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Question : Problem: monitor program icon
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What is it? It's on my toolbar at the bottom. Looks like a camera icon, which leads me to believe it came with the Digital Imaging CD that came with my Digital camera. I downloaded it last nite, true? I tried to google it but the explantion wasn't plain enough!
Any ideas why I had to download an Acrobat Reader with it?
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Answer : Problem: monitor program icon
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It seems that the DELETE Button didn't quite work as intended, CetusMOD. I've asked for it to be looked at again.
Here's my appraisal of your Startup items, Jules. Sorry if it's long, but it covers all those things listed by MSINFO32., including the "Monitor.exe" you asked about:
You have WAY TOO MANY things automatically being loaded at startup. There are actually NO programs that are NEEDED to run at startup (apart from the System Tray) for Windows to boot properly and work.
There are, however, ones that are important to load at startup eg. AntiVirus Program and ones that allow functionality that you have grown to expect as being immediately available. Read the notes and determine this for yourself.
The first place you should look, to disable programs from startup, is within the "User Options" of the program itself. Programs that DON'T afford this option are, in my opinion, not really telling you the full story about what the startup program does with your system, or are nuisance programs that you are probably as well without.
The 2nd option is to disable the programs or processes from startup using MSCONFIG as detailed earlier in this question.
Where you really don't want the program at all, you should uninstall from Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, but there are the ones like "Weatherbug" that you should probably first disable from startup using MSCONFIG BEFORE uninstalling to ensure that they are uninstalled.
Always try to UNINSTALL a program that is regarded as a pest BEFORE running a removal tool designed to rid your system of it. These utilities will get rid of remnants that disn't uninstall properly or fully.
DEFINITELY REQUIRED AT STARTUP
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ccApp (ccapp.exe) - Norton AntiVirus or Norton Internet Security
ccRegVfy (ccregvfy.exe) - Norton AntiVirus or Norton Internet Security
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dla (tfswctrl.exe) - Drive Letter Access Component from Hewlett Packard, Veritas, or Sonic Solutions. This is required when using the Drag, Drop, and Burn facility afforded by Sonic RecordNow! which has the Veritas Backup Program included. It is similar to Roxio/Adaptec's DirectCD. Without this program loading from startup, the end user will be able to burn CD's but wont be able to read them.
** Read notes about Sonic RecordNow to see if you really need this to load from startup **
DEFINITELY NOT REQUIRED AT STARTUP
==================================
Weather (weather.exe) - *** ADWARE TO GET RID OF ***
Related to WeatherBug and WeatherCast.
Strangely, Microsoft seem to condone it:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=317299
Other related products include:
WhenUSearch Toolbar, WeatherCast, WhenUShop, WhenUSearch SideFinder, ClockSync, Save!/SaveNow, PriceBandit, and WhenUSearch BEST.
http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/w/weathercast.asp
I suggest disabling this from MSCONFIG and then looking to see if you can uninstall any of the related utilities from Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. Look particularly for "WeatherBug" and uninstall it.
You should then delete the folder c:\program files\aws and all contents.
I would then run HIJACK THIS and see what files, settings, and registry entries it finds.
*** More about this at the end ***
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TkBellExe (realsched.exe) - RealOne Player from RealNetworks installs this and it is a "RealPest" in terms of persistence, bordering on spyware. GET RID OF IT!!
Full details here:
http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/detail.php?id=3841
Extrat: "...uninstall RealOne Player and either install the classic RealPlayer, or something else such as WinAmp. If you absolutely want to keep RealOne Player, we suggest you disable it from startup in MSCONFIG and then rename EVNTSVC.EXE to EVNTSVC.EXE.OLD (or REALSCHED.EXE to REALSCHED.OLD). This is the only way to make absolutely certain that it never runs, because it will reinstate the startup status when it detects changes to the registry. RealOne Player works fine without it". You already HAVE WinAmp installed, so I would just uninstall the RealOne Player and allow WinAmp to acquire the association with the media file types previously acquired by RealOne Player.
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QuickTime Task (qttask.exe) - I hate the way QuickTime always insists on starting up on computers, and then keeps reminding the user to check for updates. It adds an icon to the System Tray and is non-essential to your Windows system. Most often, Apple QuickTime insists on associating itself with .MOV and .QT video file types, but you will probably find that Windows Media Player is able to handle .MOV multimedia files quite well. My advice is to open Media Player and then go to the View > Options Menu and open the "Formats" tab. Place a tick in what is often the last entry (QuickTime File). Click "Apply" and then close media Player. Now find the Start menu entry to launch Quick Time Player. If it isn't there, then you should find that the file C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QuickTimePlayer.exe opens it. Use the menu option "Edit > Preferences > Connection Speed" and then click the small drop-down box and select "File Type Associations". I suggest unticking all the boxes in there, particularly the option to tell you when other programs have acquired file associations for the file types. QuickTime will still usually insist on opening to play videos if you click on a web page link to a .MOV or .QT file.
If you prefer WinAmp to be the default program for most multimedia file types, then this is your choice.
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BJCFD (cfd.exe)
Part of "BroadJump Client Foundation" software that is bundled with toolkits provided by some ISPs when you install . It is used to check your system settings and network settings associated with your computer and send these information to its controlling server (BroadJump.com or Motive.com). I would say that this is NOT needed, and I don't like anything checking out my system.
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Corel Painter 8f (registration.exe) - Debris left over from uninstallation of Corel painter version 8 which has been uninstalled.
Disable from startup and then delete the file:
c:\program files\common files\corel\registration\en\registration.exe to the recycle bin. Reboot. IF you do NOT have any other Corel applications installed, then you could probably also delete the folder:
c:\program files\common files\corel
and ALL of its content.
I have to wonder, though, whether the uninstallation was fully successful. Corel Applications normally install to C:\Program Files\Corel, and then create sub-folders for the named Corel Applications. Check to see if this folder still exists, and also if there is still an entry in Control Panel > "Add/Remove Programs" for any Corel applications. It might be the case that reinstalling Corel painter, and then uninstalling it again might work to remove this startup item and remaining folders/files.
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DwlClient (support.exe) - Download manager for Dell support alerts. Unless you have a particular interest in wasting resources while your system constantly checks for updates at Dell sites, then disable this from startup.
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HotKeysCmds (hkcmd.exe) - Intel Hotkey command activator. Installed along with Intel multimedia devices (eg. for Intel Graphics Contollers) and allows configurable options for these devices.
Put it this way, if you don't know what it does, then you don't need this to be loaded at startup.
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IgfxTray (igfxtray.exe) - Allows you to access access the Intel Graphics configuration and diagnostic application for the Intel 810 series graphics chipset. This program is a non-essential system process and places an icon in the System Tray for instant access. If you have never used this option before, then disable it from startup.
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PCMService (pcmservice.exe) - Part of "Dell Media Experience" software installed on some Dimension and Inspiron systems. This is a non-essential system process, but might interfere with the way you use multimedia on your computer if you were to disable it from startup.
The Dell Media Experience solution allows easy usage when handling music, images and video. No harm in temporarily disabling with MSCONFIG to see if it affects your computer usage.
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SunJavaUpdateSched (jusched.exe) - I assume that you installed Windows XP SP1a update. The original SP1 update came with Java Virtual machine packaged, but there was a dispute from the owners Sun MicroSystems, and it was removed from SP1 leaving SP1a. Sun's Java could then be downloaded and installed separately and then configured to replace Java Virtual Machine. The best way to disable this automatic update checker from starting up with Windows is from the Control Panel > Java icon. Open the "Updates" tab and untick "check for updates automatically".
Alternatively, use MSCONFIG.
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WService (wservice.exe) -
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Quoted on some online resources as being a "Tablet Client Driver for UC-Logic Pen/Graphics Tablet" OR "WindowsScheduler-System Scheduler Service" which is a system process in Windows XP.
You will have an idea whether you have had a graphics tablet connected to the PC at some time.
I would have expected a Windows SERVICE to run from the registry key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices rather than from the "RUN" key, but I would have to check this on an XP computer.
It HAS, however, also been associated with Trojan Viruses:
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/trojproratd.html
Temporarily disable this item in MSCONFIG and run a full Virus Scan to eliminate the possibility.
LEFT TO USER PREFERENCE TO LEAVE AS STARTUP PROG
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WinampAgent (winampa.exe) - Creates a System Tray icon for quick access to Winamp and settings. Allows for quick reassociation of file types where programs like RealOne Player acquire them for their own use. It isn't needed at startup to use WinAmp, so leaving it enabled is a user preference.
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AIM (aim.exe ) - AOL Instant Messenger. NOT needed at startup, you can launch it manually when required. (See notes about "Trillian" at end).
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MsnMsgr (msnmsgr.exe) - Microsoft Messenger. This can be disabled from the Tools > Options in messenger, or using MSCONFIG. From the messenger tools > options, you can have it load to the System Tray at startup, but not automatically open or login. Look also at Outlook Express setting in Tools > Options > "general" tab, and untick the option to have Messenger automatically log in. (See notes about "Trillian" at end)
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Yahoo! Pager (ypager.exe) - Creates a System Tray icon like the Instant Messenger services above. NOT needed at startup, you can launch it manually when required. (See notes about "Trillian" at end).
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Digital Image Monitor (monitor.exe) - already explained in my previous comments, and this is the core of your question. Try temporarily disabling it from startup and see what happens when you connect your digital camera. I'm assuming it is for a camera, but Digital Imaging is also an integral part of scanning, so it could relate to that.
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SpySweeper (spysweeper.exe) - Leave this enabled at startup if you rely on it scanning your system when windows starts. If you just use it as and when you wish to scan the system for spyware, then disable it with MSCONFIG.
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MMTray (mm_tray.exe) - System Tray icon for MusicMatch Jukebox which gives instant access to MusicMatch Jukebox settings. It is a non-essential process, and disabling or enabling this from startup is your choice depending how often you access it. If you never use MusicMatch Jukebox, then uninstall it from Control Panel > "Add/Remove Programs".
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ctfmon.exe - Part of the Microsoft Office suite. It activiates the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office XP Language Bar. Fully Explained here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q282599/
TEMPORARILY DISABLE AND TEST IF NEEDED AT STARTUP
=================================================
(Read Notes Carefully)
BCMSMMSG (bcmsmmsg.exe) - Background task required by some Broadcom Voice Modems to work properly. If you will terminate it manually, you MAY NOT be able to use your modem as intended.
NOTE: I have a feeling that this acts as the driver for what is known as a "Software Modem" or "WinModem". A Hardware modem has all the facilities built into it, whereas a Software Modem needs software to function. I suggest that, if this is the case, you change it for a standard PCI or external USB modem. 56K V90/V92 PCI Card Modems are amazingly cheap these days, and the change would dispense with the background processes and software required for a Software Modem to work.
NOTE: from the BJCFD (cfd.exe) entry (Not Required), it seems that you have A DSL Broadband connection, and therefore probably an external usb modem. If this IS the case, then you probably have an existing old WinModem that is still installed in one of the slots on the motherboard, and the software still installed for it. It's hard to know this for certain, but if so I would go to Control Panel > open the "System" icon, and then open the "Device Manager" tab. Normally if you click on the Modem entry and select "Remove", it also uninstalls the software for it, but not always. The Control Panel > "Add/Remove Programs" probably lists the software for the Software Modem, and this would be the correct way to uninstall it, but the risk is that you might end up uninstalling software for the Broadband Modem.
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Sonic RecordNow! (executable not known) - http://www.sonic.com/products/recordnow/deluxesuite/default.asp
I think that this may be needed at startup to allow the "Drag, Drop, & Burn" functionality in a similar way to Windows XP's inbuilt CD-Burning software. Whether this is required at startup, I don't know, but no harm in temporarily disabling it from startup with MSCONFIG and testing functionality. You can always re-enable it again.
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UpdateManager (sgtray.exe) - The Sonic RecordNow! software is quoted as being ideal for making backups by dragging, dropping, and burning. The software includes the components for the Veritas StorageGuard Backup Program (integrates with Backup MyPC, Simple Backup and MS Backup), and the purpose of this startup item is to create a System Tray icon that will pop up and keep reminding you to create backups. Some places refer to it as an update manager, or spyware, but I am not absolutely sure of whether it DOES look for updates. If you like to be reminded, then leave it enabled, otherwise disable from startup with MSCONFIG.
It HAS been quoted as causing shutdown freeze ups.
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SM1BG (sm1bg.exe) - Associated with the Cypress Semiconductor USB Mass Storage Adapter. It is installed with iTunes, Napster and some USB devices like a Flash Memory Reader. My guess is that it was installed by your digital camera software, and disabling it MIGHT cause problems with accessing the Flash Card or memory of your camera. It is also possible that it was installed by driver software for one of those USB Pen devices. No harm in temporarily disabling it from startup with MSCONFIG and testing functionality, but it definitely won't stop Windows from working as it isn't a system process.
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Dell AIO Printer A940 (dlbabmgr.exe) - I wonder what a dlbab manager is? My guess is that it is like the Epson Printer Status Monitor which launches at startup, and enables feedback about the printer status eg. How much ink is left in the cartridges. The only way to test if you need this to run from startup is to temporarily disable it and see if it interferes with print jobs.
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HIJACK THIS
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http://209.133.47.12/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
Place in its own folder and run the .exe file.
Running this program will produce a report that splits the findings into categories with prefixes. NOT ALL items found are rogue items, and some may be useful like some that will show as "BHO's". Norton AntiVirus and Adobe Acrobat Reader might be found and listed. A good way of knowing whether they are unwanted programs, processes, or registry entries is to copy and paste the report into the field provided on the following web page. Take note of the ones that it calls "NASTY" and then select them for "Fixing".
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?langselect=english
Hijack This tutorials available here:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html
http://hjt.wizardsofwebsites.com/
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/jrmc137/hjttutorial/tutorial.htm
OTHER
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I also advise you to download, install, and run CWShredder (CoolWeb Shredder)
http://cwshredder.net/bin/CWSInstall.exe
This searches for things associated with CoolWebSearch Web Page HiJackings, Trojans, and other variants, and removes them. TIP: If it stops and tells you that it has detected a file with an apparently random file name that MIGHT be associated with a particular thing, then do a file search for that file and ascertain, from its properties and what folder it is in, whether this seems to be a legitimate file. You have the option to FIX it or Skip it and later run the program again to remove it.
Details of CoolWebSearch Here:
http://cwshredder.net/cwshredder/cwschronicles.html
Adaware is also a very useful program.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Turorial Here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=48
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