Task List Programs

Task List Name	PROGRAM & MANUFACTURER	WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU CAN DO
Absr	Absr.exe (?)	Auto Browser component of the Backdoor.Autoupder virus. Recommendation : Immediately update your antivirus software and then run a full virus scan of your PC.
Acbtnmgr_x73 Acbtnmgr_x83	AcBtnMgr_x73.exe AcBtnMgr_x83.exe (Jetsoft for Lexmark)	Lexmark X73/X83 Button Manager, also called "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program". System Tray icon for the Lexmark X73/X83 multifunction printer/scanner/copier. Through that icon you can access from your PC all the functions available on the control pad of your Lexmark X73/X83 : scan, scan to e-mail, scan and fax, scan to OCR, copy, scanning resolution settings. Recommendation : Down to end-user preference. This program is not strictly necessary for the proper operation of your Lexmark X73/X83 as you can use most of the above features via the printer’s control panel. However you need this System Tray program to scan to e-mail, fax, or OCR, and to change the machine’s defaults, such as the default scanning resolution, the email address to scan and e-mail to, etc... Should you decide to disable this task with Startup Manager, you can start it at any time via "Start \ Programs \ Lexmark X73/X83 \ Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program".
Acmonitor_x73 Acmonitor_x83	AcMonitor_x73.exe AcMonitor_x83.exe (Jetsoft for Lexmark)	Lexmark X73/X83 Button Monitor. Background task installed by the drivers for the Lexmark X73 or X83 multifunction printer/scanner/copier. This background task monitors the X73/X83 for activity and interacts with ACBTNMGR_X73/83 above for operations involving the PC (e.g. scan to e-mail). Also, for large copy jobs it relays the current copy count back to ACBTNMGR_X73/X83 so you can view it on your PC. Recommendation : In the main this task is necessary, so leave it alone.
Acrord32	AcroRd32.exe (Adobe)	The Adobe Acrobat Reader program itself. Adobe Acrobat Reader will open automatically if you click on a PDF file in Windows Explorer, or if you start it via "Start \ Programs". Adobe Acrobat Reader also gets started in integrated manner if you click on a web page link to a PDF file – when you do that your browser starts Adobe Acrobat Reader in "integrated manner" (plugin) and presents you the PDF document as if it were a web page. Once started in this manner, ACRORD32 does not terminate, even when you close your browser, and it continues to run transparently in the background so that it can open faster the next time you click on a PDF web link – it will only disappear from your Task List if you do an "End Task" on it, or if you reboot your PC. Recommendation : Leave alone unless you are troubleshooting a problem. If you are, and you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader visibly opened, then do an "End Task" on ACRORD32.
Acrotray	AcroTray.exe (Adobe)	Adobe Acrobat Assistant. This background task is installed when you install the full version of Adobe Acrobat. It comes into action when you create PDF files from non Adobe applications through the "Watched Folders" feature of Acrobat Distiller. Recommendation : Usually harmless. Only disable with Startup Manager if you specifically experience problems with it.
Activation	Activation.exe (Microsoft)	Microsoft’s Activation module for their Windows XP and Microsoft Office XP/2002 products. Recommendation : Leave alone. We are not yet sure as to how exactly ACTIVATION.EXE works; however, given the problems one can run into with inactivated Windows XP / Office XP / Office 2002 products at the best of times, we do not recommend doing anything with this background task.
Addrbook	Addrbook.exe (Novell)	Novell GroupWise Address Book. This task appears when you first use the GroupWise Address Book and remains after you have closed the Address Book – the intention here is that the Address Book will open up quicker the next time you call it up. Recommendation : If you have closed the GroupWise Address Book, and you are in the processing of troubleshooting a problem, then terminate this task through the Task List dialogue box. Otherwise leave it alone as it does speed up the opening of the Address Book the second time you use it.
Adgjdet	ADGJDET.exe (Creative Labs)	Jet Detection background task. What a description – for a moment we got excited with thoughts of advanced flight simulation ! Not to be, though. This task, installed with the drivers for Creative’s SoundBlaster Live and Audigy soundcards, detects when something changes on one of the soundcard’s ports. One of the applications is that if it detects that you have plugged headphones into the Live! drive, it then shuts off the rear speakers output jacks. Recommendation : Clever features. We have not had any negative reports about this task yet, so you might as well leave it running.
Adobe Gamma Loader	Adobe Gamma Loader.exe (Adobe)	Adobe Gamma installs with Adobe Photoshop 5.0 or later. You use it to colour calibrate your monitor at system level and create ICC profiles that describe how your monitor reproduces colour. Any application that uses ICC profiles can use these profiles. Colour calibration of one’s monitor is used primarily in the printing industry (magazine designers, etc..) to ensure that colours are represented in the same way by all of the designer’s equipment : monitor, scanner, colour printer. Adobe Gamma Loader enables you to colour calibrate your monitor and then saves that calibration. When you next boot up it automatically loads the calibration settings for you. Recommendation : Unless you are designing jobs to print and you know about colour calibration, this feature will be of little use to you, so you might as well disable it with Startup Manager. If you do know about calibration and intend to use it, make sure you do not have two calibration utilities running at the same time (some monitors come with their own calibration utilities) as they will clash with each other.
Adservice	ADService.exe (Iomega)	Active Disk Service. See ADUSERMON below. Recommendation : Disable with Starter in Windows 95/98/ME. Under Windows 2000/XP go to "Administrative Tools \ Services" in the Control Panel (or simply "Services" under Windows NT4) and set this service to Disabled or Manual.
Adusermon	ADUserMon.exe (Iomega)	Active Disk User Monitor. Background task installed when you install the full set of drivers for your Iomega Zip drive. This task supports the Iomega Active Disk feature which allows developers to produce Zip disk based software which will run, fully self-contained, immediately on insertion of the software Zip disk into the Active Disk aware Zip drive. Recommendation : In December 2002, to all intents and purposes Iomega’s Active Disk is a dead technology – the proliferation of CD-ROM drives on almost every PC has made sure of that. Active Disk is therefore a facility you can safely get rid of by disabling ADUSERMON with Startup Manager.
Advchk	Advchk.exe (Symantec)	Advanced Tools Check. Background task which is part of Norton System Works and Norton Utilities. Although we are not 100% sure about it, we believe it to be a background task which periodically checks back with the Symantec site for the latest updates to the utilities (the Advanced Tools) which are part of Norton System Works and Norton Utilities. Recommendation : In our experience disabling it does not seem to have any adverse effect whatsoever on the proper functioning of either of these two products. We recommend therefore that you disable it with Startup Manager.
Agentsvr	AgentSvr.exe (Microsoft)	Microsoft Agent Server. Microsoft Agent Server is an ActiveX control which software developers can use to add character animation to their software or web pages, text to speech facilities, or end-user voice commands capability. In layman terms it is Microsoft software which other programmers can use to talk to you, display a talking animated character, or listen to voice commands from you. The most famous of those animated characters is that "paper clip" Microsoft Office assistant which most users turn off. Recommendation : If it is running in your Task List then it is because some software you are using requires it. Leave alone.
Agsatellite	AGSatellite (AudioGalaxy)	This program is a Napster clone. Just like Napster, and most other Napster clones, you can minimize the program to the System Tray. Many users, however, do not realise that when they think they have closed the program, the program is actually still running in the background and showing as an icon in the System Tray. Recommendation : Unless you have queued some downloads, right-click on the icon and close the program as, otherwise, some of your PC resources are being wasted unnecessarily, and a significant portion of your Internet bandwidth could be taken up through someone downloading MP3s from *your* PC in the background !
Agtexe16	Agtexe16.exe (Atomica)	Essentially this task provides the same Alt+Left-click feature as AGTSERV below, but for older 16-bit Windows programs, of which there are still quite a few out there (and some are a mixture of both 32-bit and 16-bit code). This task is installed by the Atomica software on Windows 9x/ME systems only. If 32-bit and 16-bit are technical terms that mean nothing to you, simply continue on to the "Recommendation" section below. Recommendation : You could try disabling it with Starter – if you find that you never have an instance when Alt+Left-click does not work, then you do not have 16-bit or 32-bit/16-bit programs where you need the Alt+Left-click facility and you can leave AGTEXE16 disabled, otherwise simply re-enable it.
Agtserv	AgtServ.exe (Atomica)	Background task for the Atomica online reference software (Atomica Personal, Atomica Pro, Atomica Slingshot). Atomica is an extremely useful product which enables you to position your mouse on a word on the screen so that with an Alt+Left-click you can get an instant popup window with dictionary + encyclopaedia + reference articles information on that word – the Internet at its best ! However, you have to be permanently connected to the Internet to get the best out of this product. AGTSERV is the background task which handles the Alt+Left-click and goes and fetches the appropriate information. Recommendation : If you use Atomica a lot, keep this task – we have not heard of any problems with it. If you disable the task with Starter, you have to go and actually type into the Atomica AnswerBar the word that you want information on.
Ahqinit	AHQInit.exe (Creative Labs)	We are not yet 100% sure but it seems to be the Windows 2000/XP equivalent of AHQTB below.
Ahqtb	AHQtb.exe (Creative Labs)	Audio HeadQuarters for SoundBlaster Live! sound cards !! In layman terms : System Tray application installed with the drivers for Creative Labs’ SoundBlaster Live! sound cards and which enables you to bring up that utility from the System Tray. Recommendation : There are many reported problem with AHQTB, from startup error to crashes under Windows XP. If you absolutely want to start this application from the System Tray, then make sure you have the very latest updates and patches for your SoundBlaster Live! software ! Otherwise we recommend strongly that you disable this item in Startup Manager since you can run it from "Start \ Programs".
Alg	ALG.exe (Microsoft)	Application Layer Gateway service found only on Windows XP. ALG is an integral part of ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) and ICF (Internet Connection Firewall) in Windows XP. Microsoft’s description : "Provides support for 3^rd Party protocol plug-ins for ICS and ICF". Recommendation : If you use Windows XP’s Internet Connection Firewall, you must have ALG running. If you use a 3^rd Party firewall, set ALG to manual in "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services".
Alogserv	ALogServ.exe (McAfee)	Background task installed with McAfee VirusScan and whose purpose is to log all McAfee background virus scanning activities. As of February 2002 there is nothing positive we can say about this program ! Since its introduction with VirusScan 5.x, this program has caused end-users endless problems and McAfee has had to issue fixes and help documents for it. It has been responsible for gobbling up all resources, with the result being a PC which slows down to a crawl and eventually locks up completely. In other instances ALOGSERV appears many times in the Task List. This is silly : antivirus protection is necessary these days, it is not optional, and the least one would expect from an antivirus software publisher is higher standards of testing to ensure that its antivirus software does not behave..... like a virus !!! Recommendation : If you have McAfee VirusScan, visit their website to ensure you have the very latest software updates (as opposed to virus updates). If you are experiencing performance related problems, lockups, or other problems which you cannot explain, then disable ALOGSERV with Startup Manager – VirusScan will still work fine without it in the background. Note, however, that if you start VirusScan manually through "Start \ Programs", VirusScan will in turn start ALOGSERV. Thus, once you have stopped using VirusScan and exited out of it, remember to do an End Task on ALOGSERV.
Alunotify	ALUNotify.exe (Symantec)	Automatic LiveUpdate Notification for Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus. Through the LiveUpdate options settings you can configure Norton AntiVirus to automatically update itself over the Internet, either silently in the background (the best method if you have a broadband connection), or through notifying you whenever there are updates available for you to manually download (the recommended setting if you have a dial-up modem or ISDN connection). You will only see ALUNOTIFY in your Task List if you have configured Norton AntiVirus to "notify" you. Recommendation : Essential for the proper protection of your PC against viruses – leave alone. If you need to "tinker" with this task, do so via the LiveUpdate option in Norton AntiVirus.
Aoltray	AOLTray.exe (AOL)	America Online’s System Tray icon from version 5.0 onward. This icon enables you to start AOL through a double-click. A single click, on the other hand, brings up a number of options which enable you to access specific AOL features, such as your Address Book, your Personal Filing Cabinet, etc... The "System Information" option on this menu is one of the better "System Information" options around. Recommendation : We have not had any reports of problems with AOLTRAY. Therefore, since e-mail is a core application nowadays you probably will want to keep it running. If not, then you can disable it with Startup Manager.
Aornum	Aornum.exe Aornumsp.exe Ornum.exe (iWon.com)	Background data collecting task from iWon.com which connects back to iWon servers to supply them with miscellaneous information about your Internet browsing and which also pulls up popup advertisements when you are browsing the Internet with Internet Explorer. An extract from iWon.com’s Privacy Policy on 13-Apr-2003 : "If you elect to install certain software products (the "iWon Software Products") provided by iWon to its users, such as iWon PLUS, the iWon Messenger, or iWon Co-Pilot, iWon may collect additional information about you. This happens because iWon Software Products automatically communicate over the Internet with iWon's servers and, in order to provide you with information or services, may convey to iWon certain information regarding your activities, including, for example, the URL of sites you visit. iWon Software Products may also upgrade their functionalities from time to time without further action on your part, and some of these functionalities may expand the scope of the information that is communicated to iWon's servers." In short, adware and, also, potentially spyware. AORNUM, which appeared on the scene around August 2002, used to originally only be installed if you installed the iWon Prize Machine software. As per the above extract, it is nowadays also installed by iWon Plus and other iWon software products. Recommendation : If you absolutely want to play iWon’s $1 million game, you have no alternative but to keep AORNUM on your PC. If, on the other hand, you have no time for it then you should de-install all iWon programs that you find in "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel (note that, in addition to sending information about you, AORNUM significantly slows down the boot-up period of your PC, it often prevents ScanDisk and Defrag from completing, and on some PCs it consumes 100% of CPU resources, effectively locking up the PC). Unfortunately, a full de-installation of all iWon software is only the beginning of the cleanup operation as, totally unacceptably, the AORNUM software still remains after de-installation of iWon software and in many cases is even concealed by being renamed !! This is unacceptable. To fully rid yourself of AORNUM after de-installation of all iWon software, run SpyBot Search & Destroy from our Downloads page.
Apntex	ApntEx.exe (Alps Electric Co)	Alps Pointing Device Driver for Windows NT4/2000/XP. This task will be found on laptops which use TouchPads made by Alps Electric (e.g. Sony Vaio laptops). Both this task and APOINT below are needed for the TouchPad to work properly. Recommendation : Required if you use or may use the TouchPad – leave alone.
Apoint	APoint.exe (Alps)	Driver for Alps manufactured touchpads found in some laptops. On Windows NT4/2000/XP both this task and APNTEX above are required for the TouchPad to work properly. Recommendation : Essential if you use the touchpad, which you may do some day if your mouse malfunctions, or you forgot to take it with you. We suggest you leave it alone.
Appservices	AppServices.exe (Iomega???)	Windows 2000/XP service which seems to be installed by the Iomega Zip drive drivers. We do not know what this task does. Recommendation : The only recommendation we can make is that if you no longer use an Iomega Zip drive then you should try setting this service to Manual or Disabled in "Administrative Tools \ Services" in the Control Panel.
Aptezbp	Aptezbp.exe (IBM)	Part of IBM’s Aptiva EZ Buttons software. The EZ Buttons software enables the user to customize and use the rapid access buttons on the Aptiva’s Rapid Access Keyboards. Typically these keyboards include up to 14 rapid access buttons which enable the user to directly access specific Windows functions, such as Help, your CD player, audio functions, Suspend mode, etc... Four of the buttons can be customized to start whichever application you wish to start at the push of a button. Recommendation : This task is an essential part of the EZ Button software. If you use the Rapid Access buttons, you need to have APTEZBP running. APTEZBP uses a relatively large amount of memory and has caused problems on PCs with only 32Mb of RAM. If you have 64Mb or more, however, APTEZBP should not cause you any problems.
Apwheel	Apwheel.exe (Alps)	Mouse wheel software for Alps wheel mice. Recommendation : Not necessary under Windows 98SE or later as the wheel is handled properly by Windows without additional software. However, as with all such software, there are "bells and whistles" (additional features) which some users use. If you do not use any of these additional features then you should be able to disable APWHEEL with Startup Manager and still have your wheel work properly. Note that APWHEEL will sometimes clash with the installation of software programs causing an "ISINST30 General Protection Fault". If you experience this, do an End Task on APWHEEL, install your software, and then reboot your PC for APWHEEL to be restarted with Windows.
Armon Armon32 Armon32a	Armon32.exe Armon32a.exe (Inverse Technologies)	Access Ramp Monitor. Monitoring software which is installed by many ISPs’ software and which supposedly monitors your Internet connection. Here is the MindSpring ISP explanation of ARMON32A : "Inverse AccessRamp provides technology allowing us to accurately measure availability and performance of our network from the perspective of our customers. The technology consists of a client that resides on our customers PC’s and servers residing within the MindSpring network. The client collects data on our customers’ real Internet experience with MindSpring. It includes information such as failed connection attempts, error codes, connection speeds, redials, and time to login. Other key physical information such as POP, customer ID and modem type are also collected. This data is then sent to servers within MindSpring and aggregated across the entire MindSpring customer base allowing an accurate depiction of our customers experience with the our service. This allows our Network Engineers and Technical Support departments to more effectively and proactively address problems both within and outside the MindSpring enterprise." Recommendation : While it may not be used for that purpose, this sort of software has "spyware" potential. Additionally, ISPs actually do not need this type of feedback in order to be able to work out where things are going wrong on their network – there are many monitoring technologies available which do not involve software sitting on end-user PCs. Finally, ARMON32A conflicts with some software packages, Intuit’s QuickBooks amongst others. For all these reasons we recommend disabling ARMON32A with Startup Manager – it really does nothing for you, the end-user, and could be detrimental anyway !
Arupld32	ARUpld32.exe (Visual Networks)	Browsing History Uploader application from Visual Networks. This application gets installed when you install some ISPs’ CDs. Its purpose is understood to be to enable the ISP manage its network through the feedback it receives from this utility about your web browsing habits. We call this spyware* and we are completely against the use of such programs.* As if this weren’t enough, we have seen many cases of end-users experiencing low resources problems, or Windows Protection Errors on shutdown after the installation of this program and whatever else the ISP’s CD also installs on the end-user’s PC. Recommendation : Disable or Delete using Startup Manager. If you do not find any entry in Startup Manager, then search your hard disk for ARUPLD32.EXE and rename it by adding ".old" at the end of the name – this will prevent it from being loaded. You may have to boot your PC into Safe Mode in order to be able to rename ARUPLD32.EXE – with most versions of Windows this is achieved by holding the CTRL key down as your PC is booting up. Finally, note : AT&T customers – ARUPLD32.EXE may be necessary for you to be able to access the Internet through your AT&T subscription. If that is the case, complain extremely strongly to AT&T about their use of spyware on your PC, then obtain a firewall like Norton’s Personal Firewall or Zone Alarm to prevent this process from sending information out of your PC.
Asdscsvc	ASDSCSVC.exe (BrightStor, now part of Computer Associates)	ARCServe Discovery Service installed by the ARCServe Windows NT4/2000/2003 fileserver backup software. Recommendation : We are not sure what this service does. In some Windows NT4 Server installations this service sometimes consumes excessive amounts of CPU time – some installations have set it to "Manual" rather than "Automatic" and have not experienced any problems with the ARCServe software.
Atdialler1 Atdialler2 Atdialler3	ATDialler1.exe ATDialler2.exe ATDialler3.exe (???)	Internet connection dialler that is part of the Freeserve Connection Kit (from the UK ISP "Freeserve"). The purpose of the dialler is to automatically try other numbers if the main connection number for your selected dial-up service is engaged or is experiencing temporary technical problems. The number at the end of the program name indicates the version of the Freeserve Connection Kit that you are using – ATDIALLER3 indicates, therefore, that you are using the most recent version of the kit. ATDIALLERx shows up as an icon in the System Tray. Recommendation : At the time of writing, 3-Oct-2003, this application is problematic at best. The problems : Engaged numbers followed by many retries, 56K connections working at no more than 33K, conflict with some programs, e.g. FreeCell, crashes of the dialler if connection problems are encountered, and the need to reboot the PC if the dialler does crash. A very poor piece of software, in our opinion, which we always recommend de-installing (Note, one more problem : de-installing this software sometimes causes unexpected problems!!). If you are technically advanced and you know how to manually create a connection to an ISP, our advice is that you obtain your Freeserve connection number(s) from our Internet Service Providers page, de-install the Freeserve Connection Kit, and create your Freeserve connections manually.
Ati2cwxx	ATI2cwxx.exe (ATI Technologies)	Part of ATI display drivers for some ATI or ATI-chipset based graphics cards. Often seen in laptops as part of the VGA drivers for the onboard ATI graphics card, particularly DELL and Compaq laptops. Recommendation : At this stage we are not completely sure of the role of this background task; however disabling it does not seem to cause any problems whatsoever.
Ati2evxx Atievxx Atipolab	ATI2evxx.exe ATIevxx.exe (ATI Technologies)	ATI External Event Utility EXE Module. Another background task which gets installed when you install ATI display drivers. Under Windows NT4/2000/XP the service registers as the "ATI Hotkey Poller" and further investigation shows that it is related to the handling of various ATI Hotkeys which bring up specific ATI utilities. Not only is this facility useless to 99.99% of users, but there is also no documentation anywhere on those ATI hotkeys !! Additionally some of our more inquisitive users have been able to prove that ATI2EVXX can sometimes be an incredible resource hog using up to 85% of CPU utilization !! Older versions of this background task show up as ATIPOLAB in the Task List. Recommendation : Disable with Starter, definitely ! If you cannot find it in Starter, then read about ATIPTAXX below and disable that task as it often is the task that starts ATI2EVXX.
Ati2plab	ATI2plab.exe (ATI Technologies)	Part of ATI display drivers for some ATI or ATI-chipset based onboard graphics cards. Seen mostly in laptops, particularly DELL, Compaq, or MITAC laptops. Recommendation : At this stage we are not sure of the role of this background task, so leave it untouched.
Ati2plxx	ATI2plxx.exe (ATI Technologies)	Part of ATI display drivers for some ATI or ATI-chipset based onboard graphics cards. Seen mostly in laptops, particularly DELL, Compaq, or MITAC laptops. Recommendation : At this stage we are not sure of the role of this background task, so leave it untouched.
Aticwd32	ATIcwd32.exe (ATI Technologies)	Driver enhancement for some ATI VGA cards. Recommendation : We have never seen an instance where this background task is needed. Delete in Startup Manager.
Atikey	ATIKey32.exe (ATI Technologies)	Another hotkey handler by ATI which runs in the System Tray – comes with the drivers for ATI ultra cards. It watches for ATI scheme hotkeys and enables the user to program the hotkeys as well as switch between the schemes. This program autoloads ATIICON. Recommendation : Useless and a nuisance. It gives "General Protection Fault" with some HP drivers and is responsible for slow boot-up times on some PCs. Delete with Starter.
Atiptaab	ATIptaab.exe (ATI Technologies)	Part of ATI display drivers for some ATI or ATI-chipset based onboard graphics cards. Seen mostly in laptops, particularly Compaq laptops. Recommendation : At this stage we are not sure of the role of this background task, so leave it untouched.
Atiptaxx	ATIPtaxx.exe (ATI Technologies)	ATI Task Bar Icon. This is a System Tray icon which gets installed when you install the ATI drivers. All this icon does is enable you to bring up the Display Properties from the System Tray. Since the Display Properties can be invoked in many other ways, this icon simply adds to the clutter of the System Tray. Recommendation : Go into the "Options" tab of the Display Properties and take the tick off the "Enable ATI Task Bar Icon" option. Next, delete the "ATIptaxx.exe" line with Startup Manager – this will prevent ATIPTAXX starting at boot-up. Note, however, that ATIPTAXX will still get started automatically every time you call up Display Properties, but at least it will not start automatically at boot-up. If you want to totally disable ATIPTAXX from starting at any time, and you are familiar with editing the Windows Registry, then home in on the following registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ATI Technologies\Desktop, then the sub-key NoAtipta and set it to 1 instead of its 0 default (our Thanks to the AnswersThatWork user who told us about this).
Atisched	AtiSched.exe (ATI Technologies)	Part of the ATI software suite that gets installed with the drivers for some ATI video cards. The perfect explanation, from ATI themselves : "ATISCHED, the ATI Scheduler, is one of a number of components of the ATI Video Player. ATISCHED is the component that remains resident in memory and automatically launches the ATI Video Player at a user selected time and date. Some of the features include the ability to open ATI TV, on a specified channel, at a specific time in order to watch a favourite program or playing an AUDIO CD at a specified time. ATISCHED is loaded (from the StartUp folder) every time Windows starts. Deleting the shortcut from the StartUp folder prevents ATISCHED from loading into memory. If features of the ATI Video Player that require the ATI Scheduler are enabled, the ATI Player program will re-establish the shortcut automatically." Recommendation : If you do not use the ATI Scheduler, you can disable it with Startup Manager.
Atitask	ATITask.exe (ATI Technologies)	Another ATI Task Bar process. Why ATI cannot name their task bar icon task the same across all their VGA cards, escapes us. This particular background task gets installed with the ATI Rage range of drivers. All this background task does is enable you to access the Display Properties from the System Tray. Recommendation : In addition to being useless in most cases, this particular ATI background program also has the unwelcome side effect of making Scandisk and Defrag restart endlessly. We therefore recommend that you disable it with Startup Manager. However, if you need to adjust gamma and colours to compensate for monitor colour peculiarities or problems, then you will need to keep ATITASK enabled as one of its jobs is to load your colour and gamma changes on Windows boot-up.
Atix10	ATIX10.exe (ATI Technologies)	System Tray icon for the remote control sensor task. Some ATI All-in-One video capture tuner cards come with a remote control. ATIX10 is the System Tray task that must be running for the USB connected remote control sensor to detect when the remote control is being operated. You can also double-click or right-click on the icon to configure the remote control buttons and change some options. Recommendation : If you do not use the remote control, you can disable this task with Startup Manager as it is not needed for your ATI card to work properly.
Atrack	Atrack.exe (Symantec)	Symantec's Alert Tracker task which is part of their Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall products. Alert Tracker appears as a half-globe on the right-hand side of your screen. You can move it up and down that right-hand side all the way up to the top of the screen, or all the way down till just above the Task Bar. Its purpose : "To provide instant notification of events as they happen. This way when a rule is triggered, or an access to the Internet is made, you know about it immediately rather than when you look at the logs". Recommendation : It is unusual for Symantec to come up with utterly useless icons but this is definitely as utterly useless as you can get. This icon is not only useless, it is annoying, and its position and shape is also very confusing as, until they read about it, users think something went wrong during the installation of Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF). Yet its function is fully duplicated by the System Tray icon for NIS/NPF which displays an unmissable flashing red exclamation mark when an event you should know about has occurred. Disable by clicking on the System Tray icon for NIS/NPF and choose the "Hide Alert Tracker" menu option.
Attune_ce	Attune_ce.exe (Aveo Inc)	Aveo’s Attune Client Engine. We first came across this when trying to correct resource hog problems on a 400MHz PC. We checked Aveo’s site and here is what they say : "Attune is a revolutionary service which provides end-users with targeted, "plain-English" messages (called "Intelligrams") to help them avoid common computer problems. Attune may also let users know when they need a specific product, service, or upgrade to optimize the use of their computer. Attune runs quietly in the background and automatically updates its Intelligrams when users connect to the Internet. Subsequently, when a user is about to encounter a situation that is known to cause problems, Attune displays the Intelligram that contains the solution." 23-Mar-2002 update : Aveo seem to have gone out of business as their site now has an "under construction" banner ! Recommendation : De-install Aveo Attune ! While we leave you to make your own interpretation of the above, our experience of Attune at specific customers, and our experience of many other similar products, is that they are resource hogs, and it is our pragmatic belief that such products will never be able to predict the vast majority of problems that end-users experience. 23-Mar-2002 update : with Aveo having seemingly gone out of business, Aveo Attune is now guaranteed to be of no use whatsoever to anybody !
Aupdate	AUpdate.exe (Symantec)	Automatic LiveUpdate Module. AUPDATE is entirely to do with Norton’s LiveUpdate, whether you have Norton AntiVirus, Norton PCAnywhere, Norton Personal Firewall, or Norton Internet Security. It only appears in your Task List if you have configured your Norton software to update automatically and you happen to bring up the Task List at the very moment that Norton’s LiveUpdate is in the process of downloading updates. Recommendation : Do nothing. As soon as LiveUpdate finishes downloading updates in the background, AUPDATE will disappear from your Task List.
Ausvc	Ausvc.exe (?)	Backdoor.Autoupder virus. Recommendation : Update your antivirus software immediately and then run a full virus scan on your PC.
Autochk	AutoChk.exe (imagineLAN)	System Tray icon which is part of imagineLAN’s ConfigSafe product. ConfigSafe is a product which does near enough the same job as the System Restore feature first introduced by Microsoft in Windows Millennium, and improved further in all subsequent versions of Windows : Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows 2003. It enables you to backup your Windows Registry together with specific vital Windows system files, so that you can return at any point to a specific and known good "Windows state" should you experience critical problems after performing a task that modifies your Windows environment (such as installing software, de-installing software, installing or de-installing devices, etc...). Roxio’s GoBack is another such products. These products are excellent for Windows 95/98/2000 users where the Microsoft System Restore facility does not exist. Recommendation : Down to end-user preference – you can disable this System Tray icon with Starter. We do not know of any problems with this task at this stage.
Avconsol	AVConsol.exe (McAfee)	AntiVirus Console for McAfee VirusScan 4. This is the McAfee Task Scheduler in VirusScan 4 which enables you to schedule virus scans of your hard disks, download of virus definition updates, etc... AVCONSOL sits in the System Tray in the shape of a McAfee icon. Recommendation : AVCONSOL is temperamental (read "unreliable"). We recommend that you do not rely on AVCONSOL having properly downloaded the latest updates from the McAfee websites. We have seen AVCONSOL appear to be working only to find that the virus DAT file never really gets updated. In our experience, remembering to regularly manually update your version 4 of McAfee VirusScan is a far more reliable process than relying on AVCONSOL doing it automatically ! If you follow our recommendation, and do not have hard disk virus scans scheduled, then you can disable AVCONSOL with Startup Manager.
Avgcc32	AVGCC32.exe (Grisoft)	AVG Control Center. System Tray application for the AVG antivirus software. It enables you to open the AVG Control Center from the System Tray. From the Control Center you can then customize AVG or start the AVG virus scanner itself. Recommendation : Essential as, bizarrely, this System Tray application also includes the essential AVG "Resident Shield" which scans files for viruses as you open them. In our opinion it would have been a better design to have the "Resident Shield" functionality in a background task which is not part of the System Tray Control Center as the Control Center can easily be exited by mistake by end-users. AVGCC32 also needs to be running for AVG to automatically update itself with the latest virus definitions – leave it alone therefore.
AVGCtrl	AVGCtrl.exe (H+BEDV Datentechnik gmbH)	Background task of the AntiVir antivirus program which scans files transparently in the background as you access, create, or save them. Recommendation : Essential to the proper functioning of AntiVir. Leave alone.
Avgserv9	AVGServ9.exe (Grisoft)	Background task for the AVG antivirus software which displays notification messages and which also scans incoming e-mails for virus attachments. Recommendation : Essential – leave alone.
Avsynmgr	AVSynMgr.exe (McAfee – Network Associates)	McAfee VirusScan Synchronization Manager. We are not yet sure about the role of this task but we believe it to be to synchronize the workstation’s virus definitions with those collected from McAfee’s site by the central fileserver on network versions of McAfee VirusScan. Recommendation : Since we are not sure of this task’s role, our recommendation can only be to leave it alone.