Processes problems

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Guest

Hi,
I hope I'm in the right forum! I have quite a few processes running on my
computer. I run AdAware and Spybot frequently but I was still concerned. I
Googled several of the processes and read that the file should only appear in
a specific folder; if it didn't it could be sypware, trojan, etc. When I
searched on my computer for the first few files, I found each file appeared
in several other folders besides the Windows/System32 folder. However, the
other folders the files are appearing in don't appear to be anything bad.
One is Windows/ServicePack Files and another is something like
Windows/Prefetch??? Should I be concerned about these other folders and if
so, can I just delete the extra files and that will take care of the problem?
I read about a program called Security Task Manager that is supposed to help
with these type issues. Anyone familiar with it and if it works? All help
would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
I've been at that site and while it was extremely helpful to me in showing
what the different processes are and how to disable, etc it didn't tell me
what to do in the case of finding the process in a folder other than the one
it should be in. Any ideas on that? Thanks again!
 
Andee39 said:
I've been at that site and while it was extremely helpful to me in
showing what the different processes are and how to disable, etc it
didn't tell me what to do in the case of finding the process in a
folder other than the one
it should be in. Any ideas on that? Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Generally if you find something where it doesn't belong, it's time to
run a scan with a current version antivirus (not earlier than 2004)
using updated definitions. I would run the scan in Safe Mode.

Malke
 
I've just seen some threads recently about running antivirus in Safe Mode.
I've never done that b4. Does that make a difference? Also, with my NAV I
believe I have v.2003 but with current updated definitions. Will that be a
problem? I tried to update to NAV 2005 recently but there was an issue with
the letter used for my primary drive (that headache is for another group) and
I couldn't complete the install. I was however able to re-install 2003.
 
Andee39 said:
I've just seen some threads recently about running antivirus in Safe
Mode.
I've never done that b4. Does that make a difference? Also, with my
NAV I
believe I have v.2003 but with current updated definitions. Will that
be a
problem? I tried to update to NAV 2005 recently but there was an
issue with the letter used for my primary drive (that headache is for
another group) and
I couldn't complete the install. I was however able to re-install
2003.
Click to expand...

The reason I always say to scan in Safe Mode for a non-routine scan is
that a) you can't delete a file that is in use; b) most malware doesn't
run in Safe Mode and can therefore be deleted.

The reason I say you should have a "current version" av is because you
wouldn't believe how many home users are still running with the av that
was originally preinstalled with their computer 4 years ago (and never
updated). NAV 2003 is fine, but when your subscription runs out you
shouldn't bother with NAV 2005. This is a personal opinion based on
professional observation. NAV 2003 was the last Norton av I liked; NAV
2004 and 2005 were progressively more bloated and invasive. Good
alternatives would be Computer Associates' EZ-Trust AV, TrendMicro's
home av, or Kaspersky av.

HTH,

Malke
 
I will definitely run the programs in Safe Mode and see what happens. Thanks
for the suggestion!

One other question on the same matter - I recently visited blackviper.com
and found very useful information on the different processes and how to
configure them. I am a bit confused though - I show several instances of
svchost.exe running. How do I determine what program each instance is for?
That is the only description I see.

Thanks again!
 
Andee39 said:
I will definitely run the programs in Safe Mode and see what happens.
Thanks for the suggestion!

One other question on the same matter - I recently visited
blackviper.com and found very useful information on the different
processes and how to
configure them. I am a bit confused though - I show several instances
of
svchost.exe running. How do I determine what program each instance is
for? That is the only description I see.
Click to expand...

It is normal to have several instances of svchost.exe running. Here is a
link to an MS explanation of svchost.exe:

A description of Svchost.exe in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314056/EN-US/

Malke
 
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