|
Task
List |
PROGRAM & MANUFACTURER |
WHAT
IT IS |
|---|---|---|
| B3dupdate |
B3DUpdate.exe (Brilliant Digital) |
Background auto-update
program for Brilliant Digital’s B3D Projector. B3D
Projector is what we call adware – Brilliant Digital’s own
description : "The B3D Projector is a free viewer that plays
the b3d animations created through b3d Exporter and b3d Studio.
Available as a plug-in for Internet Explorer or Netscape
Navigator, or as a self-contained installation for CD
distribution, the b3d Projector plays b3d files streamed over
the Internet or distributed on CD-ROM.... Of course you may
want to get revenue for all that content you’re creating, so
you’ll be pleased to know that the Projector offers many
e-commerce features, including auto-refreshing banner ads,
interstitial ads, and an optional end-of-movie HTML page that
can direct traffic back to your web site." Our
translation : a program which you can use to offer your own
software free of charge while obtaining revenue from advertising
through B3D Projector’s ability to display ads. At the time of writing, 26-May-2002, B3D Projector and other Brilliant Digital software come embedded in the popular Kazaa file sharing program, with the worrying following paragraph in the licensing agreement displayed during the installation : "You hereby grant (Brilliant) the right to access and use the unused computing power and storage space on your computer/s and/or Internet access or bandwidth for the aggregation of content and use in distributed computing. The user acknowledges and authorizes this use without the right of compensation." Recommendation : Get rid of any Brilliant Digital software which we have classified as adware. We are against adware as adware consumes bandwidth (it significantly reduces the speed at which you access the Internet or download from the Internet) and most adware also results in interminable and unbelievably irritating popup advertisements. Additionally, in the specific case of Brilliant Digital, their products often do not get de-installed when you de-install the software that originally installed them. Download SpyBot Search & Destroy from our Downloads library to get rid of B3D Projector. Note that doing so may incapacitate the program that originally installed B3D Projector. If that program is Kazaa, then you will find a good alternative in WinMX also available from our Downloads Library. |
|
Backwebagent Backweb |
BackWeb.exe (Backweb Technologies) |
BackWeb started life as
push technology software which enabled you to subscribe to
various information channels of your choice so that your
selected information channels would pop up on your screen with
the latest world news, entertainment news, etc…, whatever you
might have chosen You can configure the original BackWeb to
download the news for later viewing, to display the news as
desktop background, ticker, or popup window. This did not take off as well as expected and, crucially, it was also not paying for itself. As a result BackWeb quickly went into other markets, two of them significant ones. (1) Advertising adware where websites, ISPs, or software manufacturers include BackWeb on their site, in their ISP software, or in their software and, whenever you connect to the Internet, BackWeb also connects to retrieve advertisements which are then displayed on your screen or in your browser. (2) BackWeb is also routinely installed on new PCs by specific computer manufacturers with the aim being that BackWeb will automatically check for vital updates to the PC’s setup whenever the end-user connects to the web. Such manufacturers include Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, LogiTech, Kodak, although some or all of these may have stopped this practice at the time of writing of this entry (April 2002). Recommendation : Unless you are using BackWeb for news content, we strongly recommend de-installing it. It is often a serious resource hog, in most cases it is also advertising adware, it slows down your Internet connection, unacceptably if you connect by modem, and it has the potential for sending out information from your PC. De-install via the "Add/Remove Program" icon in the Control Panel, or disable with Startup Manager. |
| Bargains |
Bargains.exe (Exact Advertising) |
Main executable task of the
Bargain Buddy advertising software (adware) from Exact
Advertising (Exact Advertising started as the advertising sales
division of Net2Phone Inc till it was spun off in a management
buyout). Bargain Buddy is software which, based on your
Internet browsing habits, generates popup advertisements
whenever you browse the web – it gets installed mostly as part
of other products such as Net2Phone (no, surely not!), some
versions of the LimeWire file sharing software, some versions of
the email alert program from www.mail.com, and other
software titles. Recommendation : If like us you do not like popup ads, de-install Bargain Buddy from the "Add/Remove Programs" icon in the Control Panel (if it shows up in there). Next, run Spybot Search & Destroy which you can find in our Downloads page. |
| Bcdetect |
BCDetect.exe (Creative Labs) |
This is a startup item
rather than a background task (it starts with Windows, does its
job, then terminates). As yet we do not know what this startup
item does. Recommendation : We always disable this item with Startup Manager and have never noticed any problems caused by doing so ! |
| Bcmdmmsg |
Bcmdmmsg.exe (Broadcom) |
Broadcom Modem Messaging.
Background task installed with the drivers for "BCM V.90
Modems". Broadcom modems are OEM modems which other companies
put their names to (e.g. "Gateway"). Recommendation : Broadcom modems are almost always 100% software controlled modems. Thus, while we are not totally sure about the role of BCMDMMSG, it is highly likely that this background task is essential to the proper functioning of your modem – leave alone. |
| Bjcfd |
BJCFD.exe (BroadJump Inc, now Motive) |
BroadJump Foundation Client
from BroadJump.com, now Motive. After reading the
description of this product on the BroadJump website, it is
clear that some of the functions of this software are what we
call adware (software which collects information on your
Internet activity and sends it to your ISP so that your ISP can
serve you advertisements related to the type of sites you
visit). This program typically gets installed when you install
software from the Comcast ISP (which took over @Home and
MediaOne), although at the time of writing, 31-Mar-2003, Comcast
is not the only ISP which uses BroadJump’s software (Southwestern
Bell DSL, BellSouth, Charter). Recommendation : We are against this type of spyware/adware software, as you know. Additionally CFD creates conflicts on Windows XP which result in users experiencing problems or lack of Internet access when logging off and logging back on as a different user. Again on XP, CFD has been seen to slowly but surely gobble up resources and memory, ending up running at 95% of CPU resources and an impossibly slow PC. You’ve guessed it : de-install "Broadjump Client Foundation" through "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel, and/or disable BJCFD, or its newer incarnation, CFD, with Starter. Those users who have done so have reported no ill-effects whatsoever. You can also run Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy who will both rid your PC of the Broadjump software. |
| Bmouse |
BMouse.exe (Kensington) |
Kensington ValuMouse
Scroll. Background task which is installed by the drivers for
the Kensington ValuMouse range of mice and which handles the
scroll wheel. Recommendation : This software is only necessary under Windows 95 which does not have support for scroll buttons/wheels. As we have not had reports of problems with BMOUSE, it is up to you as to whether you decide to keep it or de-install the mouse software. |
| Bpcpost |
Bpcpost.exe (Microsoft) |
Microsoft TV Viewer Post
Setup program. We have at this stage no idea as to what this
program actually does. Recommendation : If you never use Microsoft TV disable this program with Starter. |
| Brad32 |
Brad32.exe (Network Associates) |
Component of Network
Associates’ Total Virus Defense Network Suite, Management
Edition. Total Virus Defense will also be known to some as a
Dr Solomon product, which it was till Network Associates
acquired Dr Solomon. BRAD32 runs on the workstations and
executes requests sent from the network fileserver – these
requests will mainly be to install virus updates, product
updates, or to run virus scans. BRAD32 is a nightmare. In
fact, in our experience most Dr Solomon products produced around
the time that Dr Solomon were acquired by Network Associates,
either side of the acquisition date, have proved to be full of
problems (yet we used to swear by Dr Solomon before then!). In
the case of BRAD32 the problems range from 100% CPU utilization,
intolerable delays in opening files on the fileserver, or
unbelievable performance problems when running programs which
open many files, whether these files are local or not (such as
temporary work files, etc..). Network Associates produced
Management Edition 2.0 after its acquisition of Dr Solomon whose
last version was 1.5. Version 2.5 was then introduced which no
longer used BRAD32. Recommendation : In our experience most users running BRAD32 will experience very significant performance gains by getting rid of it. However, if you are a network administrator and you want to retain control over the antivirus implementation in your organisation, then our advice is to upgrade to a current version of Management Edition whenever you can afford it. Getting rid of BRAD32 depends on how it is implemented – if you are an end-user, liaise with your network administrator as BRAD32 may be run by system policies (POLEDIT). If BRAD32 is not run by system policies, then you can disable it with Startup Manager. |
| Brqikmon |
Brqikmon.exe (Brother) |
Print job customizing
applet which gets installed with most of the post-2000 printer
drivers. In the more up-to-date versions of those printer
drivers, this little program sits in the tray and enables you to
specify special print job instructions, such as printing 2, 4,
8, or 16 pages in contact-sheet manner onto the one page,
printing double-sided, printing on special paper, etc.. Recommendation : A brilliant and very useful little utility in most environments. Leave untouched unless you work with Citrix as we have had reports that, under Citrix, it interferes with the way in which Citrix handles print jobs. |
| Btstackserver |
BTStackServer.exe (Widcomm) |
Widcomm’s Bluetooth Stack
COM Server. Background COM server task that is essential to the
proper running of the other programs within Widcomm’s Bluetooth
software, such as BTTRAY below. Recommendation : Leave alone. Note, however, that we have had reports of crashes needing a reboot for Bluetooth to work – so check the device manufacturer website in our Drivers section for more recent drivers. |
|
Bttnserv |
Bttnserv.exe |
See CPQEAUI |
| Bttray |
BTTray.exe (Widcomm) |
Widcomm’s Bluetooth Tray
Application. Widcomm’s Bluetooth for Windows software, BTW,
comes bundled with many Bluetooth devices, e.g. TDK Bluetooth
PCMCIA cards, Epox motherboards with embedded Bluetooth
connectivity, etc. BTTRAY is the actual user interface of the
software, and it sits in the System Tray where it enables the
user to discover/detect and connect nearby Bluetooth devices.
You can also configure security and every single feature of the
Bluetooth software through this icon. Recommendation : There is no "Exit" option for this icon, and the reason is that the System Tray is the only place where the software runs from. So, if you are using Bluetooth devices on a regular basis, leave this task alone – if you want to disable it, however, you can do that through Starter. |
| Bvt |
BVT.exe (?) |
Browser Event component of
the Backdoor.Autoupder virus. Recommendation : Immediately update your antivirus software and then run a full virus scan on your PC. |