Since the last time I wrote about the Registry Booster by Uniblue, I have attended a computer user group conference where a dozen or so vendors showed off their stuff (and treated us to some nice meals as well. :) ). The many new or upgraded programs made me think about all the things I have on my computer... of course I have to have the latest and greatest as soon as I find out about them and that really does make for some problems. For one thing, it's pretty obvious that running everything you've got on your machine is really not a viable possibility. Not that anyone tries to, but think about it... how many things are running on your computer right now? Don't know? How to find out is a simple ctrl+alt+delete click away.
Knowing what all these things are and what they do could be useful... how you say... well, for one thing, we all know that having too many things startup is a snoozer... that is, you snooze while your machine takes forever to bootup. So, we want to know more about programs and other stuff that are using up memory all the time. Wouldn't it be a good thing to also know if any of those things taking up your memory are bad guys!
The problem is, all the other ones you have no clue about! In the recesses of your computer, 20-30 invisible processes run silently in the background. Some hog system resources, turning your PC into a sluggish computer. Worse yet, other useless processes harbor spyware and Trojans - violating your privacy and giving hackers free reign on your computer. So here is where Uniblue's Process Library fits in. The Process Library is a free service for searching for the meaning of various processes running on your PC. The library will not only give you the straight dope on what a process does, but it will tell you if you can nix it, thereby freeing up memory and processing power. The library is even more powerful if you install Uniblue's free utility called Quick Access. It allows you to click on an icon beside any process in the Task Manager and be taken directly to the library for a definition. Get recent definitions and exhaustive advice about running processes without leaving the Windows Task Manager. Here's what mine looks like with Quick Access installed.
This Windows Task Manager plug-in provides you process information and advice from ProcessLibrary.com, a free online knowledge Web site that's home to over 9000 process definitions. To access ProcessLibrary.com from Windows Task Manager, click the icon that appears next to processes in the Process tab. Each icon links to ProcessLibrary.com's defininition, which details the exact nature and purpose of every known process.
For Example, if I clicked on the blue icon next to lsass.exe, this is what I'd see:
Pretty neat, huh? Now I know not to turn that off.
How about one that I don't need? Here's one: ctfmon.exe
What about the bad guys? Here's another example of what PL can tell you:
According to Uniblue, "People use www.processlibrary.com because they suspect certain background processes (and/or dll's) to be security threats. We return comprehensive process definitions and advice on what to do: whether the particular process should be terminated because it is harmful or unnecessary or whether it should be left alone since it is critical to the stable operation of the computer. In this way, users can take action to make their general computing experience more stable and safe."
They also say by knowing what every process does, you can make sure your system is safe from spyware, viruses, Trojans and other unwanted menaces. The site lists what every process is doing and if a process you search for isn't in the database, you can report it. (You still need to run your antispyware, anti virus and firewall programs of course.)
The following is an interesting and useful list by Uniblue:
Top Security Risks Listed in the Process Library
Top Security Risks
1.exe
a.exe
actalert.exearupld32.exe
asm.exe
asmonitor.exebackweb.exe
bargains.exe
basfipm.exebelt.exe
bmupdate.exe
bpk.execdaengine0500
cds.exe
cfmon.execheck.exe
cmesys.exe
cmrss.execonime.exe
crss.exe
crsss.execsrrs.exe
ctfmon32.exe
ddcman.exedesktop.exe
dinst.exe
dlhost.exedssagent.exe
dw.exe
exec.exeexp.exe
explore.exe
explorere.exefc.exe
fservice.exe
gmt.exegui.exe
ibm00001.exe
iexplorer.exeinstall.exe
isass.exe
istsvc.exekernel32.exe
keygen.exe
lass.exelockx.exe
logon.exe
lsas.exelsass32.exe
lssas.exe
ma.exematcli.exe
mediagateway.exe
microsoft.exemm.exe
mrtstub.exe
msbb.exemsblast.exe
msmgs.exe
msmsg.exemspmspv.exe
mssearchnet.exe
mtask.exemwsoemon.exe
nail.exe
navapp.exenetmon.exe
netsurf.exe
netsvc.exenls.exe
nsvsvc.exe
ntosa32.exenvcpl.exe
nvsc32.exe
optimize.exeosk.exe
p2p networking.exe
p2pnetworking.exepicsvr.exe
poker.exe
powerregpowerreg scheduler.exe
pro.exe
resetservice.exerk.exe
rlvknlg.exe
rundl32.exesacc.exe
sais.exe
sass.exescchost.exe
schedulingagent
scrss.exescvhost.exe
senslogn
servic.exeshmgrate.exe
showwnd.exe
sms.exesmsss.exe
soproc.exe
spool.exespooler.exe
spools.exe
spoolsrv.exespoolsvc.exe
sqlserver.exe
sr.exesservice.exe
ssk.exe
start.exesusp.exe
svch0st.exe
svchost.comsvhost.exe
svshost.exe
system32.exetaskbar.exe
tbon.exe
tbps.exetool.exe
updater.exe
updmgr.exewauclt.exe
wdfmrg.exe
wfdmgr.exewhagent.exe
whsurvey.exe
win.comwin32.exe
winctlad.exe
winlogin.exewinmain.exe
winshost.exe
winstall.exewinsys.exe
winupdate.exe
winupdates.exewsys.exe
wtoolsa.exe
wupdt.exexhrmy.exe
zango.exe
That about wraps it up. Be sure and visit www.processlibrary.com to find out lots more about this excellent program which I am really pleased with. There, you can watch a quicktime demo and also download the plugin, which I recommend, and also become familiar with how to use the site if you really don't want to install the plugin.
Until next time, have fun with all those electronic goodies out there, but be careful of the bad stuff, too!
Aloha, Lou
