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StartupList Index
Currently 17175 startuplist entries and growing... Last updated on 2008-08-21 15:41:23 Eastern. !! THESE ARE STARTUP PROGRAMS AND NOT TASK MANAGER PROCESS ITEMS !!
For more information on startup programs, including how to identify them and the information required for submitting additions to this list please refer to Content & Info.
Reprinted with permission from Paul Collins who owns the copyright to the list. CastleCops also adds additional items that may not be in the original list but attempts are made to ensure the original is also updated. The full HTML list is here.
CastleCops is now hosting the official Pacs-portal forums. CastleCops has also cross-referenced startup entries with our File Hash database where appropriate. Comments or questions can be fielded here.
KEY:
"Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up
"N" - Not required - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary
"U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary
"X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"
"?" - Unknown
ABC List: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
Visual Basic program that pops up a small window on startup telling you how many times the machine has been booted that day. Once you exit it, it has no more effect on resources
From here : "Norton AntiVirus Boot Warning. This program is installed as a startup item when you install Norton AntiVirus, and also sometimes when you do a LiveUpdate which updates Norton AntiVirus significantly enough that a reboot is needed to complete the installation. We believe its purpose to be to warn the end-user that he must reboot his PC before using Norton AntiVirus in those cases when a reboot did not happen with the result that Norton AntiVirus did not fully complete its installation or software updating.
Recommendation : Start Norton AntiVirus from “Start \ Programs \ Norton AntiVirus”. If Norton AntiVirus comes up without problems, then fix this entry from the Msconfig Startup tab – it was left behind by mistake and is no longer needed now that Norton AntiVirus is fully installed and opens without error messages."
VIrtualBouncer malware from Spyware Labs. It is distributed by the same bundling and drive-by download techniques as the parasites it claims to remove, so definitely qualifies as unsolicited commercial software in itself. It also has an update feature that can download and execute arbitrary code. Warning - choose "custom" uninstall as "automatic" may remove other programs
VIrtualBouncer malware from Spyware Labs. It is distributed by the same bundling and drive-by download techniques as the parasites it claims to remove, so definitely qualifies as unsolicited commercial software in itself. It also has an update feature that can download and execute arbitrary code. Warning - choose "custom" uninstall as "automatic" may remove other programs
MS TV Viewer Post Setup Program. Part of MS WebTV for Windows. Used to display TV on your PC via a compatible video card with in-built tuner (such as ATI All-In-Wonder). If you don't use it - uninstall it
Blazing Tools Perfect Keylogger (monitoring program). Given a "U" recommendation because it depends if you intentionally installed it. If you didn't treat it as "X" and uninstall or remove
System Tray access to BurnQuick CD burning software. Only required if you use the queueing facility, hence the U recommendation. Create your own desktop shortcut to start manually
This is NOT a list of tasks/processes taken from Task Manager or the Close Program window (CTRL+ALT+DEL) but a list of startup applications, although you will find some of them listed via this method. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL identifies programs that are currently running - not necessarily at startup. For a list of tasks/processes you should try the list at AnswersThatWork. Therefore, before ending a task/process via CTRL+ALT+DEL just because it has an "X" recommendation, please check whether it's in MSCONFIG or the registry first. An example would be "svchost.exe" - which doesn't appear in either under normal conditions but does via CTRL+ALT+DEL. If in doubt, don't do anything.
Engine Version 2.0 by CastleCops