things, a Phone Book, Faxing, Emailing, Answering Machine, and more.  The majority of PCs which have Classic Phone Tools installed will have had it bundled with the fax modem that came with the PC.  DLG, the Digital Line Detection background task, is a task that is present when Classic Phone Tools is bundled with modems with a Conexant chipset (for example :  a Conexant D480 MDC v92 modem – many DELL PCs come with such modems).  When you install or use Classic Phone Tools, this task detects whether you are connected to a normal analogue telephone line which your modem can work with, or a digital line, such as an ISDN line or a PBX/PABX line as found in offices.  If you are connected to a digital line, something which your analogue fax modem cannot handle, a message is displayed telling you that you will not be able to use your modem on that line, because it is digital, and to connect your modem to a normal analogue line.

Recommendation :
If you know for certain that you have an analogue line compatible with normal fax modems, then you absolutely do not need this task, particularly since it has a history of errors on boot‑up (failure to initialize) and numerous bug-fix software releases – disable it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If you are using your PC in an office where there is a mixture of PBX/PABX and analogue lines, and you will need to use your fax modem, then you may wish to temporarily enable this task so that if you plug your modem into a digital line because you cannot tell from the socket, then at least this task will save you a lot of frustration trying to locate an analogue line.  Once you have located an analogue line that your modem will work with, disable the task again.

Dlm

Dial33

Dlm.exe

(???)

Trojan horse undetected by most antivirus programs and which, in our experience, is picked up through the use of KaZaA or through kids downloading supposedly free games from specific websites.  When running, this task attempts to connect to a particular IP address and attempts to install additional parasite and insecure software which, luckily, gets picked up by most firewalls.  We are not yet sure about what else it does, but we do know you should get rid of it immediately.

Recommendation :
Since this task does not get picked up by antivirus products, do as follows :
1)  Terminate this task on the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter. 
2)  Next, switch to the  Startups  tab, right‑click on the startup entry for this task, and choose the  “Delete the file that this Startup points to”  option to erase this dangerous parasite from your hard disk. 
3)  Next, delete the startup entry for this program.
4)  Finally, either empty your Recycle Bin, or at the very least delete this particular file permanently from your Recycle Bin and PC.

Dlt

DLT.exe

(Dell)

Dell Legacy Translator – Part of the Dell OpenManage system management software.  This service receives UDP packets (User Datagram Protocol) from hardware items which work through TCP/IP rather than DMI, collects those packets, and then calls corresponding OpenManage Client Instrumentation modules to handle them.

Recommendation :
If you use Dell’s OpenManage software, you need this service running, otherwise you can disable it by setting its startup mode to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Dmadmin

DMAdmin.exe

(Microsoft)

Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service for Windows NT.  Windows 2000/XP/2003.  This essential service is used and started only during the detection, configuration, or partitioning of a hard disk, or the management of hard disk volumes.  Once all such activities have been completed, the service stops.

Recommendation :
Essential – Leave alone.  In most cases this service will show as  Stopped  anyway.  If you get  “Disk Manager has generated errors and will be closed by Windows”  when trying to perform Disk Management tasks, update your PC with the latest Service Pack  (at the time of writing, Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000, and Service Pack 1a for Windows XP).

Dockapp

DockApp.exe

(Dell)

Docking support background task found on Dell laptops (particularly the Inspiron range).  This task detects if the laptop is connected to its docking station, and if it is, it makes the docking station peripherals available within Windows.

Recommendation :
Essential if you use a docking station, otherwise you can disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Dp-k13w13

Dsi

DP-K13w13.exe

(???)

We have no idea as to what this task is or does.  What we do know, however, is that   a) you do not need it, and  b) that we have found it only on PCs which have or have had KaZaA installed !

Recommendation :
We normally disable this task, restart the PC, delete the program from the hard disk, and then delete this entry from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  We recommend you do the same.

Dpi

Dpi.exe

(The Delfin Project)

Background task for the PromulGate line of advertising products from The Delfin Project from 2004 onwards.  This is what we call adware.  Worse, this is some of the worst type of adware there is – together with PCSVC it is directly responsible for incredibly slow PCs, “unhandled exception” errors on boot-up on Windows 2000/XP PCs, illegal operations on boot-up on Windows 9x/ME PCs, interference with your Internet connection, and more.  This is TerribleWare !   DPI  is, in most cases that we have seen, installed by KaZaA.

Recommendation :
Get rid of it straight away.  Make a note first of the  DPI  folder that is shown in the path to  DPI.EXE  on the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  Next, de‑install any Delfin or PromulGate product listed in  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel (e.g. Delfin Media Viewer).  Restart your PC and delete the  DPI  folder if it is still there.  Next, download and install  “Spybot Search & Destroy”  from our  Downloads   section, click on  “Online”  to update it, and then run it to fully rid your PC of spyware and adware such as DPI.  Note that the de‑installation of Delfin products may incapacitate your copy of KaZaA.

Drgtodsc

DrgToDsc.exe

(Roxio)

Roxio’s  Drag‑to‑Disc  background task which also shows as an icon in the System Tray.  Drag‑to‑Disc, introduced with Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 and also seen in Easy Media Creator 7 (the successor to Easy CD & DVD Creator 6), is the new name for what used to be called  DirectCD  in versions 4 and 5 of Easy CD Creator.  It enables you to drag files onto a CD‑RW or DVD‑RW directly from Windows Explorer, or to save onto CD/DVD directly from within applications like Microsoft Word, without using the CD Recording software that came with your CD/DVD‑Writer (Easy CD & DVD Creator 6  or  Easy Media Creator 7), or you can drag files onto the Drag‑to‑Disc window for Drag‑to‑Disc to then write the files to the CD‑RW/DVD‑RW – this type of feature is also called  “Packet Writing”  software.  While a great and often very useful concept, the limitations of Drag‑to‑Disc CDs and DVDs (CDs and DVDs created with Drag‑to‑Disc are only ever guaranteed to be readable in CD/DVD Writers that are the same model as the CD/DVD Writer in which the CD/DVD was created – it is not unusual not to be able to read a CD/DVD created via Drag‑to‑Disc, in another CD/DVD‑ROM drive), and the many conflicts that we have seen Drag‑to‑Disc create, not to mention lost data or messed up hard drive letters, lead us to always recommend its removal.  We advocate to instead always use its sister products, Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 or Easy Media Creator 7, to create CDs and DVDs, as that is the only method that guarantees that you will be able to read the CDs and DVDs you create, in any other CD drive, CD‑Writer, DVD drive, or DVD‑Writer – a crucial consideration if you are using CDs or DVDs for data backups !

Recommendation :
Make no mistake about it :  it is our view that in April 2004 packet writing software, whether from Roxio or its competitors, is still inherently unsafe – it will work reliably most times but you can bet your bottom dollar that the day it won’t work it will be on an absolutely crucial CD/DVD and you will only find out days, weeks, or months later when you need to retrieve data from it, and at that point it will too late !   Packet writing software is there as a selling point because  the competition does it  and it is a  very attractive  feature for first-time users.  Our recommendation is that if you are used to using  Drag‑to‑Disc,  continue to use it but at the same time educate yourself to becoming totally proficient and at ease with the full Roxio product,  Easy CD & DVD Creator  or  Easy Media Creator, so that you can eventually use it confidently and as a result feel safe in the knowledge that all your CDs and DVDs will be reliable and usable across all ranges of CD/DVD‑ROM and CD/DVD‑Writer drives.  Once you have reached that stage, remove Drag‑to‑Disc via  “Add/Remove Programs”  in the Control Panel.

Drvsys

Drvsys.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Beagle.W@mm  \  W32/Bagle.z@MM  \  W32/Bagle-W   virus.

Dsentry

Dsentry.exe

(Dell)

DVD Sentry.  Background task which watches for the insertion of a software DVD into your DVD drive, and then presents the end‑user with the choice of either using Dell’s own installation software to install the software held on that DVD, or using the DVD’s own installation program.  If the DVD does not have its own installation program (extremely rare), or the  “Auto‑insert”  notification on the DVD drive has been turned off, then  DSENTRY  presents just the one option :  using Dell’s own installation program.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  This task was clearly written to help non-technical users in cases where the  “auto-insert”  notification for the DVD-Drive is turned OFF, with the result that when the end-user inserts a software DVD, without  DSENTRY  running the DVD will not auto‑start as per the installation instructions that it came with.  Technically advanced users will probably prefer to have one less task running and will want to disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Dvzmsgr

DvzMsgr.exe

(DataViz)

Product updates notification task installed when you install Dataviz’s  Documents To Go  software.  “This task communicates with DataViz’s servers with information regarding your installed copy of  Documents To Go and your Palm OS device.  Using this information it then notifies you of product updates, special offers, and tips.  The information that is transmitted to DataViz includes aggregate stats which are used for development purposes.  DataViz collects these usage statistics to understand how users use Documents To Go – for example, do people view files more than they edit them ?  Which component of Documents To Go is used the most ?   This allows DataViz to allocate development efforts accordingly.”.

Recommendation :
Although DataViz clearly states the role of this task in their license agreement, it is our view that there are many less “stealthy” ways of finding out what users want out of your product, particularly when it is well known that most users do not read the License Agreement when installing software and would therefore not be aware of the role played by DVZMSGR.  We recommend therefore that you disable this task through the  “Tools \ Preferences \ Communications”  menu option, or through disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Dxdllreg

DXDllRegExe

Dxdllreg.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft DirectX DLL Register.  This program appears primarily as a startup entry on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and its prime and only role is to register with Windows the DLLs that are part of Microsoft DirectX v9.

Recommendation :
This entry is created by the installation of Microsoft DirectX v9 so that when the PC reboots at the end of the installation, the first task it will do, on restart, will be to register the new version of DirectX with Windows.  It is then supposed to delete itself from the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter, but sometimes this does not happen with the result that, on some PCs, this entry generates boot‑up error messages referring to  DXDLLREG.  If this is your situation and you have recently installed DirectX 9  (DirectX is sometimes installed while installing games or graphics card drivers), then right‑click on this entry on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter and choose  Launch This Startup Entry – this will run  DXDLLREG  and may also result in this entry removing itself from the  Startups  tab.  Next, click the  REFRESH  button, to refresh the display, and then delete this entry from the  Startups  tab if it is still there.  Alternatively, if your PC has been running fine for some time with this entry there, simply delete it immediately from the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

E_s10ic1

E_s10ic1.exe

(Epson)

Epson Status Monitor 3 for the Epson Stylus C42 Series of inkjet printers.  In its version 3 flavour the Epson Status Monitor does not get installed automatically with the printer drivers – you go through a separate installation process.  When installed the Epson Status Monitor 3 appears as a printer icon in the System Tray.  Double-clicking on the icon enables you to check the ink level in the ink cartridges and also gives you all the specifications of your printer.  Right-clicking on the icon, on the other hand, enables you to perform Nozzle Checks, Head Cleaning, and Print Head Alignment checks on the printer, as well as give you access to the  “Printer Settings”  dialogue, and modify the behaviour of the Status Monitor 3 itself.

Recommendation :
The Epson Status Monitor 3 does not usually cause problems, so we would advise that you have it running, particularly since it is your only way of being able to tell how much ink there is left in your ink cartridges, as the cartridges are too opaque to be able to see the ink level, and the indicator lights on the printers themselves are also too inaccurate.  Note :  if you experience SPOOL32 errors on boot-up, then try disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – if that solves the problem, then download the most up-to-date Status Monitor for the C42 from the Epson website (available via our Drivers pages).

E_s4i2d1

E_S4I2D1.exe

(Epson)

Epson Status Monitor 3 for the Epson Stylus C84 Series of inkjet printers.  In its version 3 flavour the Epson Status Monitor does not get installed automatically with the printer drivers – you go through a separate installation process.  When installed the Epson Status Monitor 3 appears as a printer icon in the System Tray.  Double-clicking on the icon enables you to check the ink level in the ink cartridges and also gives you all the specifications of your printer.  Right-clicking on the icon, on the other hand, enables you to perform Nozzle Checks, Head Cleaning, and Print Head Alignment checks on the printer, as well as give you access to the  “Printer Settings”  dialogue, and modify the behaviour of the Status Monitor 3 itself.

Recommendation :
The Epson Status Monitor 3 does not usually cause problems, so we would advise that you have it running, particularly since it is the only way of being able to tell how much ink there is left in your ink cartridges, as the cartridges are too opaque to be able to see the ink level, and the  “cartridge empty”  marker on the printer only points to a cartridge when that cartridge is actually empty, it does not show you the ink levels before a cartridge becomes empty.

E_s4i2f1

E_S4I2F1.exe

(Epson)

Epson Status Monitor 3 for the Epson Stylus Photo R300 Series of inkjet printers.  In its version 3 flavour the Epson Status Monitor does not get installed automatically with the printer drivers – you go through a separate installation process.  When installed, the Epson Status Monitor 3 appears as a printer icon in the System Tray.  Double-clicking on the icon enables you to check the ink level in the ink cartridges and also gives you all the specifications of your printer.  Right-clicking on the icon, on the other hand, enables you to perform Nozzle Checks, Head Cleaning, and Print Head Alignment checks on the printer, as well as give you access to the  “Printer Settings”  dialogue, and modify the behaviour of the Status Monitor 3 itself.

Recommendation :  
The Epson Status Monitor 3 does not usually cause problems, so we would advise that you have it running, particularly since it is a quick and easy way of being able to tell how much ink there is left in your ink cartridges.  Note :  if you experience SPOOL32 errors on boot-up, then try disabling this task with on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – if that solves the problem, then download the most up-to-date Status Monitor for the R300 from the Epson website (available via our  Drivers  pages).

E_s4i2g1

E_S4I2G1.exe

(Epson)

Epson Status Monitor 3 for the multifunction Epson Stylus CX5400 Series of inkjet printers.  In its version 3 flavour the Epson Status Monitor does not get installed automatically with the printer drivers – you go through a separate installation process.  When installed, the Epson Status Monitor 3 appears as a printer icon in the System Tray.  Double-clicking on the icon enables you to check the ink level in the ink cartridges and also gives you all the specifications of your printer.  Right-clicking on the icon, on the other hand, enables you to perform Nozzle Checks, Head Cleaning, and Print Head Alignment checks on the printer, as well as give you access to the  “Printer Settings”  dialogue, and modify the behaviour of the Status Monitor 3 itself.

Recommendation :  
The Epson Status Monitor 3 does not usually cause problems, so we would advise that you have it running, particularly since it is a quick and easy way of being able to tell how much ink there is left in your ink cartridges.  Note :  if you experience SPOOL32 errors on boot-up, then try disabling this task with on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – if that solves the problem, then download the most up-to-date Status Monitor for the CX5400 from the Epson website (available via our  Drivers  pages).

Earu

Earu.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Eatmenu

EatMenu.exe

(Edgepicture.co.uk)

Background desktop application which enables you to view on your desktop the current day’s menu offered by your local  EAT  coffee shop (EAT is a chain of high quality take-out pre-packaged food and coffee shops in the United Kingdom).

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  It can be disabled on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Eber

Eber.exe
 

See   IWAR.

Eebsvc

eEBSVC.exe

(Epson)

Epson’s Bi-Directional Service on Windows 2000/XP/2003.  In our own experience this service is installed primarily by the drivers of Epson multifunction printers (printers that are a combination of printer, scanner, and sometimes fax), although it may be that it is also used by non-multifunction Epson printers.  This service is part of Epson’s Bi-Directional API software and is simply an interface between the locally attached Epson printer and a remote Status Monitor.  In layman terms :  if, for example, you have an Epson CX5400 multifunction printer attached to PC-1, and you want a second PC on your network, PC-2, to be able to use the Epson Status Monitor that sits in the System Tray so that the user of PC-2 can work out such things as the printer cartridges having enough ink, or if there is paper in the printer, directly from PC-2 without needing to get up to go to the printer or to use the Epson Status Monitor running on PC-1, then you will need  EEBSVC  running on PC-1 as it is  EEBSVC  which talks to the printer and then communicates with the Status Monitor on PC-2 to tell it everything it needs to know about the current status of the printer.  In layman terms, this is why it is called  bi-directional :  EEBSVC can accept  questions  and send  answers  back over a network.

Recommendation : 
1)  If you do not have a network, then there is no reason for this service to be running.  Simply set its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  

2)  Similarly, if you no longer have an Epson printer, then you certainly no longer need this service, in which case de-install all relevant Epson software from the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel – if the service still remains after de-installation, or if there weren’t any entries to de-install, then, again, set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter to prevent it running in the future. 

3)  If you do need to have  EEBSVC  running because it is being used by Epson Status Monitor processes on other PCs on your network, and if you get errors, such as illegal operations mentioning  EEBSVC, then update to the latest drivers for your Epson printer. 

4)  Finally, if you do need to have  EEBSVC  running and you have a firewall that protects your PC when it is on the Internet, you may get popup alerts & warnings from your firewall telling you that  EEBSVC  is attempting to communicate – this happens because  EEBSVC  pings available ports (sorry, no short layman translation here) to discover Status Monitor processes looking for network printers to monitor (our message to Epson – “this really is not a good design!”).  If you have that situation, then make sure that your firewall’s trusted zone includes all the PCs on your network, and then have your firewall prevent  EEBSVC  from communicating outside of your network.  That normally works with most firewalls – in some cases, however, it does not and you will need to allow  EEBSVC  to communicate through your firewall.

Note :   all of the above notwithstanding, we have found that with some Epson multifunctional printers,  EEBSVC  is actually needed for the local Epson Status Monitor to run properly  (by “local” we mean the Epson Status Monitor on the PC that the printer is directly attached to).  When that is the case simply re-set the  Startup Mode  to  Automatic  on the  SERVICES  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Elbycheck

ElbyCheck.exe

(Elaborate Bytes AG)

Background task installed by Elaborate Bytes’  CloneCD  and  CloneDVD  products and which ensures, on boot-up, that the Elaborate Bytes CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drivers are still there and have not been replaced by other drivers.

Recommendation :
Essential for the proper functioning of CloneCD and CloneDVD.  In version 4.3 and above of CloneCD, the product is now a SlySoft product and  ELBYCHECK  is no longer part of the product.  Thus, if you have SlySoft’s CloneCD v4.3 or later and  ELBYCHECK  is still showing as a Startup item, remove it with The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Emsw

Emsw.exe

(Alset)

Alset’s HelpExpress.  Useless background adware which tells you when you need to buy printer cartridges, and where to buy them, and all sorts of other things like that.

Recommendation :
Firstly Alset are the same crowd as Aveo who produce the similarly useless Aveo Attune.  Secondly, at the time of writing of this entry (2‑Jan‑2004), Alset and Aveo seem to have gone out of business.   Thirdly, as with Aveo Attune, some users have experienced conflicts with other software.  De‑install HelpExpress immediately via the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel.  Then, remove all references of  EMSW  with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Engutil

EngUtil.exe

(Roxio)

Roxio Engine Compatibility Utility startup task installed with Roxio’s  Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.x  (Standard and Platinum versions).  This task checks to make sure that the Roxio Engine, the set of core programs which write and read from CDs and DVDs, have not been modified and accidentally downgraded by the installation of another application  (such as a Windows Media Player update, or other Roxio products with earlier versions of the engine, or 3^rd party software which uses the Roxio engine).  If the Roxio engine has been detrimentally modified, the end-user is notified.

Recommendation :
This is a task which executes at startup, does the checking mentioned above, and then terminates if everything is fine.  Leave it enabled unless you experience startup problems with it, in which case check our  Drivers  page for updates to your version of Easy CD & DVD Creator 6.x.

Enns

Enns.exe

See   IWAR.

Euea

Euea.exe
 

See   IWAR.

Eventagt

EventAgt.exe

(Dell)

Dell Event Agent (DEventAgent) service which is part of the Dell OpenManage DMI System Management software.  This service watches out for specific events from hardware items being monitored through the OpenManage software, and relays those events accordingly.

Recommendation :
If you use Dell’s OpenManage software, you need this service running, otherwise you can disable it by setting its startup mode to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Evntsvc

TkBellExe

Realsched

Evntsvc.exe

or

Realsched.exe

(Real Networks)

Real Networks Scheduler which gets installed with RealOne Player.  Under Win9x/ME this task shows as  TKBELLEXE,  and as  EVNTSVC  under Windows 2000/XP or  REALSCHED  depending on which version of RealOne Player you have installed.  From our experience, everything that applies to EVNTSVC below, also applies to REALSCHED.   RNDAL  elsewhere in these Task List pages is a good starting point to read about RealOne Player.  Next, a 15-Jun-2002 extract from the RealOne Player License Agreement that is specific to EVNTSVC (the said License Agreement was updated on 25-Nov-2002 by Real Networks and EVNTSVC was replaced by REALSCHED in that version of the License Agreement) :  An application Scheduler, known as “evntsvc.exe,” is installed along with RealOne Player. Once installed, it runs independently of RealOne Player. The Scheduler does not collect personal information or communicate with RealNetworks’ servers. It is used to remind AutoUpdate and Message Center to perform their tasks at pre-scheduled intervals. The Scheduler is also used to automatically launch RealNetworks’ Media Type Helper. The Media Type Helper ensures the system is configured for correct operation of the RealOne Player with Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions (“MIME”) types, file extensions, Internet protocols and other media types. If a media type has been assigned a different action by a different application, Media Type Helper may override the association and substitute its own association.

Additional, on 14-Jan-2005, the following excerpt from RealNetworks’ Privacy Policy is also very educational :  “Use of Invisible GIFs.  Invisible GIFs (also known as "single pixel tags" or "action tags," or "web bugs") may be used to assist in delivering cookies on our site relating to third party advertising and research services. We use this technology to access your personally identifiable information in accordance with the other sections of this privacy policy, and to compile aggregate data. This technology is used in our email messages that are delivered by a third party advertising service. This technology transfers your e-mail address to us so that we can associate your personally identifiable information with the elements (such as links, advertisements or graphics) that you click on a RealNetworks web page. We also use this technology to compile aggregate statistics about our website. Additionally, third party advertisers and research services may share aggregated and anonymous site statistics with RealNetworks regarding the web traffic patterns of web browsers that visit certain RN sites, whether through the use of Invisible GIFs or otherwise. If you are concerned about these practices, you may opt out from receiving cookies in your browser or you may visit the URLs listed below which direct you to the privacy policy page of RealNetworks' recent advertising service providers and instructs you how to opt out from their cookies or informs you of their cookie policy.”.

Recommendation :  
If reading about  RNDAL  did not put you off, then read on.  RealPlayer Classic used to be one of the most needed pieces of software on a PC.  Its successor, RealOne Player, is vying for the title of the most hated piece of software.  For a start, on many PCs EVNTSVC/REALSCHED slows down boot-ups unacceptably, using up to 90% of CPU time at times.  There have also been reports of  EVNTSVC  dropping advertising shortcuts onto the desktop during idle times.  Next, if you try to disable EVNTSVC/REALSCHED on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, RealOne Player checks to see if it has been deleted or disabled in the Registry and re-instates it as an enabled startup item !   To be fair, there is a facility within RealOne Player to  “only perform automatic services while RealOne Player is in use”.  However, since RealOne Player is unfortunately needed to watch videos on many news sites, here is what we suggest you do and which works for us :

1)   Terminate  REALSCHED  on the  Tasks  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

2)   Switch over to the  Startups  tab.

3)   Right-click on  REALSCHED  and choose  Rename the file that this Startup points to.

RealOne works absolutely fine without this task running, and you can surf the web in the safe knowledge that you have successfully disabled REALSCHED !
 

Explore

Window

Explore.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Gaobot.ADW  virus, or one of the many other viruses which use this task name.

Explorer  (1)

Explorer.exe

(Microsoft)

This is either your Windows Desktop or you have Windows Explorer open.

Recommendation :  
Vital !!   Leave untouched.  Note that the full path shown in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  should be  C:\Windows\Explorer.exe  or  C:\WinNT\Explorer.exe.

Explorer  (2)

Explorer.exe

(???)

If the path of this file does  NOT  show up as  C:\Windows\Explorer.exe  or  C:\WinNT\Explorer.exe  in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  then you most probably have a virus such as the   Trojan.Kility   virus.

Recommendation :  
Do not panic unnecessarily.  Check the path column in the upper part of the  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  screen (the path is not case sensitive).  Only worry if the path does not match the possibilities we have listed.  If you have a virus, then simply make sure you have an up‑to‑date reputable antivirus program and run a full virus scan on your PC.

Exshow

Exshow.exe

(Kensington)

Mouse driver installed by Kensington’s MouseWorks software.  According to Kensington, MouseWorks provides enhanced acceleration, enhanced scrolling (e.g. horizontal scrolling), one-touch access to favourite web pages and applications, and configurability where you can configure your mouse to have different profiles for different applications or where you can specify button combinations to bring up popup menus which you configured with MouseWorks.

Recommendation :
This driver is only needed if you actually use the MouseWorks software as described above.  De-install MouseWorks from the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel if you do not use the software.

F-sched

F-Sched.exe

(Frisk Software)

F-PROT Scheduler  for the  F-PROT  antivirus software.  This scheduler runs in the System Tray and enables you to schedule unattended virus definitions updates as well as unattended virus scans of your PC.

Recommendation :
At the time of writing, 15‑Nov‑2004, this is in our opinion one of the worst designed antivirus software scheduler programs.  If during the course of a virus definitions update the scheduler determines that there is a new version of the main F‑PROT antivirus software, it waits on the screen till you click  DOWNLOAD,  at which point your web browser is opened for you to manually download the software updates.  We actually do not have a problem with having to manually download full-program updates through the web browser.  What we take extreme exception to is the fact that when the above happens you are no longer in  automatic unattended  mode – until you click either  DOWNLOAD  or  CANCEL  the updating module stays open on the screen and  does not  update your virus definitions.  You could therefore be in the situation which we have seen a number of times where you have left your PC on for hours overnight or during the day, with your email software open and automatically picking up emails as they arrive, a new virus is released during that time, Frisk Software release both virus definitions and a new version of the F‑PROT program, but because your supposed unattended automatic update is actually waiting for user input, F‑PROT does not get updated with the latest definitions and your PC gets infected through a virus email which it received while the  F‑PROT  updater was waiting for user input !   And there is more :  if you have configured the scheduler to check for virus definitions updates every hour, like we do, but it got stuck for hours waiting for user input, and you come back and give it that user input  (either through cancelling or through downloading the full F‑PROT update), then the scheduler stacks up all the update checks it was not able to do while waiting for user input, and you then get bombarded over the next hour or two of work, with endless interruptions from the scheduler checking for updates.  Unbelievable.  Lastly, unlike with other software, it is our belief that, for antivirus software, scheduled automated virus definitions updates should occur seamlessly and  unobtrusively  in the background in the way that Symantec do with Norton Antivirus – you should never have a situation where you find yourself being interrupted by a virus update while you are writing an email with the result that you end up typing in the wrong window !   So, depending on how you use your PC, and on how often you check for virus definition updates, the F‑PROT scheduler can either be  OK  or a total and absolute source of frustration which will make you want to disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and use manual updates instead.  Frisk Software need to have a serious look at this.  Your choice.

F1tray

F1Tray.exe

(FusionOne)

System Tray icon for FusionOne’s  MightyPhone  software.  MightyPhone is a great concept for synchronizing the data on your mobile phone, with your web-based or PC based organizer.  On this one we will allow ourselves to say that we hope it succeeds.  We cannot explain the concept any better than MightyPhone (FusionOne) do themselves (as of 1‑Feb‑2004) :  “MightyPhone provides the ability for end-users to add, remove, or change data on their cellular handsets without having to enter it directly into the device (via the cumbersome keypad) or sync via a cable with a PC. All independent of their carrier, be it CDMA or GSM.  MightyPhone comes in two flavours regular web‑powered MightyPhone and the downloadable MightyPhone Pro desktop application.  The web version allows users to login and enter or change contact, calendar and task data via a web browser, and then sync the updates down to their phone over‑the‑air.  The downloadable desktop sync client, MightyPhone Pro, allows over‑the‑air, 2-way synchronization of contacts, calendar and tasks directly from popular PIM applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Lotus Notes.  The web version is worthwhile for those who have minimal contact or calendar information to track, while the Pro version is more for the professional.  The major caveat with MightyPhone is that your phone has to be supported, however MightyPhone can support any mobile phone with built-in SyncML capabilities, something that is appearing in more and more models.  MightyPhone.com”.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  If you often synchronize your phone with your PC, then it makes sense to have MightyPhone Pro accessible straight from the System Tray.

F1autosync

F1AutoSync.exe

(FusionOne)

See   F1TRAY   above for details of  MightyPhone.  F1AUTOSYNC is the background task which pulls data out of your Personal Information Organizer and sends it to your phone over the web and then over‑the‑air.  It also does the reverse operation when synchronizing from your phone back to your PC.

Recommendation :  
Essential for the proper functioning of MightyPhone Pro.  You can either decide to leave it as a startup task or you can decide to disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  since starting the MightyPhone Pro software when you next need it will in any case start this task.

Faxsvc

FaxSvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Fax service for Windows 2000/XP/2003, and also NT4 with Service Pack 4 or later.  This service implements the fax configurations you have defined in the Fax Service Management Console that you can access through the Fax icon in the Control Panel.  FAXSVC also answers fax calls and sends the faxes you send from your programs (e.g. from Word, Excel, etc...).

Recommendation :
If you do not use Microsoft faxing, you can set this service to  Disabled  in  “Control Panel \ Services”  in Windows NT4,  or in  “Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services”   in Windows 2000/XP/2003.  Look for the service called  Fax Service.

Firewallsvr

FirewallSvr.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Netsky.X@mm  \  W32.Netsky.Y@mm   virus.

Fpdisp4

Fpdisp4a

Fpdisp5a

FpDisp4.exe

FpDisp4a.exe

FpDisp5a.exe

(FinePrint Software)

The FinePrint Dispatcher.  This program handles the spooling of print jobs to the FinePrint printer.  “4” and “4a” indicate version 4.x of the software, while “5a” indicates version 5.x of the FinePrint software.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential to the FinePrint software, so leave it alone.

Fppdis1

Fppdis1a

Fppdis2a

Fppdis1.exe

Fppdis1a.exe

Fppdis2a.exe

(FinePrint Software)

FinePrint pdfFactory.  This is the background task which handles the creation of  PDF  files when you print to the FinePrint pdfFactory printer.  The “1” and “1a” indicate versions 1.x, while the “2a” is version 2.x.  Both version 1.x and version 2.x of pdfFactory can co-exist on the same PC.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential to the pdfFactory, so leave it alone.

Fsb

Fsb.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.HLLW.Yero.Worm  /  W32/Fesber.worm   virus.

Fvprotect

Norton Antivirus AV

FVProtect.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Netsky.P@mm   virus.

Gearsec

Gearsec.exe

(GEAR Software)

Service installed by GEAR Software’s CD and DVD writing software on Windows NT4/2000/XP PCs.  This service shows as  Gear Security Service  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  GEARSEC.EXE is the driver part of the software which allows the GEAR software (through the GEAR.wrks API) to recognize and work with recorders under Windows NT4/2000/XP.  The GEAR.wrks API is used in GEAR Software's products and, as per GEAR Software’s website on 31-Mar-2004, it is also used in several 3rd party applications such as Apple's iTunes, Cakewalk's Pyro, Audible's AudibleManager and DiscWelder by Minnetonka, MixMeister, some Kodak products, 321 Studios, etc....  At the time of writing most users who have GEARSEC running on their PCs had it installed when they installed Apple’s iTunes for their iPods.

Recommendation :
This service is essential for the software that installed it.  Thus if you have any of the products mentioned above or on the following webpage,  http://www.gearsoftware.com/partners/ strategic/index.cfm,  then you need this service to be running.  There have been reports of slow shutdown caused by  GEARSEC.  When that is the case make sure you have the latest service pack for your operating system (at the time of writing they are Service Pack 6a for Windows NT4,  Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000,  and Service Pack 1/1a for Windows XP)  and  that you have done a recent Windows update.  Next, download the latest version of the software which installed  GEARSEC  (eg. the latest version of Apple iTunes) as it may have an updated  GEARSEC  driver.  If, however, you no longer use any software which uses the  GEARSEC  driver, then set the Startup Mode of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Ghoststartservice

Ghosts~2

GhostStartService.exe

GHOSTS~2.exe

(Symantec)

Norton’s Ghost Start Service which runs as a task under Windows 9x/ME and as a service under Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003.  This task/service gets installed if you install either the Windows portion of Ghost the standalone product, or if you install Norton SystemWorks 2002 or later and include the Ghost option.  GHOSTSTARTSERVICE is the background support task/service for Ghost for Windows.  When you use Ghost Explorer, or start Ghost tasks such as backup and restore, they are implemented in the background by  GhostStartService.

Recommendation : 
Essential for the proper functioning of Ghost for Windows (not needed if you only use the DOS Ghost program that also comes with Ghost for Windows).

Gigabit

Gigabit.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Beagle.U@mm \  W32/Bagle.U@mm   virus.