It seems as-if something has taken over my PC, and it eludes the latest MacAfee virus scans. Please help me troubleshoot/diagnose! Whatever it is, it makes everything - even the mouse - operate so sluggish, it is aggrevating!
With no software applications running other than Windows, MacAfee and Smart Popup Blocker, and software for the Comcast digital modem connection running what are all these 41 executable files running themselves? I won’t post the whole list, but maybe some gurus can point me to liekly candidates as culprits for eating up RAM or DRAM - enough to make the “C” churn almost non-stop and enough to make the mouse painfully sluggish to respond?
For example, why is “svchost.exe” listed 5 times? Also, there are two “Websaving fromE” filenames (sans an extension). WHat about RuLaunch.exe? That sounds suspicious!
Any troubleshooting tips greatly appreciated. Or, pointers and advice on what exes to NEVER terminate. (Will it really screw up my PC if I experiment, or can I just simply reboot - at worst?)
FYI: Yes, I have defragged even though the PC said it wasn’t necessary. And, I have recently cleaned the hard drive of temp files, etc. Still, the problem persists.
I guess you counted both processes and programs. If all 41 entries are programs, then you have one heavily infested machine.
In my machine I have about 38 entries (processes and programs). I have 6 instances of “svchost.exe” (its the Windows service that connects you to the internet), about 5 from Tiny Firewall and another 5 from McAffee. The rest are various drivers for the printer, keyboard, sound card, etc.
RuLaunch.exe is part of McAffee. No need to worry abot that. But websave is probably some kind of malware. Try using Spybot and Adaware to get rid of any weird stuff.
This site will tell you what the processes are, and if they are something you really don’t want on your system it will usually tell you how to get rid of it.
My mother’s computer was similarly plagued, and if I remember correctly the ‘Websavings’ was spyware connected with the weatherbug desktop software (an app that stays open and puts the temperature in your taskbar, and will give you the latest weather info for your area). If you’ve recently installed anything like this it may be the culprit.
Your best bet is to run spybot s&d/Adaware or similar spyware removal utilities.