Aaar

Aaar.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Aasd

Aasd.exe
 

See   IWAR.

aAvgApi

aAvgApi.exe

(AVG Technologies)

AVG Security Toolbar Helper.  Program which will appear on the  Tasks  tab of TUT if you have Internet Explorer open and you use the Internet Explorer  AVG Security Toolbar  which protects the user against fly-by infection and phishing, and which also provides security ratings on the websites you visit and on searches you make through Yahoo.  The  AVG Security Toolbar  is installed either AVG AntiVirus or AVG Internet Security.

Recommendation : 
Down to end-user preference (as to whether you want to use the  AVG Security Toolbar  or not).

If you experience problems with this task, simply turn off the  AVG Security Toolbar  by right‑clicking in a blank space on any toolbar and unchecking  AVGTOOLBAR.  Then, close Internet Explorer and re-open it and this task will not appear again in your Task List.  This task normally uses between 2Mb and 8Mb of memory.

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”.

AcerVCM

AcerVCM.exe

(Acer)

Acer Voice Connection Manager, also called  Acer Video Conference Manager  (Acer VCM).  As per Acer’s own description :   “Acer VCM enhances the Instant Messenger (IM) voice chat experience on your Acer notebook.  This application allows you to  a) Voice chat with different Instant Messenger services and clients in a simple and unified way,  b) Change audio devices dynamically without restarting your ongoing voice chat,  c) Effortlessly integrate and use generic Bluetooth headsets with your notebook,  d) Engage in clearer and crisper voice/video chat.”.

Translation :  In short, this little program enables you to voice chat the same way regardless of whether you are using Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL messenger, Trillian, or any other chat software which all have their own different ways of starting a chat call.  So, if you often chat with a variety of friends or business partners across a range of Instant Messenger services, then it pays to investigate this program as it will make your life easier.  At the time of writing, 25‑Jul‑2008, the  Acer Video Conference Manager  shows up as a green mobile phone icon in the System Tray so that you can start it instantly from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
Down to end user requirements.

If you never use Instant Messaging, or at least never voice chat online, then you can disable this program on the  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  to prevent it from automatically starting at every Windows boot-up.

As with most Instant messaging related program, AcerVCM can sometimes consume a lot of memory for what it does.  Its normal range of memory consumption is 4Mb to 30Mb of memory.

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.

AcroRd32Info

AcroRd32Info.exe

(Adobe)

Adobe Acrobat Reader File Info tab.  Interesting little program which first appeared with version 7.x of the Adobe Reader and which runs only when you hover the mouse over a PDF file in Windows Explorer, My Computer, or over a PDF email attachment.  Its purpose is to add the  PDF tab  to the Properties sheet of a PDF file.  That PDF tab displays summary information about the PDF file (if this was supplied by the person/program which created the PDF file) :  Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Created & Modified Dates, and details about the application which produced the PDF.

Recommendation :
Leave alone.  This is an extremely well-behaved task – it will close itself automatically after a while if you stop hovering the mouse over PDF files, or if you close Windows Explorer \ My Computer, etc...

Acrotray  (1)

AcroTray.exe

(Adobe)

Adobe Acrobat Assistant.  This background task is installed when you install the full version of Adobe Acrobat.  It comes into action when you create PDF files from non Adobe applications through the “Watched Folders”  feature of Acrobat Distiller.  The full path to this program should be  “C: \ Program Files \ Adobe \ etc..... \ Acrotray.exe”.

Recommendation :
Usually harmless.  Only disable on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  if you specifically experience problems with it.

Acrotray  (2)

Adobe Acrobat Distiller Application

Acrotray.exe

(???)

If the full path to this program is anywhere inside the Windows folder, such as  “C:\Windows\System\Acrotray.exe”  or  “C:\WinNT\System32\Acrotray.exe”  or  “C:\Windows\System32\Acrotray.exe”,  then you have a virus such as the   W32.Randex.DFJ   virus.

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.

ACService

ACService.exe

(ArcSoft Inc)

ArcSoft Connect Service.  Background service installed by the ArcSoft software which comes bundled with many PCs or TV cards.  ArcSoft make a wide range of media editing, photo and video software and many of their titles come pre-installed on new PCs.  These titles install this particular background service which is, to all intents and purposes, a product update and ArcSoft news service.  It notifies the user of product updates, it enables the user to register his software, it notifies the user of the latest product and service news from ArcSoft, and it enables the user to choose the preferred default language.

Recommendation : 
Down to end-user preference.  If you like the idea of receiving notifications of product updates and of news from ArcSoft, then keep this service running.  For all other users you can disable this service from automatically starting at every Windows boot-up by changing its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Our own preference at AnswersThatWork.com is to disable this service.  This service, together with its related tasks, ACDaemon.exe and ArcCon.ac, can together unnecessarily consume anything from 8Mb to 45Mb of memory when all one needs to do is once quarterly check the ArcSoft website for any product updates that you are eligible for.

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.
 

AdobeUpdateManager

UpdateMgr

AdobeUpdateManager.exe

(Adobe)

Adobe Update Manager.  This is the Adobe program which downloads updates for your various Adobe software products whenever you do a  Check for Updates  or when you have your Adobe programs configured to automatically regularly check for updates.

Recommendation :
If you do not have the Adobe Update Manager currently open on the screen, but have it set up as a startup entry on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  then this will have happened purely because you once had the program download the updates but decided to click on  Install Later  at the end of the downloads, either because you indeed wanted to install later, or because you ran the Adobe Update Manager solely to collect the actual software update setup files so that you could put them on your network folders, or on a CD, or on a USB pen drive in order to manually install them repeatedly on all the other PCs on your network.  The purpose of this task being there as a startup is so that it can ask you, each time you reboot, whether you now want to install the updates which you downloaded in a previous session of Windows.  Therefore, if you know you have already installed those updates and you find this entry on the  Startups  tab of TUT, simply delete it.

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.

AEADISRV

AEADISRV.EXE

(Andrea Electronics Corporation)

Andrea ADI Filters Service.  Service installed by the SoundMAX SupremeFX drivers for SupremeFX based sound cards, or for SupremeFX onboard sound (many ASUS motherboards, for example), fitted with Andrea Electronics noise filtering technology.  The only role of this service is to aid the reduction of background noise when you use a microphone.  Nothing else depends on this service.

Recommendation :
There have been so many problems with this service since its introduction at the beginning of July 2007, and there are still so many problems at the time of writing, 18-Aug-2008, that the only recommendation we can make is to disable this service immediately.  The list of problems includes blue screens of death (BSOD), this service hanging on Windows boot-up, error messages with this service at Windows boot-up, Windows delays when booting up, and strange instability problems.  Disable by changing the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Aerr

Aerr.exe

See   IWAR.
 

Aexplore

Aexplore.exe

(AOL)

You have the   AOL Explorer   web browser currently open  (or set as a startup item).

Agsatellite

AGSatellite

(AudioGalaxy)

This program is a Napster clone.  Just like Napster, and most other Napster clones, you can minimize the program to the System Tray.  Many users, however, do not realise that when they think they have closed the program, the program is actually still running in the background and showing as an icon in the System Tray.

Recommendation :
Unless you have queued some downloads, right-click on the icon and close the program as, otherwise, some of your PC resources are being wasted unnecessarily, and a significant portion of your Internet bandwidth could be taken up through someone downloading MP3s from your PC in the background !

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.

AirPMCFG

AirPMCFG.exe

(D-Link)

System Tray icon for D-Link’s  AirPremier  range of PCI, PCMCIA (aka “PC Card”, or “CardBus”), and USB wireless network adapters.  Double-clicking the icon enables you to open the Wireless Network Configuration panel to view your current wireless configuration, or to set it up.  Additionally, depending on the version of the drivers for your wireless network adapter, simply hovering the mouse cursor over the icon in the System Tray (typically a big white  D  on a blue background) displays the wireless network you are connected to (or “No network”), or the signal strength of your wireless connection (e.g. “60%”, or  “Very good”), or both.

Recommendation :
Since wireless networks can sometimes suffer signal weakness, it is extremely useful to be able to quickly check via the System Tray that you are still connected and the strength of the signal, so we suggest that you keep this System Tray icon.

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, 25‑Mar‑2005, this usually solves most problems associated with this task.

Alcxmntr

AlcxMonitor

ALCXMNTR.exe

(Realtek)

Realtek   Audio Event Monitor   startup task installed by the drivers for some of the Realtek AC’97 onboard soundcards.  At the time of writing, 12‑Nov‑2005, we do not know what this task actually does.  According to Hewlett‑Packard, however, you should leave this startup alone to  “avoid sound issues”.

Recommendation :
Anything that is critical to the proper functioning of sound on your PC will  never  be loaded from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  For this reason we, at AnswersThatWork, always disable this task on the  Startups  tab and we have never encountered any problems with the sound as a result of doing so.  You may therefore wish to do the same – if you do, simply  Disable  this startup, do not delete it, just in case this task may perform a needed function on your own particular PC and you therefore need to re‑enable it.

Alg

ALG.exe

(Microsoft)

Application Layer Gateway service found only on Windows XP/2003.  ALG is an integral part of ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) and ICF (Internet Connection Firewall) in Windows XP/2003 – in simple terms, your Windows XP/2003 Firewall uses ALG.  Microsoft’s description :   “Provides support for 3^rd Party protocol plug-ins for ICS and ICF”.

Recommendation :
If you use the Windows XP/2003 Firewall, you must have ALG running.  If you use a 3^rd Party firewall, or if you have disabled your Windows XP/2003 firewall because you are on an already firewalled internal corporate network, for example, then set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Alogserv

ALogServ.exe

(McAfee)

Background task installed with McAfee VirusScan and whose purpose is to log all McAfee background virus scanning activities.  As of July 2004, and since February 2002, there is nothing positive we can say about this program !   Since its introduction with VirusScan 5.x, this program has caused end-users endless problems and McAfee has had to issue fixes and help documents for it.  It has been responsible for gobbling up  all  resources, with the result being a PC which slows down to a crawl and eventually locks up completely.  In other instances ALOGSERV appears many times in the Task List.  This is silly :  antivirus protection is necessary these days, it is not optional, and the least one would expect from an antivirus software publisher is higher standards of testing to ensure that its antivirus software does not behave........ like a virus !!!

Recommendation :
If you have McAfee VirusScan, visit their website to ensure you have the very latest software updates (as opposed to virus updates).  If you are experiencing performance related problems, lockups, or other problems which you cannot explain, then disable  ALOGSERV  on the  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – VirusScan will still work fine without it in the background.  Note, however, that if you start VirusScan manually through  “Start \ Programs”, VirusScan will in turn start ALOGSERV.  Thus, once you have stopped using VirusScan and exited out of it, remember to do an End Task on  ALOGSERV.

AMD_dc_opt

AMD_DC_opt.exe

(AMD – Advanced Micro Devices)

AMD Dual-Core Optimizer.  Driver from AMD which optimizes AMD Dual-Core systems to fix video incompatibilities with specific games, overclocking conditions, and even virtual environments such as VMWare (although the latter two are not part of the original aim of this driver).  AMD’s description at the time of writing, 6‑Jan‑2007 (see Recommendation section for a 2008 update to this write-up) :  “The AMD Dual-Core Optimizer can help improve some PC gaming video performance by compensating for those applications that bypass the Windows API for timing by directly using the RDTSC (Read Time Stamp Counter) instruction. Applications that rely on RDTSC do not benefit from the logic in the operating system to properly account for the affect of power management mechanisms on the rate at which a processor core's Time Stamp Counter (TSC) is incremented. The AMD Dual-Core Optimizer helps to correct the resulting video performance effects or other incorrect timing effects that these applications may experience on dual-core processor systems, by periodically adjusting the core time-stamp-counters, so that they are synchronized.”.  This program runs only at Windows startup – it sets some parameters and then terminates.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user’s experiences (read fully).  On some PCs the early versions of the driver have caused problems such as the inability to complete Windows boot-ups, blue screens of death (BSOD), or event log errors when switching users.  The most problematic of these errors are usually caused by a combination of not having the latest AMD driver and/or graphics card drivers.  The first stop, therefore, if you feel this driver is causing problems, is to update your AMD/ATI and graphics card drivers which you can do through our  Drivers  page;  at the time of writing, 6‑Jan‑2007, the latest version of this AMD driver is November 2006.  If you still experience problems after updating your drivers and want to disable or uninstall this AMD driver, then note the following :  on some PCs, simply disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  is enough to stop the problems;  on other PCs a full uninstall, via the  “Add\Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel, is required.

21-Jul-2008 update :  The AMD driver is now part of Microsoft Windows Update but it does not get installed automatically.  Start a Microsoft Windows Update through the  “Tools \ Windows Update”  menu option in Internet Explorer, choose CUSTOM UPDATE, then Expand the  Hardware Updates  section and choose the  AMD  driver if it is listed.  On installation the AMD driver will remove this particular task anyway and will update your PC with the latest AMD driver.

Amra

Amra.exe

See   IWAR.
 

AniServ

ANISERVICE

AniServ.exe

(Airgo Networks)

Driver for your Airgo Networks MIMO onboard, PCMCIA, or USB wireless network adapter.  Airgo Networks is an OEM manufacturer.  As an OEM manufacturer Airgo Networks designs and manufactures wireless connectivity products for other companies to put their own badges, branding, and packaging on those products.  This means that you will find this particular task installed by the installation CDs of a number of wireless brands, amongst them :  Belkin, Corega, Jungo, Linksys, Netgear, Samsung, and many others.

Recommendation :
Essential driver program which enables your PC to use your wireless network adapter – Leave alone therefore.

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.

Anotify

Anotify.exe

(AOL)

AOL Active Update Popup.  This program is the popup program which regularly reminds you that there are updates available for your AOL software and which prompts you to install them.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  If you only ever want to update your AOL software as and when you want to rather than when AOL wants you to, or if you do not ever want to update your AOL software, then the only way to get rid of this popup is through renaming this program file.  As this program is spawned (it is a child process of the AOL software) rather than started through the  Startups  or  Services  tabs of TUT, you will need to rename it by searching for  ANOTIFY.EXE  in Windows Explorer and renaming it, for example to something like  ANOTIFY.EXE.NOTNEEDED.  This program normally uses from 1Mb to 18Mb of memory.

AnyDVDtray

AnyDVDtray.exe

(SlySoft Inc)

This is the   AnyDVD   DVD decryption & descrambler driver program which enables you to watch, use, or copy region-protected or copy-protected DVDs on any DVD drive.  It shows up in the System Tray as an icon depicting a fox head.  Right-clicking on the icon You brings up a menu where you can modify your  AnyDVD  settings, where you can rip a DVD to the hard disk, and where you can turn OFF or exit AnyDVD.

Recommendation :
Essential for the proper functioning of your AnyDVD software – Leave alone.  This program normally uses between 9Mb to 11Mb of memory.

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.

AOL Launch.  Startup task which starts the   AOL OpenRide   Internet browser at Windows boot-up (either fully open or minimized to the System Tray, depending on your own particular configuration).  From 10‑Dec‑2007, this task is also installed by   AOL Desktop   which is the successor to  AOL OpenRide.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  You can disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

AOLLoad

aolload.exe

(AOL)

AOL TalkBack Diagnostics.  Task which will sometimes appear on the  Tasks  tab of TUT if you run the AOL software or if you use the AOL Instant Messenger, AIM.  The role of this task is to send back to AOL diagnostic information if your AOL software crashes, which is ironic given the history of problems caused by this particular task.  Although in August 2008 things are a little better (thanks to updates to the AOL software and to AIM) it is not uncommon for this task to grab from 70% to 100% of the CPU, slowing the PC down to a crawl in the process.

Recommendation :
Check your AIM or AOL software options for a setting called  TalkBack Diagnostics  or similar, and disable it.

Additionally, if you see this program running on the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  then terminate it by right-clicking on it.

Advanced Users Only :   You may wan to rename the file on the hard disk and see if that works while at the same time not creating any errors when you use AOL software :  “C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\Loader\aolload.exe”.

AOLOpenRide

AOLOpenRide.exe

(AOL)

You have the   AOL OpenRide   multi-faceted web browser currently open (or set as a startup item).  The  AOL OpenRide  browser, which first appeared in Beta in September 2006, is a long needed replacement for AOL’s previous cluttered offerings of unwieldy windows.  We like it.  It is a 4‑pane browser with the four panes being made up of :  the new AOL tabbed Internet browser,  AOL Mail,  AOL Instant Messenger,  and  AOL Media Center.  As you click on a pane, AOL OpenRide automatically resizes that pane to become the dominant pane and the other panes are automatically sized down to smaller sizes (and you still have the option of resizing manually).  We like it a lot – it works very well.  On a 15” or 17” TFT monitor the automatic upsizing of your current pane makes this a dream to use, and you still have the other three programs available at a single-click of the mouse.  On a 19”, 20”, 21” TFT monitor, or bigger, then the software really comes into its own, as no resizing whether automatic or manual, is required and you have all four Internet activities all available on the one screen.  Top stuff.

Aolsp scheduler

AOLSP Scheduler.exe

AOLSPS~1.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, (note 2008 July update later in this write-up) 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.  In 2007, after testing it for a year, we decided to move to AVG as Norton were starting to overload their antivirus products with so many features that Norton AntiVirus became a drag on resources.  In July 2008, in the year and a half that we have used AVG, it has not given a single false positive.  If Dr Solomon can do it, if Norton AntiVirus can do it, if AVG can do it, then our view is that that has to be the yardstick for this particular industry.

AOLssc

AOLssc.exe

(AOL)

Background support task (called AOL Service Libraries) which is started by the  AOLSoftware.exe  task and which, in conjunction with  AOLSOFTWARE,  provides background support for the  AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)  instant messaging program.

Recommendation :
At the time of writing, 14‑Jan‑2006, there are problems with this task on a few PCs where it ends up consuming large amounts of memory (e.g. up to 100Mb).  Therefore, if you never use AIM disable this task by disabling its parent task,  AOLSOFTWARE,  on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If you do use AIM, however, then make sure you do install the regular software updates which AOL will try to push to you whenever you login to AOL, as AOL is bound to work at resolving this problem.

Aoltpspd

Aolwbspd

Aoltpspd.exe

Aolwbspd.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 :
The early versions of TopSpeed are so integrated with AOL 9.0 Optimized that without it you cannot browse the Internet through AOL’s own browser even if you are on broadband.  As many users out of choice do not download the updates which AOL prompt for when one finishes an AOL session (which means that some users may still be on the early versions of AOL 9.0 Optimized), we have to recommend that you leave this task 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 particular service, but we do know that without it you cannot browse the Internet using the AOL browser on the early versions of this service.  As per its related tasks,  AOLTPSPD  and  AOLWBSPD, this service is part of  AOL TopSpeed  technology which is web caching technology aimed at providing significant speed gains when accessing the Internet via dial-up modem.

Recommendation :
The early versions of TopSpeed are so integrated with AOL 9.0 Optimized that without it you cannot browse the Internet through AOL’s own browser even if you are on broadband.  As many users out of choice do not download the updates which AOL prompt for when one finishes an AOL session (which means that some users may still be on the early versions of AOL 9.0 Optimized), we have to recommend that you leave this task alone if you use AOL’s own browser.  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.

Apache

Apache.exe

(Apache Software Foundation)

This is the   Apache Webserver   service which turns your PC or Server into a webserver so that other users on your network, or on the Internet (if external users have been granted access), can view web pages hosted on your PC/Server.  The Apache Webserver is also sometimes installed by applications to enable you to manage the application through a browser :  a typical such application is the NVidia firewall software which comes bundled with motherboards based on the NVidia chipset.  The NVidia firewall installs the Apache Webserver because the firewall can only be managed through a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla FireFox.

Recommendation :
If you specifically installed Apache to turn your PC into a webserver, then this is the Apache core program – Leave alone therefore.  If, however, you have no knowledge of ever installing Apache, then it most probably got installed by some other application, such as the NVidia firewall.  If you do not use that  “other application”  then you can decide to stop this service from starting at boot-up by changing its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

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.

AppleMobile
DeviceService

AppleMobile
DeviceService.exe

(Apple)

Apple Mobile Device Service.  Service installed with Apple’s iTunes 7.3 onward.  It enables  iTunes  to interact with the Apple iPhone and the Apple TV.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.

If you do not have an iPhone or an Apple TV, then you do not need this service to be running in the background at every Windows boot-up :  disable it by setting its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Otherwise, if you do have an iPhone, or an Apple TV that you will want to interface with iTunes, then leave this service enabled.

AppleSyncNotifier

AppleSyncNotifier.exe

(Apple)

Apple Synchronization Notifier (part of the MobileMe software).  Background service installed when you install or upgrade to iTunes 7.7 or later, or when you install the Apple  MobileMe  software.  The Apple  MobileMe  service and software enables users of iPhone and iPod Touch devices to have their emails and calendars synchronized on every device and computer that they use, whether it be the home desktop, the laptop, or the work PC.  The way in which it works is that your emails and calendar are picked up centrally on Apple’s  MobileMe  servers and pushed simultaneously to your computer, iPod Touch, and iPhone so that, for example, you do not need to connect your phone to your computer to have Outlook synchronize with your iPhone.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  If you do not use the  MobileMe  service then you do not need this running – you can disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

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.

Arservice

ARSVC

ARService.exe

(Microsoft)

AlwaysReady Service.   Service found on HP/Compaq PCs and laptops running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.  This service first appeared on the scene in December 2005.  Two tasks are involved in the  AlwaysReady Power  mechanism, this service, the  AlwaysReady Service,  and the  AlwaysReady Power Message Broadcast Task, ARPwrMsg – they are both involved in ensuring that all parts of your Media Center are properly started and made ready when you power up your PC or, more importantly, when your PC is awakened from hibernation or power saving mode.

Recommendation :
This service, not present in the 2004 Edition of Windows XP Media Center, was introduced to address specific boot-up scenarios where the Media Center would not start properly or fully – Leave alone therefore.

Arupld32

ARUpld32.exe

(Visual Networks)

Browsing History Uploader application from Visual Networks.  This application gets installed when you install some ISPs’ CDs.  Its purpose is understood to be to enable the ISP manage its network through the feedback it receives from this utility about your web browsing habits.  We call this spyware and we are completely against the use of such programs. As if this weren’t enough, we have seen many cases of end-users experiencing low resources problems, or Windows Protection Errors on shutdown after the installation of this program and whatever else the ISP’s CD also installs on the end-user’s PC.

Recommendation : 
Disable or Delete using  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If you do not find any entry in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, then search your hard disk for ARUPLD32.EXE and rename it by adding ".old" at the end of the name – this will prevent it from being loaded. You may have to boot your PC into Safe Mode in order to be able to rename ARUPLD32.EXE – with most versions of Windows this is achieved by holding the CTRL key down as your PC is booting up.  Finally, note :  AT&T customers – ARUPLD32.EXE may be necessary for you to be able to access the Internet through your AT&T subscription.  If that is the case, complain extremely strongly to AT&T about their use of spyware on your PC, then obtain a firewall like Norton’s Personal Firewall or Zone Alarm to prevent this process from sending information out of your PC.

Ascserv

ASCService

Ascserv.exe

(Aluria Software)

Aluria Security Center Spyware Eliminator Service.  This service, installed on Windows 2000/XP/2003 by Aluria Software’s Security Center security suite, removes during reboot spyware and adware infections which could not be fully removed by the normal Aluria spyware scan program while you were in Windows.

Recommendation :
Absolutely crucial to the proper protection of your PC with Aluria Software’s Security Center suite – Leave alone.

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 2000/XP/2003/Vista 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 98% 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  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter by changing its  Startup Mode  to  Disabled.

Note 1 : 
On some laptops, disabling this task prevents the laptop from shutting down when the user closes the lid – in such cases the only alternative, if you wish to retain this feature, is to leave this task enabled.

Note 2 : 
We have also had reports that on the DELL Optiplex range of PCs, disabling this task results in smooth scrolling becoming disabled, so much so that you cannot read while scrolling the display.  Again, in such a case your only choice is to leave this task enabled.

Note 3 :
We have also had the following report – I have the ATI2EVXX resident ATI Utility and when I disable it on my Dell the HDMI connection to my VIZIO 47" HD-TV is undetected after the ATI card goes into sleep mode or when I change to watch TV for awhile and change back.  With the ATI stay resident program in place this does not happen and the PC runs as expected.  It would be great if you would add that in addition to the other Notes on this task.

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.

Aticwd32

ATIcwd32.exe

(ATI Technologies)

Driver enhancement for some ATI VGA cards.

Recommendation : 
We have never seen an instance where this background task is needed.  Delete in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

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.

Atrack

Atrack.exe

(Symantec)

Symantec's Alert Tracker task which is part of their Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall products.  Alert Tracker appears as a half-globe on the right-hand side of your screen.  You can move it up and down that right-hand side all the way up to the top of the screen, or all the way down till just above the Task Bar.  Its purpose :  "To provide instant notification of events as they happen. This way when a rule is triggered, or an access to the Internet is made, you know about it immediately rather than when you look at the logs".

Recommendation : 
It is unusual for Symantec to come up with utterly useless icons but this is definitely as utterly useless as you can get.  This icon is not only useless, it is annoying, and its position and shape is also very confusing as, until they read about it, users think something went wrong during the installation of Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF).  Yet its function is fully duplicated by the System Tray icon for NIS/NPF which displays an unmissable flashing red exclamation mark when an event you should know about has occurred.  Disable by clicking on the System Tray icon for NIS/NPF and choose the "Hide Alert Tracker" menu option.

Attune_ce

Attune_ce.exe

(Aveo Inc)

Aveo’s Attune Client Engine.  We first came across this when trying to correct resource hog problems on a 400MHz PC.  We checked Aveo’s site and here is what they say :  "Attune is a revolutionary service which provides end-users with targeted, "plain-English" messages (called "Intelligrams") to help them avoid common computer problems.  Attune may also let users know when they need a specific product, service, or upgrade to optimize the use of their computer.  Attune runs quietly in the background and automatically updates its Intelligrams when users connect to the Internet.  Subsequently, when a user is about to encounter a situation that is known to cause problems, Attune displays the Intelligram that contains the solution."  23-Mar-2002 update :  Aveo seem to have gone out of business as their site now has an "under construction" banner !

Recommendation : 
De-install Aveo Attune !  While we leave you to make your own interpretation of the above, our experience of Attune at specific customers, and our experience of many other similar products, is that they are resource hogs, and it is our pragmatic belief that such products will never be able to predict the vast majority of problems that end-users experience.  23-Mar-2002 update :  with Aveo having seemingly gone out of business, Aveo Attune is now guaranteed to be of no use whatsoever to anybody !

Au

Au.exe

(???)

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

Avengine

Avengine.exe

(Panda Software)

Panda AntiVirus and Panda Internet Security  Enhanced On‑Access Antivirus Scanner Process.  This background task scans files for viruses whenever your PC accesses a file, creates a file, or downloads a file.

Recommended :
Crucial for the proper protection of your PC with Panda Antivirus/Internet Security – Leave alone.

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.

AVGCtrl

AVGCtrl.exe

(H+BEDV Datentechnik gmbH)

Background task of the AntiVir antivirus program which scans files transparently in the background as you access, create, or save them.

Recommendation : 
Essential to the proper functioning of AntiVir. Leave alone.

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.

Avgfws8

Avgfws8.exe

(AVG Technologies)

This is the main   AVG Firewall   program installed by the AVG Internet Security suite.

Recommendation :
Leave alone – Essential for the full protection of your PC against hacker attacks and infiltrations using your AVG Firewall.

AVGIDSMonitor

AVGIDSMonitor.exe

(AVG Technologies)

AVG Identity Security Monitor task.  Background task spawned by the  AVG Identity Security Service  and whose role is to monitor and log all activities performed by the current running programs.  This is the program which gathers all the monitoring data and statistics that you can view in the  Identity Protection Control Center.

Recommendation :
Leave this task alone.  When it appears on the  Tasks  tab of TUT it is because it has been started by the  AVG Identity Security Service  as an integral background task of your AVG Identity Theft protection.  If you have issues with this task and would like not to have it running then you will need to disable  Identity Theft Protection  in the AVG Control Center.

This background task normally uses 1Mb to 5Mb of memory.

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.

AVGtray

AVG8_Tray

AVGtray.exe

(AVG Technologies)

AVG Tray Monitor - System Tray icon for the AVG AntiVirus program from version 8.x onward.  You can right-click on the icon to display a menu or you can double-click on it to open the AVG Control Program (User Interface).  The icon also gives the user a constant visual feedback on the current state of AVG (ie. antivirus definitions out of date, virus found, etc..).

Recommendation :
Keep – this is an extremely useful visual indicator of the current status of your AVG antivirus protection.  This program normally uses between 2Mb to 7Mb of memory.

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.

AVTASK

AVTASK.EXE

(Panda Software)

Background task belonging to   Panda AntiVirus   and   Panda AntiVirus + Anti-Spyware.  This task is spawned from one of Panda AntiVirus other background scanning tasks and its job is to perform specific virus scanning and removal functions when required.

Recommendation :
Absolutely crucial to the proper functioning of your Panda AntiVirus program – Leave alone.

Note :   On a number of PCs this task will occasionally eat up CPU, slowing the PC down to a crawl.  If this is not cured by a reboot, or if it keeps reoccurring, then manually update your Panda software to pick up not only the latest virus definitions, but, also, the latest program updates and bug fixes.  If this still does not solve the problem, then a number of users have found that uninstalling Panda and re-installing it has done the trick.

AVWEBGRD

AVWEBGRD.EXE

(Avira GmbH)

AntiVir WebGuard Service.  Background service which is part of the  AntiVir Security Suite  security product and whose role is to ensure safe web surfing while on the Internet.  This process detects viruses, malware, unsafe links, and phishing attempts on the web pages that you access.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  Our suggestion is to leave this feature enabled – however if you find that it prevents you accessing legitimate sites or that some programs are not working properly on your PC, then try disabling the feature within the Control Center to see if that helps.  If disabling the feature within the Control Center does not stop this service, then you can disable it from automatically starting at every Windows boot-up by setting its  Startup Mode  to Disabled  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  This service normally uses between 1Mb to 9Mb of memory.

All of the tasks below, and many more, although not detailed on this page, are explained in full in The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

The Ultimate Troubleshooter (TUT), has the full database in a remarkably easy and pleasing interface which makes the process of fine tuning your PC, or troubleshooting your computer's problems, a snip.  Get it here.

A.exe,  A_Really_Small_App.exe,  A1g.exe,  A2AdGuard.exe,  A2Free.exe,  A2Guard.exe,  A2Service.exe,  AA50.exe,  Aaw2007aw.exe,  Aawservice.exe,  AAWTray.exe
AbbyyNewsReader.exe,  Abcdefg.exe,  Acad.exe,  ACBtnm~1.exe,  AcctMgr.exe,  ACDaemon.exe,  ACDSee.exe,  Acdsee Demo.exe,  ACDSee5.exe,  ACDSee6.exe,  ACDSee7.exe,  ACDSee8.exe,  ACDSee8Pro.exe,  ACDSee9.exe,  ACDSee10.exe,  Acer OrbiCam.exe,  Acer.Empowering.Framework.Launcher.exe,  Acer.Empowering.Framework.Supervisor.exe,  Acer eNet Management.exe,  AcHelp.exe,   AClock.exe,  AcPrfMgrSvc.exe,  Acrobat.exe,  Acrobat_SL.exe,  Acrodist.exe,   AcroTray32.exe,  ACS.exe,  AOLacsd.exe,  Acstart16.exe,  Acstart17.exe,  AcSvc.exe,  Act.exe,  Act.Scheduler.exe,  Act8.exe,  ActiveSMART.exe,  ACTray.exe,  ActualWindowManagerCenter.exe,  ACU.exe,  ACWLIcon.exe,  Ad-Aware.exe,   Ad-Aware2007.exe,  Ad-Watch2007.exe,  AdBlocker.exe,  ADC.exe,  AddFiltr.exe,  aDefragCtrl.exe,  aDefragService.exe,  AdmServ.exe,  AdmTray.exe,  AdobeCollabSync.exe,  Adobe Encore.exe,  Adobelmsvc.exe,  Adobe OnLocation.exe,  Adobe Premiere Elements.exe,  Adobe PremierePro.exe,  AdobeUpdater.exe,  UpdateManager.exe,  AdskCleanup.0001,  AdskScSrv.exe,  ADU.exe,  AERTSrv.exe,  AESTFltr.exe,  AESTSrv.exe,  AgentSrv.EXE,  AGRSMMSG.exe,  AgrSmSvc.exe,  AHD4.exe,  AIM6.exe,  AirCFG.exe,  AirGCFG.exe,  AirPlus.exe,  AirPlusCFG.exe,  AirPro.exe,  AirXCFG.exe,  ALCFDRTM.exe,  Alcmtr.exe,  Alcohol.exe,  ALCWZRD.exe,  AlertServer.exe,  AlertService.exe,  AlfaClock.exe,  AlfaClock2.exe,  Alg32.exe,  ALMon.exe,  ALsvc.exe,  AluriaMsgSrv.exe,  ALUSchedulerSvc.exe,  ALUSchedulerSvcRes.dll,  AMSG.exe,  Anagram.exe,  AnalogClock.exe,  anbmServ.exe,  Animalss.exe,  ANIWZCSdS.exe,  AnonProxy.exe,  Anonymizer.exe,  Answers.exe,  Anti_Troj.exe,  Antiav_exe.exe,  AntiVirus Update.exe,  AntivirusGolden.exe,  AnyDVD.exe,  AOL.exe,  Aolavupd.exe,  AOLDesktop.exe,  AOLHostManager.exe,  AOLHOS~1.exe,  AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe,  Aolmsg.exe,  Aolserv.exe,  AOLServiceHost.exe,  AOLSoftware.exe,  AOLSPS~1.exe,  AOLTbServer.exe,  AOM.exe,  Ap.exe,  APCSystray.exe,  APDproxy.exe,  APLicensing.exe,  ApMsgFwd.exe,  AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe,  AppleMobileDeviceService.exe,  AppleOSSMgr.exe,  AppleTimeSrv.exe,  AppleWorks.exe,  Application Launcher.exe,  Approach.exe,  AppSvc32.exe,  ApVfb.exe,  Apvxdwin.exe,  ArcCon.ac,  Archivarius3000.exe.  Arita.exe,   ARPwrMsg.exe,  ASEServ.exe,  ASFAgent.exe,  Asghost.exe,  ashAvast.exe,  ashAvSrv.exe,  ashDisp.exe,  ashLogV.exe,  ashMaiSv.exe,  ashServ.exe,  ashSimp2.exe,  ashSimpl.exe,  AshSnap.exe,  ashWebSv.exe,  AskService.exe,  AsMon.exe,  AstSrv.exe,  AsThis.exe,  AsusProb.exe,  Asutypefull.exe,  AswDisp.exe,  ASWLSVC.exe,  AswMaiSv.exe,  AswServ.exe,  aswUpdSv.exe,  aswWebSv.exe,  ATI2SAAG.exe,  ATIRW.exe,  ATITool.exe,  Atitray.exe,  ATKKBService.exe,  AtomClk.exe,  Atomic.exe,  AtomicTime.exe,  ATWTUSB.exe,  Au.exe,  AU3_Spy.exe,  AudioDG.exe,  Autodown.exe,  Autoexec.com,  AutoHotkey.exe,  AutoMouseClicker.exe,  AutoRply.exe,  AutoSave.exe,  Autoserv.exe,  AutoSizer.exe,  AutoUpdate.exe,  Aux.exe,  Aux32.exe,  Avant.exe,  AVBgle.exe,  AVCIMAN.exe,  AVerQT.exe,  AVerQuick.exe,  AVerTV.exe,  Avesvc.exe,  Avesvcm.exe,  AvFwSvc.exe,  AVGAM.exe,  AVGAMSvr.exe,  Avgas.exe,  AVGcSrvX.exe,  AVGFwSrv.exe,  AVGIDSAgent.exe,  AVGIDSUI.exe,  AVGIDSWatcher.exe,  Avginet.exe,  AVGnsx.exe,  AVGNT.exe,  AVGRegCl.exe,  Avgrssvc.exe,  AVGRsx.exe,  AVGScanx.exe,  AVGUI.exe,  AVGUpd.exe,  AVGUpSvc.exe,  Avgwb.dat,  AVGWDSvc.exe,  Avmailc.exe,  Avmailcm.exe,  AVO.exe,  Avp.exe,  Avpguard.exe,  Avpm.exe,  Avpr.exe,  AVProtect9x.exe,  AVSCHED32.exe,  AVWIN.exe,  AVWUPSRV.exe,  Awasu.exe,  AwaySch.exe,  AWC.exe,  AWCL.exe,  AWGateway.exe,  Awhost32.exe,  AWLC3026T.exe,  AWLH5025.exe,  AWLL5025.exe,  AWREM32.exe,  awServ.exe,  AXLBRIDGE.exe,  AXLBRI~1.exe,  Azureus.exe
 

PRESS & RADIO

May 2009
Courier Mail, Brisbane, Australia

October 2008
The Philadelphia Bulletin

September 2008
NetworkWorld.com
——
VNUnet.com
London, UK

February 2008
The Wall Street Journal

January 2008
The PC Guy
NorthJersey.com

September 2007
TechByter Worldwide

August 2007
IT Week Labs Blog
London, UK

June 2007
On Computers
Joy&Bob Schwabach
——
Simplehelp.net
——
Courier Mail, Brisbane

May 2007
Christopher Null
at Yahoo!Tech
——
The PC Guy
NorthJersey.com

January 2007
WFAA.com TV
Dallas/Fort Worth  Texas

December 2006
TechNewsWorld.com
——
ArthsLinks.com
——
ITP Technology
Dubai

October 2006
Developer Shed
——
Kansas City Star

September 2006
BillingsGazette.com
Montana

August 2006
The Moditory

July 2006
On Computers syndicated column

April 2006
Kingsport
Times-News
Tennessee
——
The Adrenaline Vault

March 2006
580 CFRA Radio
Ottawa, Canada

January 2006
WTVN Radio
Columbus, Ohio

2005
The PC Guy's
Top 10 Utilities
——
StarTribune.com Minneapolis-St.Paul
——
NorthJersey.com
——
WorldStart Computer Tips
——
A-Clue.com
——
Corante.com
——
PC Magazine
'Top 100 Classics'
——
Infodad.com

2004
PC Magazine
'Top 100 Classics'
——
The Wall Street
Journal
——
The Examiner (Texas)
——
St Petersburgh Times
——
ToledoBlade (Ohio)
——
Sydney Morning Herald
——
The Age, Melbourne
——
Office Zealot
——
Kevin Respecki
——
Mike McBride Online