List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

Is there a way of getting the names of the executables running in Task 
Bar and how they were started?

I have come across a particularly persistent virus program calling 
itself Windows Antivirus 2007/8 and Vista Antivirus 2008, which users of 
this forum have probably come across before.

In one instance I have been able to disable it by using the msconfig 
program to disable every strange looking program, and leave the rest to 
a genuine AV checker.

Knowing which programs are running and which registry settings launched 
them or what other programs launched them will be very useful.

An ideas?

date: Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:38:52 +0100 author: Frank Church

Re: List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

Frank Church wrote:

> Is there a way of getting the names of the executables running in Task
> Bar and how they were started?
> 
> I have come across a particularly persistent virus program calling
> itself Windows Antivirus 2007/8 and Vista Antivirus 2008, which users of
> this forum have probably come across before.
> 
> In one instance I have been able to disable it by using the msconfig
> program to disable every strange looking program, and leave the rest to
> a genuine AV checker.
> 
> Knowing which programs are running and which registry settings launched
> them or what other programs launched them will be very useful.

It is always useful to know what is running on your computer but, except in
rare cases, that won't get rid of Antivirus 2007/08. To see what
programs/processes are running, use Task Manager. If you don't recognize
something, Google it. You can also use Process Monitor (free) to see what
called a particular process. This is useful when you have a lot of
svchost.exe processes (as is usual).

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx - Sysinternals
(now at MS)

To remove Antivirus 2007/08, here is my usual response:

*****
Your system is infected with a rogue antivirus program. It is called "rogue"
because it pretends to be A Good Guy but is really Evil. Do not pay them!

Here are removal steps:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/uninstall-antivirus-2009
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic154529.html (earlier versions)

These may work for you and all may be well. However, in many cases the
computer will also be infected with Zlob and/or Vundo trojans and protected
by a rootkit. These machines are extremely difficult to clean.

If your machine is one of these cases, either get guided help at one of the
specialty forums below OR back up your data and do a clean install of
Windows. It is your choice. If you are unsure how to back up your data or
how to do a clean install, you can take your machine to a local computer
professional. I don't recommend using BigComputerStore/GeekSquad types of
places.

PLEASE DO NOT POST LOGS IN THE MS NEWSGROUPS.

http://aumha.net/ - Click on the HijackThis forum. Read the announcement and
the stickies *first*.
http://www.atribune.org/forums/index.php?showforum=9
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25Look
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Malware_Removal_HiJackThis_Logs_Go_Here-f37.html
http://gladiator-antivirus.com/forum/index.php?showforum=170
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5
http://forums.techguy.org/54-security/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
*****

Malke
-- 
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

date: Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:58:07 -0700 author: Malke lid

Re: List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

Malke wrote:
> Frank Church wrote:
> 
>> Is there a way of getting the names of the executables running in Task
>> Bar and how they were started?
>>
>> I have come across a particularly persistent virus program calling
>> itself Windows Antivirus 2007/8 and Vista Antivirus 2008, which users of
>> this forum have probably come across before.
>>
>> In one instance I have been able to disable it by using the msconfig
>> program to disable every strange looking program, and leave the rest to
>> a genuine AV checker.
>>
>> Knowing which programs are running and which registry settings launched
>> them or what other programs launched them will be very useful.
> 
> It is always useful to know what is running on your computer but, except in
> rare cases, that won't get rid of Antivirus 2007/08. To see what
> programs/processes are running, use Task Manager. If you don't recognize
> something, Google it. You can also use Process Monitor (free) to see what
> called a particular process. This is useful when you have a lot of
> svchost.exe processes (as is usual).
> 
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx - Sysinternals
> (now at MS)
> 
> To remove Antivirus 2007/08, here is my usual response:
> 
> *****
> Your system is infected with a rogue antivirus program. It is called "rogue"
> because it pretends to be A Good Guy but is really Evil. Do not pay them!
> 
> Here are removal steps:
> 
> http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/uninstall-antivirus-2009
> http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic154529.html (earlier versions)
> 
> These may work for you and all may be well. However, in many cases the
> computer will also be infected with Zlob and/or Vundo trojans and protected
> by a rootkit. These machines are extremely difficult to clean.
> 
> If your machine is one of these cases, either get guided help at one of the
> specialty forums below OR back up your data and do a clean install of
> Windows. It is your choice. If you are unsure how to back up your data or
> how to do a clean install, you can take your machine to a local computer
> professional. I don't recommend using BigComputerStore/GeekSquad types of
> places.
> 
> PLEASE DO NOT POST LOGS IN THE MS NEWSGROUPS.
> 
> http://aumha.net/ - Click on the HijackThis forum. Read the announcement and
> the stickies *first*.
> http://www.atribune.org/forums/index.php?showforum=9
> http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30
> http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html
> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup
> http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25Look
> http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Malware_Removal_HiJackThis_Logs_Go_Here-f37.html
> http://gladiator-antivirus.com/forum/index.php?showforum=170
> http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5
> http://forums.techguy.org/54-security/
> http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
> *****
> 
> Malke

The problem with Task Manager is it doesn't show the path to the running 
executable, so a trojan masquerading as a standard windows program 
cannot be easily spotted.

I think I should have said Tray Icon programs rather than task bar. The 
title is probably misleading

date: Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:38:48 +0100 author: Frank Church

Re: List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

Frank Church wrote:
 
> The problem with Task Manager is it doesn't show the path to the running
> executable, so a trojan masquerading as a standard windows program
> cannot be easily spotted.
> 
> I think I should have said Tray Icon programs rather than task bar. The
> title is probably misleading

I understood what you meant. Look at the various Sysinternals' tools at the
link I already gave you.

Malke
-- 
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

date: Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:04:11 -0700 author: Malke lid

Re: List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

If you are using Windows Vista , then use Vista Manager . It shows all
the process inclucing Microsoft services or non Microsoft services .
If you think one of the service seems to be malware or virus , then
you can easily google it by single clicking the button . By the way ,
it is the useful software for all of Windows Vista users .

date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 07:55:21 -0700 (PDT) author: Phillip

Re: List of Programs running in task bar and how they were started.

Phillip wrote:

> If you are using Windows Vista , then use Vista Manager . It shows all
> the process inclucing Microsoft services or non Microsoft services .
> If you think one of the service seems to be malware or virus , then
> you can easily google it by single clicking the button . By the way ,
> it is the useful software for all of Windows Vista users .

Since he posted in a Windows XP newsgroup, I'm going to assume that's the
operating system he's running.

Malke
-- 
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:11:01 -0700 author: Malke lid