Vccleanup

VcCleanUp.exe

(Symantec)

Symantec  Venice Component CleanUp.  This is a cleanup task which is installed by many of the Symantec products (Norton AntiVirus, Internet Security, PCAnywhere) when you do a manual LiveUpdate and where one of the updates is an update to the LiveReg Symantec program.  The purpose of this startup entry is to perform post-LiveUpdate clean-up tasks on the next reboot of the PC – once those clean-up tasks have been performed, this entry is automatically removed from the  Startups  tab.

Recommendation :
If you see this task on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter, reboot your PC and allow everything to start at the next reboot (ie. do not hold the SHIFT key down to prevent auto‑startup programs from starting).  If this startup entry still shows up on full completion of the next reboot, then  delete it  from the  Startups  tab.

VerizonServicepoint

VerizonServicepoint.exe

(Verizon)

Verizon Service Point Client Gateway.  Background startup task installed when you run the Verizon Internet CD for your first connection to Verizon.

First – a description of  Verizon Service Point  by Verizon themselves at the time of writing, 10-Jan-2010 :

“Verizon Servicepoint is an application used by the Verizon Internet Security Suite services to deliver up-to-date information on security issues to subscribers, to ensure that the software or updates required for services subscriptions is delivered and ready to use, and to allow Verizon Online to communicate with subscribers regarding Verizon Online services.

Verizon Servicepoint facilitates the fulfilment of these services by notifying users about necessary downloads. It then simplifies the download and installation of software components required to operate these services. Verizon Servicepoint is also used to deliver the Verizon Security Advisor service, which provides security-related information to educate subscribers about protecting themselves against online threats.”.

You can read more on this web page from Verizon Internet :   http://www.verizon.freedom.net/
support/about_viss.html#1-4

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.

One thing is certain :   you absolutely do not need this task to be able to access your Verizon Internet service.

Our view :   we are yet to see a single ISP which lives up to the promise of providing useful security updates which are not already covered by Windows updates or updates from antivirus companies and in the majority of cases all this turns out to be is a way to serve marketing information to end-users.

Our advice :   IMPORTANT – if you use the Verizon Internet Security suite (made by Radialpoint) to protect your PC, then do not disable this service as the Verizon Service Point software is often tightly integrated with the Verizon Internet Security suite (in some versions) and therefore disabling  Verizon Service Point  could affect your Internet Security protection.

If, on the other hand, you do not use the  Verizon Internet Security Suite  on your PC, then our advice is first to disable this program on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  and monitor your PC to make sure that everything still works fine.  If it does, then, a week or so later, uninstall  Verizon Service Point  from the  “Tools \ Add/Remove Programs”  menu option in TUT.

This task, in tandem with the
VERIZONSERVICEPOINTCOMHANDLER.EXE
task that it spawns, can use anything from 5Mb to 41Mb of memory.

VersionCue

AdobeVersionCue

VersionCue.exe

(Adobe)

Adobe Version Cue version tracking service.  Background service installed by Adobe Version Cue.  Adobe Version Cue is versioning software which enables you to assign version numbers to your various Adobe projects, thus saving you the tedious and error prone techniques of including the version numbers in the names of your Adobe projects.  Version Cue keeps track of all the various revisions to your Adobe documents and enables you to quickly retrieve specific versions.  This service tracks modified documents and updates the Version Cue database accordingly;  it will also retrieve version information or perform searches for tracked documents.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  If you do not use  Adobe Version Cue  then you can disable this service on the  Services  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  by changing its  Startup Mode  to  Manual.

Vfp9

Vfp9.exe

(Microsoft)

You have the  Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9   program development environment currently open  (or set as a startup item).

vmacthlp

vmacthlp.exe

(VMware Inc)

VMware Physical Disk Helper Service.  Sometimes we really despair at the descriptions that VMware give to their processes (and we despair at the quality of their online help too!).  The VMware description for this process is also  VMware Activation Helper – now, how would one ever be able to know that one description, “Activation Helper”, means the other !!

This background service installed by VMware Tools  has two purposes :   if you have an Apple Mac PC/laptop, it facilitates the swapping back and forth from within VMware running inside Windows XP/Vista itself running inside Apple’s Bootcamp;  additionally, on all PCs, if you have virtual machines which are mounted from entire physical disks rather than from virtual drives, then this service is a must as it effectively enables VMware to handle running your virtual machine directly from a physical disk – without it your virtual machine won’t boot and you will have to boot it into Safe Mode in order to re-enable this service ! 

Recommendation :
Even if you are not currently running VMware on an Apple Mac, or even if you are not running a physical-drive virtual machine,  leave this service well alone  as the consequences of turning it off and finding that your virtual machine suddenly needs it, are horrible !

VMCService

VMCService.exe

(Vodafone)

Vodafone Mobile Connect service.  Background service installed by the  Vodafone Mobile Connect  software.  The Vodafone Mobile Connect software enables the user to connect to the Internet via a USB or PCMCIA Vodafone mobile broadband adapter.  This background service has a dual role :  its primary role is to detect your Vodafone PCMCIA or USB broadband adapter and handle all communications with the adapter and to and from the Internet;  its secondary role is to detect whether the PC is currently running programs which are known to conflict with the  Vodafone Mobile Connect  software, or detect whether the user is attempting to start one of those programs.  When such a program is detected the  Vodafone Mobile Connect  software pops up a message to the user indicating the nature of the conflict and what to do.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  If you use  Vodafone Mobile Connect  then this background service is essential to the proper functioning of  Vodafone Mobile Connect.  If you no longer use the  Vodafone Mobile Connect  software then uninstall it from  “Add/Remove Programs”  in Windows XP or  “Programs & Features”  in Vista or Windows 7.

This background service normally uses 3Mb to 20Mb of memory – on most PCs the usage hovers around 15Mb.

Vmsrvc

VMSrvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Virtual Machine Additions Services Application.  You are running Microsoft’s Virtual PC or Virtual Server and you have installed the  Virtual Machine Additions  which provide integration of Virtual PC/Server with the host operating system.  This service implements some of the Virtual Machine Additions, such as the seamless handling of the mouse from the host to Virtual PC/Server and vice versa, Copy & Paste between host and the Virtual PC/Server, etc....

Recommendation :
Essential to the proper functioning of the  Virtual Machine Additions – Leave alone therefore.

vmware-tray

vmware-tray.exe

(VMWare Inc)

System Tray icon installed by  VMWare Workstation  and which shows up only when you have one or more virtual machines actually running (when all your virtual machines are closed no icon shows in the System Tray).  It enables you to access those virtual machines directly from the System Tray – right-clicking the icon also gives access to some of the features of VMWare workstation.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference.  This icon normally uses 2Mb to 26Mb of memory.  In our case we find it more natural to access virtual machines via the VMWare Console rather than through this icon which can use up to 26Mb of memory, and which still carries on running in the background long after you have closed all your virtual machines and the icon has disappeared from the System Tray.

If you want to disable this program from automatically starting up at every Windows boot-up, do as follows :

a)   Open your VMWare Console.

b)   Choose the  “Edit \ Preferences”  menu.

b)   Make sure you on the  Workspace  tab.

c)   Uncheck the  Show tray icon when virtual machines are powered on.

d)   OK yourself out.

e)   Go to the  Startups  tab of TUT.

f)   Click the  REFRESH  button on the toolbar.

g)   If this task is still enabled on the  Startups  tab of TUT, disable it.

h)   That’s it – You’re done.

Note :   you have to go through the procedure above for it to be successful.  Only doing step (g) above does not work as the VMWare Console then re-inserts the entry every time you open the Console.

VPCMap

VPCMap.exe

(Microsoft)

Virtual Machine Additions Folder Sharing Service.  You are running Microsoft’s Virtual PC or Virtual Server and you have installed the  Virtual Machine Additions  which provide integration of Virtual PC/Server with the host operating system.  This service specifically implements the Virtual Machine Additions feature which allows the Virtual PC/Server to use folders from the host PC (local and network folders) for the sharing and exchange of files between the host PC and the Virtual PC/Server.

Recommendation :
Essential to the proper functioning of the  Virtual Machine Additions – Leave alone therefore.

VProTray

VProTray.exe

(Symantec)

Symantec LiveState Recovery System Tray icon  or  Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery System Tray icon.  System Tray icon which enables the user to access most, if not all options of their Symantec backup software directly from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  This task normally uses anything between 5Mb to 16Mb of memory.  If you decide that you do not want this task running, turning it off from within the  Tools \ Options  menu option is not enough as all that does is remove the icon from the System Tray, but the task continues to run in the background.  Thus, to prevent it from starting at Windows boot-up altogether, and therefore running in the background, disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Vptray

VPTray.exe

(Symantec)

VirusProtect Shield System Tray icon for Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition 7.x.  As with all Norton AntiVirus products this icon enables you to start Norton AntiVirus in order to configure it, run a virus scan, do a LiveUpdate, etc…

Recommendation : 
Unlike with other Norton AntiVirus products, there are significant problems with the VPTRAY process which comes with the Corporate Edition, from the inability of Windows to start due to timing problems associated with VPTRAY, 100% CPU usage by VPTRAY, and other problems.  Since you can access all Norton AntiVirus features through "Start \ Programs", if you experience Windows start-up problems, performance problems, or crashes which you have difficulty tracking, then disable VPTRAY with  The Ultimate Troubleshooter.

Vsmon

VSMon.exe

(Zone Labs)

Zone Alarm True Vector service.  Essential core component of the Zone Alarm Internet firewall program.  This task will be seen on PCs running either Zone Alarm or Computer Associates’ eTrust Internet Security as, at the time of writing, 11‑Jan‑2006, the Computer Associates Personal Firewall is based around the Zone Alarm firewall program.  This program is started via the registry in Windows 9x/ME, and as a service in Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003.  This program enforces the security rules which you configured on the Zone Alarm / eTrust Personal Firewall screens.

Recommendation :
Essential to the proper running of Zone Alarm / eTrust Personal Firewall – Leave well alone.

Vsnpstd
Vsnpstd2
Vsnpstd3
Vsnp2std

Vsnpstd.exe
Vsnpstd2.exe
Vsnpstd3.exe
Vsnp2std.exe

(Sonix Technology)

Sonix Webcam detector task.  Webcam program installed by the drivers for Sonix-made webcams.  This program enables the System Tray webcam icon installed by your webcam drivers to recognize whether your webcam is plugged in or not.  At the time of writing, 21-Jun-2007, our tests show that this program has no other purpose.   Note :  Sonix is an OEM manufacturer.  That is, it manufactures webcams for other companies to re-sell under their own brand names and logos.  As a result you will find this program installed by the drivers CD for a variety of makes of webcams, such as Argos’ own brand, Mikomi, in the UK, LG, MSI, Olidata, etc...

Recommendation :
Down to end-user requirements.  If you normally have running in the System Tray the icon which visually shows you whether your webcam is plugged in or not, then keep this task, otherwise disable it on the  Startups  tab of  The Ultimate Troubleshooter  as it has no other use as far as our tests have shown so far.

(McAfee)

Vssvc

VSSvc.exe

(Microsoft)

Volume Shadow Copy Service found in Windows XP, 2003, and Vista.  This service manages the  “perfect image”  backup of volumes that have files in use (opened) while the backup is going.  Traditional backup software is not able to backup files and documents that are in use while the backup is running.  This particular service ensures that applications can continue using files and databases while a backup is running in the safe knowledge that those files that are opened will not only not be omitted by the backup, but that they will be backed up fully and without errors.  This in turn ensures that backups can be performed at any time without needing to lock users out.  Typically the backup software you are using will interact with this service which will provide it with the  appropriate consistent “realtime snapshot”  of open files as they are being backed up.  Some backup packages, like Veritas, call this the  “Open File”  option, an option you often have to pay extra for.

Recommendation :
It is not possible to backup open files in Windows XP/2003 without this service running, and you never know when backup software, or CD/DVD Writing software, might need to have this service running.  Leave alone therefore.

Vxd32v

Vxd32v.exe

(???)

You have the   W32.Dumaru.Y@mm / W32.Dumaru.Z@mm   virus.

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.

VAIOUpdt.exe,  Var.txt.exe,  Vb6.exe,  VBS_Update-0548656X.vbs,  VCDDaemon.exe,  VCDDriveSet.exe,  VCDPlayer.exe,  VCDTray.exe,  VCGProxyFileManager.exe,  Vcltasks.exe,  Vds.exe,  Vegas60.exe,  VerizonServicePoint.exe,  VerizonServicePointCOMHandler.exe,  VersionCueCS2.exe,  VersionCueCS2Tray.exe,  VersionCueCS3.exe,  VersionCueCS4.exe,  VESMgr.exe,  VetMsg.exe,  Vfp7.exe,  Vidcap60.exe,  VideoAcceleratorService.exe,  Viewer.exe,  Viewer.exe,  ViewMgr.exe,  ViewpointService.exe,  Virgins.exe,  Virtual PC.exe,  VirtualPrinting.exe,  VirtualVillagers.exe,  VistaStartMenu.exe,  VisualGuard.exe,  VisualTaskTips.exe,  VmbService.exe,  VMC.exe,  VMNAT.exe,  VMnetDHCP.exe,  Vmount2.exe,  VMserverdWin32.exe,  VMSNGRABER.exe,  VMUSrvc.exe,  VMWare-Authd.exe,  VMware-UFAD.exe,  VMware-VMX.exe,  VMWare.exe,  VMwareService.exe,  VMwareTray.exe,  VMwareUser.exe,  VMware-USBarbitrator.exe,  VNCclipboard.exe,  VNCViewer.exe,  VolPanlu.exe,  VolPanel.exe,  Volumouse.exe,  VPNAgent.exe,  VPNGUI.exe,  VProSvc.exe,  VsPDFPrSrv.exe,  VSSERV.exe,  VsTskMgr.exe,  VTTimer.exe,  vVX1000.exe,  vVX6000.exe,  VWS.exe,  Vxdmgr32.exe