MA111v2

MA111v2.exe

(Netgear)

Netgear Configuration Utility for the MA111 v2 USB wireless network adapter.  System Tray icon which provides a visual feedback as to the strength of your wireless connection and which also enables you to configure your wireless adapter to discover and connect to available wireless networks.

Recommendation :
Keep – There is nothing like having an instantly recognizable visual confirmation of the state of your wireless connection, and this icon certainly does that.  Additionally, it is extremely useful to be able to access the wireless configuration utility straight from this System Tray icon whenever needed.

Mad

MAD.exe

(Microsoft)

Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 Server editions only.  This service is the System Attendant Service for Microsoft Exchange Server from version 4.0 onward.  MAD is a necessary background service for Microsoft Exchange Server – some of its many functions :  to load the required DLLs whenever you configure Microsoft Exchange, to periodically check if users have been added to the Site and Configuration containers, to write log messages to the Message Tracking Log File on behalf of MTA (Message Transfer Agent) and the Internet Mail Service, to generate the offline address books.

Recommendation :
The System Attendant Service is a crucial service of Microsoft Exchange Server.  If you experience 100% CPU utilization problems, duplicate log entries, MAD instability, or other problems which you can track back to MAD, then ensure you have the latest Service Packs for both NT4/2000/XP/2003 Server and for the version of Microsoft Exchange Server which you are running as every Exchange Server Service Pack has one or more fixes for this crucial service.

Magnifier

Magnifier.exe

(University of Sao Paulo)

You have the University of Sao Paolo   Virtual Magnifier   screen magnifier currently open or running in the System Tray (or set as a startup item).  The Virtual Magnifier  magnifies the area under the mouse cursor by means of a window which follows your mouse cursor.  Virtual Magnifier normally sits in the System Tray waiting “for action”.  To use it, simply click on the icon in the System Tray and a magnifying window will appear at the mouse cursor;  next, simply move the mouse cursor to the area of the screen that you want to magnify.  Once you’re done, press Escape, or click the mouse, and the magnifying window will disappear.  Additionally, right-clicking on the icon in the System Tray gives access to a multitude of configuration options.  This is the best implementation of an  as-you-need-it   screen magnifier that we’ve seen – it’s a joy to use because it is so simple, so effective, and so unobtrusive.

Recommendation :
Given that this great magnifier uses only 4Mb to 6Mb of memory, our recommendation is to have it running at all times in the System Tray as you never know when you might need to enlarge the occasional ridiculously small text on a particular web page.

Mainserv

APC UPS Service

Mainserv.exe

(APC – American Power Conversion)

APC’s   UPS Service  installed as a background task on Windows 98/ME or as a service on Windows 2000/XP/2003 by the APC PowerChute UPS monitoring software.  This task logs statistical data about all your UPS events (power dips, power surges, UPS power ON, UPS on standby, user tests, forced shutdowns, etc...).  It also feeds the current status of your UPS to the System Tray icon  (APCSYSTRAY, ICONCLNT) so that the icon can correctly display the current status of your UPS.  Ditto with the PowerChute software so that the software can correctly display the current status of your UPS when you open PowerChute.  Finally, if you have configured your UPS to shutdown after X amount of minutes of a power cut, this is the task which will take care of shutting your PC down.

Recommendation :
This task/service is essential to the proper functioning of your PowerChute software, so leave it alone if you actively monitor the status of your UPS or you have configured it to shutdown after X minutes of a power cut.  Note, however, that, aside from the auto‑shutdown facility, your UPS still protects your PC even when you do not have any component of the PowerChute software running.  More importantly, we have come across problems with  MAINSERV  where it would hog 90%-100% of the CPU with the PC slowing down to a crawl as a result.  This has never happened to PCs that we’ve configured, but whenever we’ve come across the problem with new clients, we first updated the PowerChute software, and then, if the problem still remained, we updated the PC’s motherboard chipset software and made sure that all latest Windows updates were installed, and the problem eventually disappeared.  At this stage it would seem, therefore, that whenever  MAINSERV  exhibits this problem it is more an issue with the Windows environment than with  MAINSERV  itself – the jury is out !   Nevertheless, if you have the problem and find that you just cannot solve it, either uninstall the APC PowerChute software, or disable all APC startups on the  Startup  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter  (Win2000/XP/2003 only).

Maja

Antivirus

Maja.exe

(???)

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

Manage

Manage.exe
 

See   WINSERVN.

Maplom

Maplom.exe

(GameJackal.com)

You have the   Game Jackal   program (formerly known as Maplon) currently running in the background in the System Tray, or currently open  (or set as a startup item).  Game Jackal  allows gamers to play their games without needing the games’ original CDs in the PC’s CD\DVD drive, thus avoiding wear and tear on the original CDs and avoiding the frustration of having to locate the relevant CD whenever the user wants to play a game.  Using his original game CDs, the gamer creates gaming profiles for each of his games, and then, later, simply uses those profiles, without any need for the original CDs, whenever he wants to play a game.

Massrv

Massrv.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Anti-Spyware Service.  Core service of your McAfee Anti-Spyware software which detects and removes spyware and adware when you run a spyware scan, or when you have it guarding your PC in real‑time.

Recommendation :
Phew, what a stunner !   At the time of writing, 28‑Jul‑2006, on about 20% of PCs this task takes 25Mb of memory minimum; on a further 50% of PCs it takes 33Mb to 36Mb of memory; and on another 20% of PCs it takes a staggering 45Mb, 47M, 51Mb, or more, of memory !!!   Do McAfee have shares in a computer memory company ?   This is ridiculous – at this rate you could almost say you’re buying a PC solely to run anti-spyware software !   Seriously :  from our tests, if you have McAfee Anti‑Spyware permanently guarding your PC in real‑time, there is a good chance it will make your PC wilt.  Our advice :  configure McAfee Anti‑Spyware  not  to permanently guard your PC in real‑time and, instead, either schedule an automatic weekly anti‑spyware scan or do it yourself manually once a week.  You can turn real‑time protection OFF through the  Auto Protect  configuration tab of your McAfee Anti‑Spyware by disabling  Auto-Protect.  If you follow our advice, make sure to check the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – if this service still shows with a  Startup Mode  of  AUTOMATIC, change it to  Manual.

Matcli

Matcli.exe

(Motive)

Motive Chorus Command Line Interface  (also sometimes called  “Motive Support Tuner Command Line Interface”).  Startup task installed with the customized Help & Support systems of various computer manufacturers or Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as  Adelphia eSupport Assitant,  3Com Connection Assistant,  AOL’s Broadband Check-Up,  Blueyonder’s Instant Support,  BT’s Broadband Help,  BT Yahoo! Help, BT Broadband Basic Help,   Dell Resolution Assistant,  Hewlett‑Packard Instant Support,  NTL Broadband Medic,  Rogers NetAssistant,  SBC Self Support Tool,  Sprint FastConnect Virtual Assistant (Earthlink),  Sprint Virtual Assistant (Earthlink),  Sympatico NetAssistant,  or  Verizon’s Support Center.  In the majority of cases that we have seen, the main purpose of this task is to start a System Tray icon which gives you access to the appropriate support software mentioned above.  Additionally, wherever this startup task is found, it is in fact part of a software package bought or licensed from Motive Communications and which purports to enable your PC manufacturer or ISP to better support you.  From our experience, this evolving startup task has over the years come in various guises as part of differently named software suites from Motive.  Past names (not necessarily direct equivalent to MATCLI.EXE) have included  BJCFD.EXE, CCD.EXE,  MOTIVESB.EXE,  and  MOTMON.EXE  (some of the names date from the era when  Motive  used to be  Broadjump Client Foundation).  The above named support systems are in the main similar across the various companies, which makes sense since they emanate from the same source.  As an example, Dell’s description of their Resolution Assistant software has, at various stages, read as follows on their website :  “The Resolution Assistant provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for submitting service requests and keeping track of service requests you have already submitted”.

Recommendation : 
We have three major issues with MATCLI and the Support software that it starts.  The first issue is that the software simply errors on many PCs.  This is staggering.   Help & Support software which errors on boot-up, or which you cannot start, or which seriously destabilizes your PC.  We have come across MATCLI errors on boot-up with BT’s version of the software (BT = British Telecom), we have often come across Blueyonder’s Instant Support Tool erroring with  “Blueyonder Instant Support Tool program encountered technical problems while trying to diagnose your system”  (this on perfectly healthy systems!!),  we have come across HP’s Instant Support refusing point blank to open, and the list goes on, and we have many AnswersThatWork users complaining of the same type of problems.

The second issue we have is that the above Support packages are typically portrayed as efficient, modern, and effective thanks to their crucial ability to communicate with the supplier over the Internet.  Well, did they really think this one through ?   In a majority of cases where a problem is bad enough for the end‑user to want to call the Support Desk, in the case of the supplier being a PC manufacturer the problem will often also mean an inability to communicate over the Internet.  In the case of an Internet Service Provider .............???   You’ve guessed it : a problem that is bad enough for you to call an ISP Support Desk will in an overwhelming majority mean some sort of inability to communicate via the Internet !

The third issue we have with these packages is that, in our experience, the support desks of the companies who supplied this software, never seem to know in much detail what the software does, whether it is necessary, and, worse, we have never experienced those support desks actually asking us to use the software so they could resolve a particular issue.  We have called Blueyonder asking what MATCLI actually did, and why it was erroring on boot-up, only to be greeted by support staff who had no clue as to what MATCLI was, or who would reply like automatons that  “Instant Support is necessary for the good running of your broadband connection”.  We have never had an HP support staff ever ask us to use the HP Instant Support software, ever, and the stories of our AnswersThatWork users mirror our own experiences.

In our view, it is clear, therefore, that there is a significant gap, a bottomless gulf in fact, between the higher management of BT, Blueyonder, Dell, HP, etc..., who sign up with Motive to have these support packages on PCs or on ISP install CDs, and the actual Support Desks who have to support the end‑users.  The question is, therefore :   If the Support Desks of your PC manufacturer, or of your Internet Service Provider, have no detailed knowledge and understanding of how to use these support software programs, no detailed knowledge of the problems with them and their resolutions, and since, in our experience, they never seem to use them, what good is that software to you and why should you want it on your PC ??!!!

For all these reasons we always disable  MATCLI  from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  In all the cases that we have come across it has never been needed and the PC has been better for it !
Caution :   some Internet Service Providers have gone a little further than the others and have inextricably linked the Support Software to your ability to get a connection, with the result that if you disable MATCLI you end up with not being able to connect to your ISP.  For this reason it is important to only  disable  MATCLI  from the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  rather than delete the startup entry altogether;  this way, if you find that you are unable to connect to your ISP after disabling  MATCLI,  all you need to do is re‑enable it.

Matsvc

Matsvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Service.  Background service installed when you use a    Microsoft Fix It   solution on the Microsoft Support website (Knowledgebase).  Microsoft Fix It solutions are automated solutions to common problems available on the Microsoft Knowledgebase / Support websites for Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users.  Typically you might get to the solution through searching the Help Center on your own PC, or through Googling the Internet and coming across one of these Microsoft automated solutions.

Recommendation :
Leave alone.  The default  Startup Mode  of this service is set to  Manual  which means that it runs only and only when needed, ie. when you are using a   Microsoft Fix It   solution, so it only uses resources at the time that you are actually using a   Microsoft Fix It   solution.

Maximizer_Startup

Maximizer_Startup.exe

(Toshiba)

Toshiba Notebook Maximizer Desktop icon.  Startup task which puts an icon on the desktop at Windows boot‑up.  That icon shows an open Toshiba laptop with a yellow smiling face as screen background.  Clicking on the icon opens the Toshiba Notebook Maximizer program which is a program which displays a hardware summary of your laptop, much like the  Hardware  tab of TUT.  That program also provides quick shortcuts to Windows functions such as the Control Panel, the Printers Panel, System Information, Windows Explorer, etc...

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  All of this program’s functionality is within TUT already, and you can run  Notebook Maximizer  through the Programs menu.

Mbsrm32

Mbsrm32.exe

(???)

MBS Spyware.  Nightmarish program which pops up a screen from a company called MBS and which demands money for  “services”.  This program may be picked up on adult websites, but not necessarily so, and it just cannot be stopped by conventional means.  Any attempt to stop it results in its sister programs, MBSSM32.EXE, RMVALID.EXE, or SMVALID.EXE, restarting it immediately and demanding money.  As your Windows session progresses in time, the more you close the annoying popup, the more often it comes back with further demands for payment, the idea being that non‑savvy and, above all,  embarrassed users  will pay just to get the popup disappear so that it does not pop up at an embarrassing moment or when another user is using the PC.  The PC often becomes unworkable when this occurs..

Recommendation :
Remove as follows :

1)   Make sure your antivirus software is up to date – do a manual update to be 100% sure.

2)   Restart your PC into Safe Mode by choosing the following option from the  TOOLS  menu of TUT,  “Boot PC into Safe Mode at Next Boot”,  and then reboot.

3)   When in Safe Mode, start TUT.  TUT will immediately tell you that you are in Safe Mode and ask you if you want to reboot into Normal Mode at your next boot, answer  Yes.  Do not reboot at this stage – simply answer that you do want to reboot into Normal Mode at the next boot.

4)   Go over to the  Startups   tab and locate the following startups if they exist :
       MBSRM32.EXE
       MBSSM32.EXE
       RMVALID.EXE
       SMVALID.EXE

      You can’t miss them – TUT will be showing them with a RED status.

5)   For each of those startup items, right-click on the item and choose  “Delete from the hard disk the file that this startup points to” .

6)   Next, for each of these startup items, right-click on the item again and this time choose  Delete this startup entry.

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

8)   Restart your PC into Normal Mode and then immediately run a full virus scan.

Mcafe32

Windows Media Player

Mcafe32.exe

(???)

You have a Trojan virus which you picked up probably through the use of file sharing software like KaZaA, or through downloading and installing something from a malicious web page.  At the time of writing, 16‑Jan‑2005, this Trojan is not picked up by the majority of antivirus programs.

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)   Start  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and go to the  Services  tab if you have Windows 2000/XP/2003, otherwise continue from point (4) below.

3)   If you find a service which starts this task, right-click on it and change the  Startup Mode  to  Disabled.

4)   Go to the  Startups  tab and for each instance of this task (there are sometimes two or three entries for this malicious task) 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.
 

Mcagent

McAgent.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Security Center Agent.  If you have the desktop/home version of a McAfee security product such as VirusScan, this task communicates with the McAfee servers over the Internet and checks that your PC has the latest virus signatures and software updates.  It also picks up the latest virus alerts.  If you do not have the latest virus signatures then this task instructs the update engine (MCUPDATE) to download the updates.

If this PC is on a corporate network and it is running the network versions of McAfee AntiVirus, then this task communicates with the central network fileserver and ensures that the end-user PC has the latest McAfee virus signatures and software updates which the fileserver has to offer – it also downloads the latest alerts if there are any.  If you do not have the latest virus signatures then this task instructs the update engine (MCUPDATE) to download the updates.

Recommendation :
Absolutely essential for the proper real‑time protection of your PC with up‑to‑date virus definitions – Leave alone.

McENUI

McENUI.exe

(McAfee)

You have   McAfee’s EasyNetwork User Interface   currently open (or set as a startup item).  This program enables the user to configure networking between PCs which run McAfee’s Total Protection software, to configure file and printer sharing, and to send files between the PCs.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  If you do not use McAfee for your network sharing requirements, or if you only have the one PC then you do not need to have this program running and you can disable it from automatically starting at every Windows boot-up by disabling it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  This program normally uses 9Mb to 12Mb of memory.

Mcmnhdlr

VSOCheckTask

Mcmnhdlr.exe

(McAfee)

This is the McAfee  VirusScan virus scanning  program which you either currently have open, or currently scanning your hard disk(s) for viruses.  This program is also usually set up as a startup item on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – as a startup item its main function is to check, at Windows boot‑up, whether it should run a virus scan of your PC straightaway before you do anything with your PC.  Typically this would happen if you specifically set VirusScan to scan your PC at boot-up, or if a virus scan of your PC was run, viruses were found, and VirusScan decided that, for completeness, a virus scan of your PC should be run at the next Windows boot-up.

Recommendation :
Leave alone.

mcmscsvc

mcmscsvc.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Integrated Security Program User Manager (MISP User Manager).  We do not currently know what this program does although we think that its only purpose is to ensure that McAfee works properly if you logoff from your PC and log back in as a different user without completely shutting down and rebooting.  The above notwithstanding, at the time of writing, 5‑Apr‑2007, this program is, put simply, a disaster on too many PCs, whether it is 50% to 99% CPU utilization, complete freezes of the PC for a minute or so, or, occasionally, permanent freezing.  Put simply :  it is antivirus software behaving like a virus !

Recommendation :
As we do not currently know what this task does, we cannot recommend outright that you disable this service.  That said, whenever we have ourselves had a user experiencing this problem, we have stopped the service on the  Services  tab of TUT and, so far, this has not prevented McAfee from running properly till the end of that particular Windows session.  We are still testing but, in the meantime, you may want to experiment with this method if you are experiencing problems with this task.

Quite separately regularly update your McAfee software with manual updates so that you can pick up program updates and not just virus definition updates – McAfee is bound to be working on the problem !

MCPLaunch

MCPLaunch.exe

(Lenovo)

Lenovo Message Center Plus.  System Tray task found on Lenovo laptops and whose purpose is to keep you informed of the latest Downloads & Drivers, Alerts, Upgrades and accessories, New Lenovo products.  This program shows as an envelope in the System Tray and, although you will find it running automatically at startup on most new Lenovo laptops, its default configuration is, interestingly, NOT to bother you with any messages or alerts.  This is a good and thoughtful approach from Lenovo.

Recommendation :
Lenovo’s thoughtful configuration of this task notwithstanding, our recommendation for this task is going to be the same as our recommendation for the Lenovo System Update task, as follows.

When it comes to updates for your Lenovo laptop it is our view that this task has no practical reason of being.  Our reasons :  in all our years of using PCs and laptops from various manufacturers, we have seen a clear pattern.  The drivers and software updates for your Lenovo ThinkPad laptop have a very short life cycle.  Typically a particular model will be released with, for example, version 2.7 of the drivers and two or three months later there may be a further version, say 2.8, 2.9, etc..., available on the Lenovo website, and that will be the last version released for that model.  In our experience there will almost always never be a further release and the reason for this is that Lenovo, like most top manufacturers, release new laptop models all the time, every 3 months or so.  So you may have a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 released today, and then 3 months later a better version of the same model, the ThinkPad T410, is released.  In 2010 PCs and laptops are still getting better and better by the week, so the shelf life of a particular Lenovo ThinkPad is barely 3 to 6 months and, unless they need to correct glaring driver bugs, it is not financially viable for Lenovo to continue driver development on the ThinkPad T400 when its replacement, the T410, is already out, with the replacement of the new T410, the T412, already on the design bench !   Result :  this task,  MCPLAUNCH, will for years place itself in your System Tray, every time you boot your PC, checking whether there are any updates that it needs to tell you about when those updates to your software will  never  be produced – this is silly !   Disable on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – you can always check for driver updates through our  Drivers  section  (bear in mind at all times that when it comes to drivers : only update them if you have REAL issues – don’t fix what ain’t broke !).  In our experience this task normally uses 1Mb to 23Mb of memory.

McRegWiz

McRegWiz.exe

(McAfee)

You have the  McAfee Registration Wizard   currently running prompting you to register your McAfee product, or this item is still set up on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  despite the fact that you have already registered your McAfee product.

Recommendation :
If you have already registered your McAfee product(s), then you can disable this entry on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

McSACore

McSACore.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Site Advisor Service.  Core support service for the McAfee Site Advisor browser integrated website safety rating service.

McAfee Site Advisor  is software which integrates with your browser (Internet Explorer and FireFox are the two supported browsers) and which provides two features :  An icon in the top right-hand corner of your browser which shows the safety level of the website you are currently on, and, additionally, when you search in Google or other search engines, it displays a safety rating against each result enabling you to decide whether to investigate a result or not.

In this day and age of websites spamming users who register or simply visit the website, of websites promoting fake antivirus or anti-spyware and conning users into non-reversible charges or into buying useless software, of websites promoting health-check tools and dropping Trojans, spyware, and adware on unsuspecting users in the process, etc..., the Internet has become a gigantic trap for the average Internet user.  Site Advisor, bought by McAfee in 2004, attempts to remedy this by using McAfee’s vast resources to regularly check websites round the world for any of the above misdemeanours, and then rates websites using the colour system we pioneered in The Ultimate Troubleshooter :

    -   Green  (totally safe)
    -   Yellow  (may send a number of emails throughout the year, may insert safe cookies, may change browser default)
    -   Red  (Adware, Spyware, Spam, Trojans, Downloads that cannot be trusted)
    -   Grey   (Site not checked yet or System Advisor not working properly)

This particular service, MCSACORE, runs in the background and continually liaises with the McAfee Site Advisor servers to retrieve information about the sites you visit as you access them, and to retrieve information about the links returned in your search results.

Recommendation :
1-Aug-2008 update.  Check our blog,  www.ATWBlog.com,  for current problems with the McAfee Site Advisor Toolbar.

Site Advisor does come with a performance penalty since it has to retrieve information about every webpage you access, or every link in the search results on your Google, MSN, AOL searches.  If you have a fast PC and a very fast Internet connection, 4Mbits or faster, then it won’t be too noticeable.  Additionally, it is our view, in June 2008, that  Site Advisor  is one of the best inventions to come out of the Internet. 
We will go even further in stating that, in June 2008, a PC which is not used by children only needs a very good antivirus program (which does not need to be McAfee), the Windows XP/Vista firewall turned ON, a good broadband firewall router, and McAfee Site Advisor.  For most users who are not already suffering from spam nightmares, there is no longer a need for the bloated and resource sucking Internet suites provided by most security companies, McAfee included.

For PCs that are used by children, the situation is different of course, as parental controls (blocking of undesirable websites) are then needed, and this is only available in Internet Security suites or the modern broadband routers that have started to appear (3Com, Netgear) where parental controls can be applied at the router level for all or selected connected PCs.

Leave this service alone (obviously, if your PC is not fast enough and/or your broadband connection is also not fast enough, or you are on a dialup modem connection, then  Site Advisor  is not for you and you most probably should uninstall it).

mcshell

mcshell.exe

(McAfee)

You have the   McAfee Security Center  currently open.

Mcshield

McShield.exe

(McAfee – Network Associates)

McAfee On-Access Scanner for Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003, present in McAfee VirusScan 4.x, McAfee NetShield 4.x, in the Business Management McAfee Protection Suite for networks, in VirusScan Enterprise Edition, and many other McAfee antivirus products.  This task virus scans files in the background as and when you access them.

Recommendation :
Essential for the proper protection of your PC against viruses – leave alone.

Mctskshd

McAfee Task Scheduler

McTskshd.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Security Center’s  Task Scheduler   service installed on Windows 2000/XP by McAfee products such as VirusScan, the Internet Suite, Personal Firewall, etc...  The Security Center task scheduler is used by McAfee to set up scheduled tasks such as the automatic download of updates, regular virus scans, etc...

Recommendation :
In the unlikely case that you have automatic updates disabled, no scheduled tasks, and a few other McAfee settings turned off, you can actually set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Disabled  or  Manual  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  without affecting the operation of your McAfee product.  However, as this process uses very little resources we recommend that you leave it alone as per its default configuration.

Mcupdate

McUpdate.exe

(McAfee – Network Associates)

AutoUpdate & AutoUpgrade background utility task which comes with McAfee VirusScan 4.x/5.x.  From version 6 onward this is called the  McAfee Security Center Update Engine.   Its role is to automatically update your McAfee software with the latest virus signatures and software updates whenever you connect to the Internet.

Recommendation :
If you are still on the old versions 4.x/5.x of VirusScan, disable the AutoUpdate feature within McAfee VirusScan as it is too buggy and problematic in our experience, and make a point of regularly updating VirusScan manually.

If you are on VirusScan 6 or later (which you will definitely be if you use Windows 2000/XP), then leave this task enabled to ensure that your McAfee antivirus software is continually kept up-to-date.

Mcvsescn

MCVSEscn.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee VirusScan Email Scan Module.  Task which has appeared with the latest updates to version 7 of McAfee VirusScan  (late August 2003).

Recommendation :
Oh Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear !   Since its initial incarnation in late August 2003 / early‑mid September 2003, this process has been a nightmarish task and in our opinion  this is totally inexcusable.  AntiVirus software is an absolute necessity – it is not a choice, it is a necessity these days.  Thus the last thing you want is your antivirus software to behave...... like a virus (!!), which is exactly what this task has done in its original incarnation, and at the time of writing, 24‑Aug‑2004, it is still causing havoc to many AnswersThatWork users.  From the creation of huge never‑erased temporary files (TMP files), gobbling up the user’s entire disk space in some cases, constant hard disk access, high CPU utilization resulting in other tasks  “not responding”, to the inability to send or receive emails, this task has shown, in our view, what software at its worst can do.  Shocking, shocking, shocking.   If you are experiencing any of the above problems, download the latest updates from McAfee as they will probably have fixed the problem by the time you read this.  If, even after updates, you still experience problems, disable  ScriptStopper  and  WormStopper  within McAfee and then disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Mcvsftsn

MCVSFTSN.exe

(McAfee)

Part of McAfee VirusScan Online.  We do not yet know what its role is.

Recommendation :  
As we do not yet know what it does, we can only recommend that you leave it alone, particularly since it is part of antivirus software.

Mdm

MDM.exe

(Microsoft)

Machine Debug Manager.  Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista.  This is used purely by Technically Advanced Users and Developers, and in very specific cases at that.  It is not needed in most normal day-to-day uses of a PC.  Microsoft’s own description of MDM reads as follows :  “The Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe, is a program that is installed with the Microsoft Script Editor to provide support for program debugging. The Microsoft Script Editor is included with Microsoft Office 2000, and also can be obtained from the Microsoft Windows Update Web site.  The Machine Debug Manager runs as a service and is loaded when your computer starts. If you do not use your computer for debugging purposes, you can safely turn off the Machine Debug Manager.”.

Recommendation :
While there can be a temptation to disable this service completely, it is our experience that in 2008 a number of Windows Updates have modified Windows in such a way that, occasionally, a Windows program absolutely needs to have MDM running regardless of what you, the user, want to do.  For this reason, therefore, we recommend only changing the  Startup Mode  of MDM from its automatic startup to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  In this way MDM will not start if it is not needed, but if a program needs it then Windows will start it.

Mdmsetpe

MDMSetPe.exe

(Aztech)

System Tray configuration icon for Aztech modems.  The icon enables you to set up the country for the modem, and the modem audio mode.  Through an oversight the modem drivers installation utility installs this configuration icon in the System Tray but does not install an alternative way of starting it up in the Aztech program group that it creates.

Recommendation : 
Harmless. Once you have configured your modem you can choose to keep the icon in the System Tray, or you can choose to disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

MemCard

MemCard.exe

(Lexmark)

Lexmark \ Dell Memory Card Manager.  This background task, which shows as an icon in the System Tray, gets installed by the Drivers CD of Lexmark and Dell Photo or All-in-One printers (the Dell printers are actually made by Lexmark and rebadged as Dell).  It is a monitoring task – as soon as it detects that you have inserted a memory card in the your photo printer’s memory card slot, it fires up the Lexmark\Dell Imaging Studio Photo software to enable you to transfer, organize, photo edit, or print the photos held on the memory card.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  This task uses between 1Mb to 7Mb of memory.  Windows XP users :  the features implemented by this task are already built into Windows XP and work better (as in “it always works!”) and more smoothly in Windows XP.  Therefore, should you, like us, decide not to have this task running, you can disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Memcheck

MemCheck.exe

(V Communications)

Background task which is part of the Mijenix Fix-it utilities.  Fix-it was later bought by Ontrack, and then later by VCOM (V Communications) in October 2002.  MEMCHECK is a startup program of the Fix-it AntiVirus module which, on startup, checks the PC for memory resident viruses and throws up an alert if any are found.

Recommendation :
This is an essential part of your Fix-it Antivirus protection – leave it alone.

MemeoBackground
Service

MemeoBackgroundService.exe

(Memeo Inc)

Memeo Backup Background Service.  MemeoBackgroundService is a service installed by the  Memeo Backup  software and whose role is to manage all the background tasks of the Memeo Backup software.

Recommendation :
Essential for the proper functioning of the  Memeo Backup  software – Leave alone therefore.

Note :   At the time of writing, 19-Aug-2008, this service is often responsible for preventing PCs from shutting down.  If you experience the inability to shut down smoothly problem, then try the following tip which seems to solve the problem :

a)   Right-click the  AUTOBACKUP  icon in the System Tray.

b)   Move up to the  SHOW DESKTOP ALERTS  option.

c)   Uncheck  SHOW DAILY BACKUP SUMMARY

This should solve the problem until such time that the Memeo people eventually fix the bug.  Note that on some PCs you also need to uncheck the  PURGE DELETED FILES  option.

This background service normally uses between 9Mb to 14Mb of memory.

Memory32

001PowerSupply

Memory32.exe

(iJEN Software)

Part of iJEN Software’s  PassMan  password manager software.  Why is this program called such, why is it installed into  C:\Windows,   why is it maskerading itself as 001PowerSupply, and what does it do ?   We do not know yet and we are awaiting confirmation from iJEN Software.

Recommendation :  
At the moment the only assumption we can make is that it is essential to the PassMan program.  Despite this, we in-house do not like the feel of this task and would as a result recommend against using PassMan.  Additionally, for those who may have once evaluated PassMan, this task gets left behind as a startup item even after the de‑installation of PassMan – Not good.

Mgui

MGUI.exe

(Bullguard Ltd)

Console component of the BullGuard antivirus software.  It shows up as an icon in the System Tray – clicking on it enables the user to see the status of their BullGuard antivirus and to open the product.  However, MGUI is also at the same time the on-access part of BullGuard antivirus :  it scans files for viruses as and when you access them, or whenever you create and save new files to your hard disk.

Recommendation :
Essential for the protection of your PC by your BullGuard antivirus product – Leave alone.

Mhotkey

MHOTKEY

(??)

This utility seems to get installed with the software that comes with the type of keyboards called "Internet keyboards",  and in most cases is associated with an icon in the System Tray.  It would seem that its purpose is to enable the end-user to program certain key combinations or function keys to do specific tasks,  or access specific sites,  while browsing the Internet.  We do not know much more than that,  except that in many instances a bug in the software prevents the use of the keyboard in DOS session windows !!

Recommendation : 
Either uninstall the keyboard software which installed this program (via the "Add/Remove Programs" icon in the Control Panel),  or disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  It is better to use the Netscape Bookmarks or Toolbar Buttons feature,  or Internet Explorer’s Favorites,  than expose yourself to a program which seems quite buggy.

Migrate.dll

Migrate.dll

(Microsoft)

In our experience this is only ever found as a RUNDLL32 startup item, typically in the shape of a command similar to this one :  RUNDLL32.EXE MIGRATE.DLL, ProcessWin9xNetworkPrinters.  This entry is entered as a startup when you upgrade a Windows 95/98/ME PC to Windows 2000 or Windows XP.  The purpose of this line is to run  MIGRATE.DLL  on one of the many reboots that occur during the upgrade process, as  MIGRATE.DLL ensures that your networked printers, if you have any, are properly migrated to Windows 2000/XP.

Recommendation :
This startup entry is only ever needed while you are performing the Windows upgrade of your PC; however, the upgrade process often does not properly take care of removing it once the upgrade has completed successfully.  Therefore, if you find this entry on your PC, initially disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, then make sure for a day or two that your printing is working properly, and then eventually delete it altogether from the Startups tab.

Minilog

Minilog.exe

(Zone Labs)

Alert logger task for the Zone Alarm Internet firewall. This task creates and updates the log of intruder attacks.  This task is only started if you select the "Log alerts to text file" option in Zone Alarm.

Recommendation : 
Deselect "Log alerts to text file" in Zone Alarm if you do not want this task and you have no special need for intruder alerts to be logged.  Do not under any event manage this background task using either  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  or MSConfig, as it can result in interminably slow Internet access if you have "Log alerts to text file" selected but you have at the same time prevented this task from starting using either The Ultimate Troubleshooter or MSConfig.

Mirra.Service

MirraSync Service

Mirra.Service.exe

(Mirra Inc)

MirraSync Service.  This program, installed by your Mirra Personal Server software CD, works in the background and backs up the important files you have selected for continuous backup to your Mirra Personal Server.  This program also comes into service when you restore files from your Mirra Personal Server or when you synchronize files between your Mirra Personal Server and your PC.

Recommendation :
Essential for the safe continuous background backup of your important files – Leave alone if you are connected to your home network and therefore your Mirra Personal Server (by “Home” we mean the network where your Mirra Personal Server is, which may be your physical home or your office).

Note, however :  If you are not connected to your  “home network”, the  Mirra Service  will poll the network many times every minute to try to connect to your Mirra Personal Server.  Depending on your location at the time this may or may not be acceptable as any network monitoring software will pick up the fact that your PC is frequently and constantly trying to connect to a particular network address.  So, you are in the middle of a major presentation at a client and their IT person interrupts your meeting to alert you, in a friendly manner of course, to the fact that your laptop is constantly polling a particular IP address on their network, and he/she is a little concerned (for you of course!).  Needless to say that in such a scenario you may just want to temporarily stop this service, and the Mirra Watchdog service (Mirra.Watchdog.exe), on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  The same applies to gamers who will find that this service has a significant negative performance impact while in the middle of a game as this service will continually backup any material changes to the games files if those files are included in the sets of files for Mirra to backup, and those gamers may therefore also want to temporarily stop this service before starting a game.

Mixer

Mixer.exe

(C-Media Inc)

This replacement for the default Windows Volume Mixer gets installed when you install the drivers for C-Media onboard sound systems or sound cards.  In our opinion the C-Media mixer is no better than the default Windows mixer and, if anything, it is irritating in the way it will by default mute the CD-in, Line-In, and other volume settings on some PCs, making the end-user lose valuable time working out why the sound is not working.

Recommendation : 
Disable or Delete using  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Mm_server

MM_Server.exe

(MusicMatch)

Background task installed by  MusicMatch Jukebox  and which provides support for Universal Plug and Play devices (e.g. Apple’s iPod) so that these devices can access the songs in your music library.

Recommendation :
Essential if you have a Universal Plug and Play device such as an Apple iPod, otherwise you can disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Mm_tray

Mm_Tray.exe

(MusicMatch)

This program is installed by MusicMatch Jukebox and enables you to access MusicMatch from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
If you like the feature, keep it.  Otherwise disable the Tray feature in MusicMatch Jukebox.

Mmc

MMC.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Management Console.  A massively irritating piece of software that you have no choice but to use to manage most of Microsoft’s latter system products (SQL Server, Exchange server, and more …).  At the time of writing, 25-Mar-2005, there is nothing we like about Microsoft’s Management Console.  First it’s slow.  Second, it’s slow.  Third, it’s slow.  You can’t have it open in Maximised mode, you always have to maximise it manually.  It won’t remember your column widths.  It won’t remember your column rearrangements, it won’t remember your sort order, etc.., etc..  It is an incredible time waster, yet you are stuck with having to use it, and more often than you realise – when you are in any Administrative Tool in Windows 2000/XP/2003, such as  “Computer Management”,  that is what you are using and that is why it appears in your Task List.  Can you ever remember wasting soooo much time managing system stuff in Windows 95/98/ME ?   Of course not.  Who wrote this MMC rubbish ??!!

Recommendation :  
As explained above, it is an integral part of Windows 2000/XP/2003 and opens up when you are using any Administrative Tool, that is why it shows in the Task List.  However sometimes, because of bugs, it remains in the Task List even though you have no management window open anywhere.  When it does it consumes memory (but not CPU time) – you can  terminate  it.

Mmtask  (1)

MMTask.exe

(MusicMatch)

Background task installed by  MusicMatch Jukebox  and which detects the insertion or removal of a CD so that MusicMatch Jukebox can update its display accordingly.

Recommendation :
This task is provided purely to allow MusicMatch Jukebox to still be able to detect the insertion or removal of a CD on PCs where the CD‑ROM drives are  not  set to Auto-Play ( “Auto-insert notification”  not turned ON in Win9x/ME, or  “Autorun”  registry key set to Zero in WinNT4/2000/XP).  If you know that your PC automatically plays or opens CDs, then, as part of streamlining your PC’s environment, you may try disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.  If you find that MusicMatch Jukebox is still able to detect the insertion or removal of a CD, then all is well, otherwise simply re‑enable this task.

Mmtask  (2)

MMTask.tsk

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Multimedia Background Task Support Module. This is a hidden task in Windows 9x/ME which shows up only in the Processes List in Starter.  MMTASK is a Microsoft background task which provides simulated multitasking for multimedia applications, so that, for example, you could be playing more than one AVI movie at the same time.  This task does not exist in Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003 which are true multitasking operating systems.

Recommendation :
Leave it alone.  If you experience error messages which mention  MMTASK, and quite a few users do, then the problem is in most cases elsewhere, very often driver problems.

Mnmsrvc

Fpx

MNMSrvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing task.  Microsoft’s NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (RDS) is software which enables an end-user to take control of another PC (also running NetMeeting) over an internal network or over the Internet.  Typical applications might be for an end-user to be able to login from his home PC onto his work PC and check his work email, work on some documents and spreadsheets, etc...  MNMSRVC is the task that must be running for a remote computer to take over your PC.  It shows as an icon in the System Tray which allows you to enable or disable Remote Desktop Sharing.

Recommendation :
This task is essential if you want to be able to take over your PC from a remote PC using Remote Desktop Sharing.  Otherwise you can disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Win98/ME.  In Windows NT4/2000/XP/ 2003 you need to set the  NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing  service to  Manual  or  Disabled  in  “Control Panel \ Services”  in Windows NT4  or  “Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services”  in Windows 2000/XP/2003.  If you are a Windows 2000 user and are experiencing intractable problems with getting NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing to work, ensure you have at least both Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000 and Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 installed.

Mobsync

MobSync.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Synchronization Manager.  This program, which is part of Internet Explorer 5.x/6, runs in the background when you are using the "View pages offline" feature of Internet Explorer, and you have set parameters for when your pages should be automatically synchronised, or you decide to manually synchronise your offline content with the web through the "Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ Synchronize" function.  This program will also run if you are doing development using Microsoft SQL 7 and using SQL 7 replication.

Recommendation : 
Harmless. If you never use the "Synchronize" function, then disable it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Monwow

Monwow.exe

(Symantec)

Part of Norton CleanSweep. This program monitors the installation of new software on your PC – without it running in the background Smart Sweep is "toothless" and cannot be used.

Recommendation : 
If you actively use Norton CleanSweep on your PC, you will need to leave this process alone.  Only disable it if you are troubleshooting conflicts between CleanSweep and other software (disable it by turning "off" Smart Sweep in the configuration of CleanSweep, and then rebooting).

Motivesb

MotiveSB.exe

(Motive Communications)

Motive SmartBridge background task which appears as an  Online Support  icon in the System Tray.  We believe it to be part of the  Motive Broadband Manager  stable of products from Motive Communications, although we are not 100% certain yet.  Some descriptions of Motive Broadband Manager from the Motive website on 20‑Feb‑2004 :  “Self-management software that automates the residential subscriber service and support experience” – “Performs automated troubleshooting and problem resolution” – “Proactively detects problems and guides subscribers through the resolution process.” – “Offers an escalation mechanism and process for resolving problems that require help from service providers.  When self‑configuration or self-repair cannot resolve the issue, Motive Broadband Manager automatically escalates a support request electronically to the provider's customer service center, providing the information gathered during the self-service experience as a starting point to speed problem resolution.”.  In our experience Motive Smartbridge is installed by the installation CD provided by a number of broadband ISPs, most notably, at the time of writing, Verizon, Adelphia.

Recommendation :
We simply cannot understand why ISPs insist on installing software like this on users PCs without thorough, thorough, thorough, and also....., thorough testing !  Frequent  “Kernel32 invalid page faults”  on boot-up is the most common complaint.  But that’s not all :  we have seen PC hangs and spontaneous reboots also being caused by this task.  Add to this that this task regularly communicates information back to the ISP without, in most cases, the user ever having been informed clearly and unambiguously about what is being communicated, and you have a task which we recommend unequivocally that you eliminate.  As we state consistently in these pages, ISPs have the technology to monitor the quality of their service to you the customer without any software from them running on your PC.  They possess a range of diagnostic hardware and tests which can help them pinpoint problems with remarkable accuracy, so do not ever believe any statement which infers that you need software like Motive Smartbridge running for your ISP to be able to support you !  We have frequent contacts with our own ISP and the range of tests they can perform, and their ability to home in on the exact problem, is absolutely stunning.  You have two choices :  the quick and easy solution if you do not want to “mess around” too much with your PC is simply to disable this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  – this has the advantage of allowing you to re-enable the task should you experience a problem with your broadband connection and your ISP insist on you having this task running before they can provide you with support.  Alternatively, if you are technically advanced, in addition to disabling this task you could decide to de-install anything  “Motive”  or which has your ISP’s name and something akin to  “support”  in the  “Add\Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel.

Motmon

MPSEvH

MPSEvH.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Privacy Service Event Handler.  Background task which gets started by the McAfee Privacy Service and whose job is to watch out for new events (such as accessing a new web site, or private information being requested on the screen), recognize whether they need special processing (e.g. is this user allowed to go to this website), and then pass them on to the Privacy Service proper for further handling.

Recommendation :
Leave alone – this task is started as necessary by the Privacy Service, MPS.EXE, and will be terminated by the privacy service as and when necessary.

Mqtgsvc

MSMQ Triggers

Message Queuing Triggers

Mqtgsvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Message Queuing Triggers.  This service is a crucial part of Microsoft’s Message Queuing Technology – it processes incoming messages watching out for  “triggers”  messages where each particular trigger is associated with starting a COM component or a standalone program, in both cases to perform a specific action or provide a specific functionality.

Recommendation :
An integral part of Microsoft’s Message Queuing – Leave alone if Microsoft’s Message Queuing is running (MQSVC.EXE).  Only Advanced Users should tinker with this service.

Mrtmngr

MRTMngr.exe

(Intuit)

Maintenance Release Task Manager for Intuit’s QuickBooks or Quicken.  Many of Intuit’s background downloading tasks can sometimes create serious conflicts, from illegal operations and invalid page faults which mention the MRTMNGR, MRTRATE, MRTPROC, or QAGENT programs, to the modem attempting to dial on boot-up, inability to print after going online, or the printer being activated when going online. For all these reasons we strongly recommend disabling all Intuit background downloading tasks.

Recommendation : 
Disable from within Quicken/QuickBooks – choose the "Edit \ Options \ Internet Options" menu option.  Press Alt+Shift+4.  Click "Yes" on the window asking you if you want to disable the Quicken Background Download Manager.  Click OK.  Close Quicken.  Restart your PC.

MSCamSvc

MSCamSvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Webcam Service.  Service installed by the drivers for Microsoft’s range LifeCam range of webcams with integrated microphones.

Recommendation :
This service is essential for the proper functioning of your Microsoft LifeCam webcam – Leave alone.

Mscifapp

Mscifapp.exe

(McAfee)

Background task which is part of McAfee’s Privacy Service.  McAfee’s Privacy Service is a product which provides Private Information protection while surfing the Internet, popup and popunder advertisements blocking, cookies blocking and management, website filtering and blocking (e.g: for families with children), web sessions & chat monitoring and logging, Internet access restrictions, and age based access levels.

Recommendation :  
We do not yet know what this task actually does, but we do know that disabling prevents the Privacy Service from functioning properly.   Leave alone therefore.   That said, at the time of writing, 13‑Dec-2003, this task is not the best behaved task and too often either generates illegal operations at boot‑up or consumes excessive amounts of CPU time causing the PC to slow down significantly as a direct result.   Make sure, therefore, that you regularly check the McAfee site for software updates  (you can do that through the icon in the System Tray).

Msfeedssync

Msfeedssync.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft Feeds Synchronization  task found on PCs with Internet Explorer 7 and which automatic RSS Feeds synchronization turned ON.  This task starts up at the intervals specified in Internet Explorer 7 and checks for updates to your RSS feeds.  Once it has updated your RSS feeds, it terminates.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  You can turn off the automatic updating of your RSS feeds in the Internet Explorer 7 options.  Check our  Microsoft Internet Explorer  library in the libraries section on our website, www.ATWLIBRARIES.com,  for more details.

Msfind32

MSFind32.exe

(???)

You have the  W32.HLLW.Cayam@mm  virus.

Msg32

Msg32.exe

(Nemesys Music)

Background task installed by the GigaStudio and GigaSampler music sampling software packages.  This task only shows up when you start using either package.

Recommendation : 
Necessary for the proper operation of GigaStudio/GigaSampler.

Msgloop

MsgLoop.exe

(Crystal)

Background program which gets installed with the drivers for older sound cards based on the Crystal chipset (eg. Adlib Audio, Aztech, Acer). Description :  A WaveStream component which is provided to hook up with the Brooktree WaveStream CD, also called the "Brooktree WaveStream Message Server".  This background program is also present in the drivers for more modern sound cards but in this case MSGLOOP.EXE is called the "Conexant WaveStream Message Server".  These sound cards are often found in Hewlett-Packard PCs and some Compaq PCs.

Recommendation : 
There are reports of MSGLOOP preventing Scandisk and Defrag from working properly, or causing crashes at boot-up.  Since we are not certain about what MSGLOOP actually does, we recommend you leave it alone unless you experience strange problems, or you have changed your sound card, in which case disable or delete it with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  and then test thoroughly.

Msgsrv32  (1)

Msgsrv32.exe

(Microsoft)

The Windows 32-bit Message Server for Windows 95/98/ME.  This essential program normally never appears in the  Ctrl+Alt+Del  Task List in Windows 95/98/ME unless it has “hung”; it otherwise runs invisibly in the background (unless you use  The Ultimate Troubleshooter   to view running processes) performing a variety of essential services, a significant majority of which being to do with on‑screen messages and notifications.

Recommendation :
As mentioned above this program only ever appears in the  Ctrl+Alt+Del  Task List of Windows 95/98/ME PCs if it has “hung”.  When that happens you will see  “Not responding”  next to it.  Simply highlight it, and do an  End Task  on it  (you may need to wait 5-10 seconds after the first  “End Task” and re-do it).  If MSGSRV32 hangs often, you will need to investigate.

Msgsrv32  (2)

Msgsrv32.exe

(???)

You may have the   W32.HLLW.Deadhat.B   virus.

Recommendation :
Provided you have an up‑to‑date reputable antivirus program, that is regularly updated, and if you are not experiencing stability problem nor strange error messages such as  “Corrupted file! Error executing program!”, then you most probably do not have a virus.  In any other case run a full manual virus scan of your PC, preferably after having rebooted your PC into Safe Mode.

Msimn

Msimn.exe

(Microsoft)

This is the Microsoft Outlook Express 5/6 program.  Technically this is not a background task, and it should therefore not be listed on this page.  However, as we regularly receive reports of MSIMN showing up in the Task List even after Outlook Express has been closed down, we thought we would list it anyway.

Recommendation : 
If you end up with MSIMN showing up in the Task Bar even after you have closed Outlook Express (sometimes you may even have more than one instance), then the problem may be caused by the McAfee antivirus software.  If you do have McAfee, then go to the McAfee website to download all software updates (as opposed to virus updates) for your version of McAfee VirusScan.

Msinfo  (1)

Msinfo.exe

(CoolWebSearch.com ???)

Browser hijacker, seemingly from CoolWebSearch (we are not sure yet), which is picked up mainly on pornographic sites.  Note :  do not mix up MSINFO.EXE  with the genuine Microsoft file  MSINFO32.EXE.

Recommendation :
Download, update, and run  Spybot Search & Destroy  from our  Downloads  page.  Also manually update your antivirus software and run a full virus scan, preferably after having booted your computer in Safe Mode.

Msinfo  (2)

MSInfo.exe

(???)

You may have the   Backdoor.IRC.Aladinz.M   virus.

Recommendation :
Ensure you have a current, up‑to‑date, and reputable antivirus program and run a full virus scan of your PC, preferably after having booted it up into Safe Mode.

Msksrvr

MSKSrvr.exe

(McAfee)

McAfee Spam Killer background task (from version 5 only) which interacts with your email program and implements the anti‑spam rules that you have set up.

Recommendation :  
Essential for the proper functioning of Spam Killer.  That said, at the time of review, 25‑Mar‑2005, there are still issues with this task gobbling up a lot of CPU time in some environments, issues which have been around since 2003, so either regularly check the McAfee website for further updates to Spam Killer, or simply disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  as many users end up having to do.

Msmsgs

Msmsgs.exe

(Microsoft)

MSN Messenger which sits in the System Tray. 

Recommendation :  
Disable or Delete on the  Startups  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter  if you do not use MSN Messenger.  Alternatively, you can go into the “Tools \ Options \ Preferences”  menu option within Messenger and uncheck “Run when Windows starts”.  Note, however, that, regardless of what you do, MSMSGS  will be started whenever you open Outlook Express 6.  Thus, if you have Internet Explorer 6 on your PC, or you are on Windows XP or later, MSMSGS will always start when you open Outlook Express.  As soon as you close Outlook Express, MSMSGS will disappear again.

Msnappau

MSNAppau.exe

(Microsoft)

MSN Updater  task which is installed with the recent versions of the MSN Toolbar  (from mid 2004 onward).  This seems to be a real-time updating task and it is not uncommon to find more than one instance of this task running.  We do not know at this stage what exactly this task updates.

Recommendation :  
First, note that on some PCs, particularly older PCs running Windows 98, and sometimes on Windows ME too, this task can sometimes prevent the PC from shutting down properly.  That said, if you want to be able to use the MSN Toolbar without this updater task constantly running in the background, then do not even bother disabling this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter – it gets re-enabled at your next boot‑up !!  The best way to disable this task is as follows (do it after having rebooted your PC into Safe Mode if it does not work in Normal Mode) :
1)   Terminate  MSNAPPAU  on the  Tasks  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter  (right-click and choose  “Terminate this Task”).
2)   Switch over to the  Startups  tab.
3)   Right-click on it and choose  Rename the file that this Startup points to.

Msnet

Msnet.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Mockbot.A.Worm   virus.

Msnmsgr  (1)

MsnMsgr.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s  MSN Messenger  from version 6 onward.  The full path to this program, as shown in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter,  should be  “C: \ Program Files \ MSN Messenger \ msnmsgr”.  If it is not, then see below as you may have a virus.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  If you do not want MSN Messenger to start in your System Tray every time Windows boots up, do as follows :  go into the “Tools \ Options \ Preferences”  menu option within Messenger and uncheck “Run when Windows starts”.

Msnmsgr  (2)

MSN

Msnmsgr.exe

(???)

If the path to the program as shown in  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  is anything other than  “C: \ Program Files \ MSN Messenger \ msnmsgr”  then you have a virus, such as the   W32.Mytob@mm  \  W32.Mydoom.bg@MM   virus  (Typical locations for this virus are  “C:\Windows\System\msnmsgr”  and  “C:\Windows\System32\msnmsgr”).

MsPMSPSv

MsPMSPSv.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s WMDM PMSP Service, aka Windows Media Device Manager Pre-Message Security Protocol Service.  This services enables Windows Media Player to support the SDMI protocol (Secure Digital Music Initiative) when copying CDs or packaging copyrighted downloaded music to SDMI compliant music players and storage devices.

Recommendation :
This process takes at least 1.5Mb of memory, yet at the time of writing, 25-Mar-2005, most users do not use any of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player.  Therefore, if you are such a user, we advise that you disable this process on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  under Windows 9x/ME, or set the  Startup Mode  of this service to  Manual  on the  Services  tab of The Ultimate Troubleshooter  in Windows 2000/XP/2003.  You can always re-enable it if you start needing to use some of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player.

Mstask

MSTask.exe

(Microsoft)

The Windows Tasks Scheduler (also called the Scheduling Agent in Windows 95/98).  Made active by default when you install Windows from Windows 98 onward – it appears in the System Tray as a blue box with a red stopwatch in Windows 95/98 and shows up in the Task List when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del.  In Windows ME and later it is a hidden task visible only through the  Tasks  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and there is no icon for it in the System Tray.

Recommendation :  
If you do not have tasks that you want to run on a regular basis, or you simply want to de-activate the Task Scheduler, in Windows 95/98 you can double-click on the icon in the System Tray and choose the  “Advanced \ Stop Using Task Scheduler”  menu option; then close it and Task Scheduler will no longer start automatically with Windows.  In Windows ME onward you need to do that through the  Scheduled Tasks  icon in the Control Panel.  However, nowadays the Task Scheduler is an important part of the Windows environment as it is relied upon by many third party programs, such as antivirus programs, to perform vital tasks ranging from disk defragmentation to automatic updating of antivirus software.  We suggest therefore that you leave it alone.

Msvchost

Msvcc

Msvchost.exe

(???)

You have the  Trojan.Xombe / Downloader-GJ  virus.

Mswheel

MSWheel.exe

(Microsoft)

Background task which is part of Microsoft IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software and which provides support for the wheel in Microsoft (and Logitech) Internet mice.  The IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software was developed to provide support for Microsoft Internet mice in Windows 95 and Windows 98.  However, all features of the software were incorporated in Windows 98 Second Edition, and all subsequent versions of Windows (WinME/2000/XP/2003).

Recommendation : 
The IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software has a history of incompatibilities.  If you run Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, de-install the IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software and let the operating system handle all the features of your mouse.  If you are still on Windows 95, or on the Windows 98 upgrade version, or on the original version of Windows 98, and you are experiencing problems which seem to be related to your mouse, then ensure you have the very latest version of the IntelliPoint/IntelliMouse software from the Microsoft Download Center.

Mswkwrh

Mswkwrh.exe

(???)

You have the   Hacktool.Anavol   virus.

Mswmccds

WmcCds

MSWMCCds.exe

(Microsoft)

Microsoft’s  Windows Media Connect Service.  Windows Media Connect is a Microsoft technology which enables  Digital Media Receivers  to play music, video, or photos that are stored on a Windows XP PC.  At the time of writing, 1‑Oct‑2005, most  Digital Media Receivers  (DMR) take the form of a piece of Hi‑Fi equipment which can connect wirelessly to your PC or PC network, and play music (or music playlists) stored on your PC or network.  For example, you would have your  Digital Media Receiver  in the living room connect wirelessly to your PC in your study or one of the spare rooms, and play music files or music playlists stored on the PC.  MSWMCCDS, the Windows Media Connect Service, is the process which enables this process by  streaming  the music to the  Digital Media Receiver  (which has no storage capacity of its own).

Recommendation :
Unless you are a Windows Media Connect  user, the default  Startup Mode  of this service will normally be  Manual, which is fine.  In fact, at the time of writing, 1‑Oct‑2005, given some of the bugs we have seen with the Windows Media Connect Service, we feel it would be prudent not to have Windows Media Connect  automatically start when Windows starts as some of the recent problems have included Windows taking up to 20 minutes to start because of a problem with the Windows Media Connect Service.  If you use Windows Media Connect, simply start this service through the  Windows Media Connect  icon in the Control Panel – this service starts as soon as you open the Control Panel’s  Windows Media Connect  icon (the Windows Media Connect Configuration program) and you can stop it on the  SETTINGS  tab.

Musirc4.71

MusIRC (irc.music.com) client

Musirc4.71.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Randex.Q   virus.

Mwsoemon

MWSoemon.exe

(MyWebSearch.com / My Way / Fun Web Products, Focus Interactive Inc)

MyWebSearch email plug-in for Outlook Express and Internet Explorer which enables the user to search the web from within Internet Explorer or Outlook Express without first homing onto a search engine’s homepage.  MyWebSearch typically gets installed when the user downloads and installs  freebies  from the  Fun Web Products  series of websites (from Focus Interactive Inc), such as  www.smileycentral.com,  www.popularscreensavers.com, www.cursormania.com, www.mymailsignature.com, and many more.  Once installed, MyWebSearch, which shows up as an Internet Explorer Search Toolbar, gathers information about your web browsing habits so that it can display targeted advertising when you are browsing the web.  This is what we call adware.  You can read Focus Interactive’s full Privacy Policy  here .
At the time of writing, 12-Dec-2004, one of the most relevant extracts from this Privacy Policy is as follows :  “Information gathered online can generally be categorised as either anonymous or personally identifiable. Anonymous information is information that cannot be traced back to a specific individual. For example, we know how many search queries are submitted each day at each of our Web Sites but we generally do not know the names, e-mail addresses or gender of the people asking the questions. Personally identifiable information is information from which you or another individual can be identified. This information can include your name, e-mail, address, postcode, age, etc.  Gathering and Use of Anonymous Information.   Each time a visitor comes to the Results Site, we collect some information to improve the overall quality of the online experience, including product monitoring, product improvement, and targeted advertising. At the Results Site, we collect the visitor's domain name (e.g. whether the user is logged on from compaq.com or whitehouse.gov), referral data (e.g., we record the address of the last URL a user visited prior to clicking through to the Results Site), and browser and platform type (e.g., whether the visitor is using the My Web Search Browser, a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform).  In addition to collecting these types of information, we collect aggregate queries for internal reporting and targeted advertising. We also count, track, and aggregate the visitor's activity into our analysis of general traffic flows at the Results Site (e.g. tracking where traffic comes from, how traffic responds to different designs of the Results Site, etc.). To these ends, we may merge anonymized information about you into group data, which may then be shared on an aggregated basis with our advertisers. When we present this information to outside companies, such as advertisers and research firms, personally identifiable information is not included in such information.”.

Recommendation :  
If like us you do not like adware, then you should de‑install MyWebSearch through the  “Add/Remove Programs”  icon in the Control Panel – uninstall  MyWebSearch Bar/Browser  and  Fun Web Products Easy Installer.  Next, download and install  SpyBot  from our  Downloads  page and scan your PC for adware/spyware.

Mxoaldr

MXOaldr.exe

(Cypress Semiconductor)

Maxtor OneTouch Auto Loader storage adapter task.  Background task which is installed by the software for Maxtor’s range of  OneTouch  USB and FireWire backup drives.  Cypress Semiconductor is the OEM manufacturer who will have made the interface and written the drivers for Maxtor’s OneTouch drives.

Recommendation :
This task is essential for the proper operation of the Maxtor OneTouch drives as it enables those drives to be seen as additional hard disks by your PC so that the backup software can then backup your files to the external hard disk(s).

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.

MacLic.exe,  MacName.exe,  Macromedia Licensing.exe,  MailWasher.exe,  MagicJack.exe,  MagicISO.exe,  Magnify.exe,  Mamutu.exe,  ManifestEngine.exe,  Mantispm.exe,  Masalert.exe,  Masbl.bat,  Master.exe,  Math.exe,  MaxBackService.exe,  MaxBackServiceInt.exe,  MaxMem.exe,  MaxMenuMgr.exe,  MaxThon.exe,  MaxView.exe,  MBackMonitor.exe,  Mbam.exe,  Mbamgui.exe,  MbamService.exe,  Mbkwnst.exe,  Mbs,  Mbserver.exe,  Mbsrm32.exe,  Mbssm32.exe,  McAfeeDataBackup.exe,  McAffeAv.exe,  McciCMService.exe,  McciTrayApp.exe,  Mcconsol.exe,  McDash.exe,  McDetect.exe,  McHost.exe,  McLgView.exe,  McLogCln.exe,  Mclogsrv.exe,  MCLServiceATL.exe,  McNASvc.exe,  McODS.exe,  McOEMMgr.exe,  McpAdmin.exe,  McProMgr.exe,  McProxy.exe,  McPvTray.exe,  McrdSvc.exe,  Mcregist.exe,  Mcshld9x.exe,  Mcsmss.exe,  McSmtFwk.exe,  McSvHost.exe,  Mcsvrcnt.exe,  McSysmon.exe,  McTray.exe,  McUICnt.exe,  Mcuimgr.exe,  Mcupdmgr.exe,  McUpdUI.exe,  McUsrMgr.exe,  Mcwelcom.exe,  MCXPSMON.exe,  mDNSResponder.exe,  MDS.exe,  Media_Driver.exe,  MediaAccess.exe, MediaAccK.exe,  Media Center 12.exe,  MediaDetect.exe,  MediaLifeService.exe,  MediaServer.exe,  Mella.bat,  Memcelerator.exe,  MemCleaner.exe,  MemeoAutoSync.exe,  MemeoBackgroundService.exe,  MemeoBackup.exe,  MemeoLauncher.exe,  MemeoLauncher2.exe,  MemeoService.exe,  Meminfo.exe,  Memokeys.exe,  MemoKit.exeMemoKit2.exe,  MemOptimizer.exe,  MemoryBoost.exe,  MemorySavior.exe,  MEMreaload.exe,  MemTuneUp.exe,  MemTurbo.exe,  Memzippf.exe,  Message.exe,  Messenger Service,  Messengers.exe,  Mew32.exe,  Mfpscdl.exe,  Mghtml.exe,  MgmtService.exe,  Mgsvc.exe,  MICMUTE.exe,  Microsoftsa32.exe,  Mig2.exe,  Mim.exe,  Mimboot.exe,  Mincer.exe,  MiniAlan.exe,  MiniScan.exe,  MIRC32.exe,  Mirko.bat,  Mirra.Client.exe,  Mirra.Watchdog.exe,  MM_Director.exe,  Mmaker.exe,  MMDaemon.exe,  MMDiag.exe,  MMHotKey.exe,  MMJB.exe,  MMonitor.exe,  Mmsg.exe.exe,  MNYBBSvc.exe,  Mo.exe,  MobileConnect.exe,  MobilityService.exe,  Modemshr.exe,  MODPS2Key.exe,  MOM.exe,  Monitor.exe,  MonitorBK.exe,  Morphstb.exe,  MotiveDirectory.exe,  MOTIVE~1.exe,  MotoConnectService.exe,  Mouse32a.exe,  Movielink User.exe,  MovielinkCore.exe,  MOVIEL~1.exe,  MozyBackup.exe,  MozyStat.exe,  MPAPI3s.exe,  Mpbtn.exe,  MpCmdRun.exe,  MpEng.exe,  MPF.exe,  MPFService.exe,  MPFSrv.exe,  Mpisvc.exe,  Mplupdate.exe,  MPS.exe,  MPSSvc.exe,  Mqsvc.exe,  Msaccess.exe,  MsASCui.exe,  MSBNTray.exe,  MsBootMgr.exe,  MSCamS32.exe,  MSCamS64.exe,  Msconf.exe,  MSConfig.exe,  Mscorsvw.exe,  Msctools.exe,  Msdata.dat,  Msdev32.exe,  Msdevmgr32.exe,  MSDOS.exe,  MSDosdrv.exe,  Msdspr.exe,  MsDtsSrvr.exe,  Mseiw.exe,  MsFwSvc.exe,  MsgAgt.exe,  Msgfix.exe,  Msgmr.exe,  MSHearts.exe,  Msidle32.exe,  MSIExec.exe,  MSInfo.exe,  Msiwin84.exe,  MSJava.exe,  MSKAgent.exe,  MSKDetct.exe,  Mskiks.exe,  Mskj.exe,  MskSrver.exe,  Mslarissa.pif,  MSLogon.exe,  Msmbw.exe,  Msmgrxp.exe,  Msmmsgr.exe,  MsMoney.exe,  MsMpEng.exe,  MSMPSVC.exe,  Msmscfg.exe,  MSN.exe,  Msnarrator.exe,  MSNCC.exe,  MsNews.vbs),  MSNGrabber.exe,  MSNMessenger.exe,  Msnmgsr.exe,  MsnMsgrs.exe,  Msnmsgs.exe,  MSN_Sl.exe,  Msnsched2.exe,  Msnserve.exe,  Msnwindows.exe,  Msoff.exe,  MSOHELP.exe,  Mspadmin.exe,  MSPaint.exe,  Msping.exe,  MSPUB.exe,  MSRUND1L32.exe,  Msseces.exe,  Mssecure.exe,  MSSIGN30.DLL,  Mssmmspgr.exe,  Msssort.exe,  Mssys.exe,  Mssysmgr.exe,  Mstasks.exe,  Mstc.exe,  MSTMON_J.exe,  MSTMON_N.exe,  MSTMON_P.exe,  MSTMON_Q.exe,  MSTMON_S.exe,  MSTMON_Y.exe,  Mstsc.exe,  MsUpdate.exe,  Msupdtm.exe,  Msveup.exe,  Msvgr.exe,  Mswin.exe,  MsWin.exe,  MSWinExt.exe,  MSWinSrv.exe,  Mswmc.exe,  MSWMCLS.exe,  MSWORKS.exe,  MT6Licensing.exe,  Mtask.vbe,  Muniu.exe,  MUPS.exe,  Mvsc.exe,  Mwfirewall.exe,  MwlGui.exe,  MWLService.exe,  MwlSvc.exe,  Mxvgautil.exe,  myAgtSvc.exe,  myAgtTry.exe,  MyHeritage.exe,  My Life Planner.exe,  MYOB.exe,  MYOBP.exe,  MyRegistryCleaner.exe,  MySpaceIM.exe,  Mysqld-nt.exe,  Mysqld-max-nt.exe,  Mysqld.exe,  Rundll32 Mzn.tx
 

PRESS & RADIO

September 2009
AskJack Blog,
The Guardian, UK

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

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

January 2007
WFAA.com TV
Dallas/Fort Worth  Texas

2006
TechNewsWorld.com
——
Developer Shed
——
The Wall Street Journal
——
WTVN Radio
Columbus, Ohio

2005
WorldStart Computer Tips
——
A-Clue.com
——
Corante.com
——
PC Magazine
'Top 100 Classics'
——
Infodad.com

2004
PC Magazine
'Top 100 Classics'
——
The Examiner (Texas)
——
St Petersburgh Times
——
ToledoBlade (Ohio)
——
Office Zealot
——
Kevin Respecki
——
Mike McBride Online