I just did a spyware check and deleted all the cookies. This is what still is running on my computer in the background even though I didn’t have any program open…
So how messed up is my computer really? Does anybody have an idea what is not supposed to run?
Thanks for your help!
just copy and past ethe file names into google.
You can have a pretty good idea what everything is by just checking the page summaries.
Once you know which ones are okay or not, you can click on the links to find out more.
It’s pretty easy to do.
Kenneth
you are also broadcasting your name through your post - if you don’t want everyone to know, modify it quickly.
just a warning …
There’s nothing there that is using a lot of CPU time and after a quick check of whats running, there doesn’t seem to be anything there that should not be there. So, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
I just checked my PC and you should see whats running in the background on my machine (60+ process). 
techRoach
Suggest to use System Restore and restore the computer back to the last point it was trouble free. That is, if you have been creating the restore points?
Anyway,
Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools> System Restore.
Good luck.
Silly me, thanks xtrain for the warning… 
I just replaced it with an edited screen shot.
KenTaiwan: Yeah I should do that, was just hoping for a little outside help… 
Roach: I hope so…but some of it looks really weird like realsched.exe or SERVICES.EXE and why are there so many SVCHOST.EXE running?
wyseau: I do have restore points. Does all the spyware and evil things that shouldn’t be runnig go away with it?
Thanks
If you have Real Player installed then realsched.exe is ok, all it does is periodically check for updates. Services.exe is part of the Windows OS, as is SVCHOST.exe. Its not unusual for there to be many instances of SVCHOST.exe running on a Windows PC (I’ve currently got 7)…
All the things in the list are background processes required by the OS, by hardware on your system, or by applications installed on your system.
You’ve checked and removed spyware, and I’m assuming your running an up-to-date virus scanner, so I don’t see anything to get worried about.
OK. I looked up all that stuff on this website http://www.processlibrary.com/ and found some problems:
So how do I find out if it is the printing thing or a backdoor?
I’m running Norton AntiVirus and never found any viruses on my computer. So is it or is it not evil?
Again Norton AntiVirus would find that if it were a virus, right?
[quote]WinLogon.exe is the Windows NT login manager. It handles the login and logout procedures on your system. This process is an essential part of your OS and should be left alone. Note: winlogon.exe is a process which is registered as the W32.Netsky.D@mm worm. This virus is distributed via the Internet through e-mail and comes in the form of an e-mail message, in the hopes that you open it
Now you are starting to panic…
The problem with Googling these things is you can end up reading stuff that gets you disbelieving your own virus checker. Some viruses, spyware and adware programs can disguise themselves as files with the same names as genuine Windows files but if your virus checker, spyware/adware checker haven’t found anything then it is unlikely that they are malicious. So, don’t worry…
Ok, point by point…
The processlibrary.com/ website should provide more information on how to determine if you are running genuine versions of these processes. Don’t remove anything unless you are completely certain that it is malicious.
No its not evil - its just part of Window’s built in security system.
Yes.
Windows XP is kinda like the latest version of Windows NT but under another name.
This is just yet another legitimate part of the Windows OS
This is required by the ATI graphics driver that is part of your system
www.processlibrary.com should give you more information on how to determine if you have a legitimate or maliscious version of this. But I don’t think its malicious - your virus checker would have found it if it was.
You might think that you are not running it, but is it in the System tray? If it is then you are running MSN, you just might not be connected.
[quote=“mesheel”]
Quote:
explorer.exe is the Windows Program Manager or Windows Explorer…
Hmm…there is only one explorer.exe on the list. So I guess I should be OK, right?[/quote]
Right!
So, no more worries, right?
I just run Norton AntiVirus so I guess I should be OK. It’s just that my computer is quite slow compared to before and it takes quite a long time to start up and shut down now.
I don’t want to reformat the whole thing, this would take days as I’m not the only user…
Did you install SP2? My machine at work hasn’t been the same since I did…
You gotta remember that all these ‘process information’ web sites are only trying make you doubt what you have in order to try to sell you their own anti-virus, spyware/adware scanning/removal software. You’ve already got that and what makes theirs any better… Its just a bit of a sales pitch…
It could be that all you need to do is defragment your hard drive.
I see one thing start away that is a miss, ALG.exe, this is an adware program.
I would advise you to run “Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition” (free) to remove all the adware from your PC. There are others that you can use but make sure you get one that doesn’t have pop-ups also!!
Normal way to clean your system, barring a reinstall, would be a virus scan, adware scan, cookie scan and to finish it off a nice system defragment. (All of this should be done at least once a month)
After this, you should be running ok.
p.s. Keep your Windows, antivirus and adware all up to date.
p.s.s. Make sure you are running a good firewall program.
No it is not adware.
[quote=“www.neuber.com”]What is alg.exe? Is alg.exe spyware or a virus?
Application Layer Gateway service is a component of of Windows OS. It is required if you use a 3rd party firewall or Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to connect to the internet. Do not end this program in task manager - you will lose all internet connectivity until next restart or login.[/quote]
If there was a malicious version of this file on Mesheel’s system it would have been found by her virus checker - which I believe is up-to-date…
ggggrrr…yes… :fume: :fume:
Ad-aware/Spybot/Norton AntiVirus are all up to date; cookies killed; temporary internetfiles deleted.
Guess I’ll do the defragmentation again, it’s been a while…
BTW, I was told not to defragment too often as this could damage the computer. I’m getting confused here, everybody says something totally different. :help:
If you really want to delete the ALG.exe file, search for it and delete it. Simple as that.
Mesheel, DO NOT DELETE this file!
It runs non-maliciously on both my PC at work and my PC at home…
[quote=“mesheel”]Guess I’ll do the defragmentation again, it’s been a while…
[/quote]
Go for it girrrl!
If you’ve not done it for a while then you have nothing to worry about, but I can’t see how frequently defragmenting you hard disk can damage your system :s . I guess it’s just another urban myth 
ggggrrr…yes… :fume: :fume:
Ad-aware/Spybot/Norton AntiVirus are all up to date; cookies killed; temporary internetfiles deleted.
Guess I’ll do the defragmentation again, it’s been a while…
BTW, I was told not to defragment too often as this could damage the computer. I’m getting confused here, everybody says something totally different. :help:[/quote]
They are all right. Just like exercise. Too less or too much are not good.
So, if you always copy, delete, move,download files, 1/week maybe is a good idea. But if you just type something in word or excel. It’s will ok to keep the original.
Just Suggest!
Thanks for the help. It’s OK I guess. I did what I can besides reformating the whole thing and will just have to live with that slower condition…