Task List Programs

Task List Name	PROGRAM & MANUFACTURER	WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU CAN DO
Naimag32 Naimas32	Naimag32.exe Naimas32.exe (Network Associates – McAfee)	Workstation background programs for Network Associates’ McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator. McAfee’s ePolicy Orchestrator is a network management tool for enforcing antivirus protection of the workstations using system policies. It works with both McAfee and Norton AntiVirus. NAIMAG32 and NAIMAS32 communicate with the ePolicy Orchestrator processes on the network fileserver to check for virus updates or for the need to perform a virus scan. Recommendation : Essential for the antivirus protection of your networked PC. If you experience problems which you can trace back to either of these two background tasks, then contact your network administrator. For the record we have seen many reports about NAIMAS32 terminating unexpectedly on Windows 9x/ME, or terminating with "unexpected errors" under Windows NT4/2000. It has also been responsible for generating "Invalid Page Faults", although the latest ePolicy Orchestrator fixes correct most of these page fault problems.
Navapsvc	NAVAPSvc.exe (Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus)	Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect Service. This is the Windows NT/2000/XP background Auto-Protect task (service) from Norton Anti-Virus which protects your PC as you are using it (if you have Auto-Protect turned ON). Recommendation : Leave untouched !
Navapw32	Navapw32.exe (Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus)	Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect for Windows 32-bit. This is the Windows 95/98/ME background Auto-Protect task from Norton Anti-Virus which protects your PC as you are using it (if you have Auto-Protect turned ON). Recommendation : Leave untouched !
Ncltray	NCLTray.exe (Nokia)	Nokia Connectivity Library support task, also called Nokia Connection Manager, also called Nokia Connection Monitor. This task runs as a System Tray icon and is installed by the Nokia PC Suite (also called Nokia Data Suite!) – it monitors your connection ports to see if you have connected your Nokia mobile phone, and if you have, it brings up the Nokia PC Suite. Recommendation : Down to end-user preference. If you only infrequently connect your Nokia phone to your PC, you may want to elect not having this task running as it can sometimes gobble up up to 6-7Mb of memory. Additionally, this task can also have serious conflicts with other communication programs till it is killed via an End-Task. Should you want to disable this task, in some versions of the PC Suite you can double-click on the icon in the System Tray and untick the "Monitor" option on the dialogue that comes up. With all versions you can alternatively disable this task with Starter.
Ndetect	NDetect.exe (Symantec)	Symantec NetDetect. NDETECT is part of Norton’s LiveUpdate. It checks whether you have an Internet connection and whether it can communicate with the Symantec website. If it can, it then switches over to LiveUpdate which itself checks for updates to your Norton AntiVirus, PCAnywhere, Internet Security, or Personal Firewall software. Recommendation : If you see NDETECT in your Task List, it is only because you brought up the Task List at the exact moment that NDETECT was checking for an Internet connection. NDETECT only stays in the Task List very briefly. Also, NDETECT will only run if you have configured LiveUpdate to update your PC automatically, as it is run through Scheduled Tasks.
Nerocheck	NeroCheck.exe (Ahead Software)	Background Task installed by Nero’s CD Burning software. Straight from Ahead software : "The NeroCheck program looks for known driver conflicts with our Nero software. So that when a Nero Log file is printed, at the very bottom of the Nero log file you will find a list of drivers we have found on your system that could be causing conflicts, if you are running into problems.". Recommendation : If Nero is working on your system then you do not need NeroCheck to run. Disable it with Starter unless you experience problems with Nero, in which case re-enable NeroCheck to see what the log file reports.
Netdde	NetDDE.exe (Microsoft)	Microsoft Windows Network DDE server (DDE = Dynamic Data Exchange). Network DDE is a technology that allows applications that use the DDE transport to transparently exchange data over a network. For the layman a typical application of NetDDE is chatting over a network where WinChat, or some other chat program, will automatically be started by NetDDE when someone else on the network calls you. In this particular example, without NetDDE running in the background you would have to be running WinChat at all times in order to instantly receive a chat message. Recommendation : If NetDDE is running on your PC it was probably configured in this manner by some software that needs it to "do things" over a network, like the WinChat chat program mentioned above, or Microsoft’s Hearts networked game for that matter. If you do not have such software running on your PC, or do not use it, then simply disable or delete NetDDE with Startup Manager.
Netscp	Netscp.exe (Netscape)	Netscape 7 Quick Launch System Tray icon. This icon enables you to launch through a double-click any of the Netscape 7 programs. Recommendation : If the Internet started in September 2002, Netscape 7, with its multi-tabbed interface, is so good it would leave Internet Explorer 5.5 and 6.0, trailing in its wake, a welcome change from version 4.79 which had so many problems with the latest standards, or the atrocious and unmentionable Netscape 6 series. However, Netscape 7 is a big program, and if you have less than 256Mb of RAM we do not recommend having the Quick Launch icon running as it only achieves launching Netscape 7 quickly because most of the Netscape program is still loaded in memory in the background and affecting performance because of its relatively large footprint. If you have 256Mb of RAM or more, then it is OK to keep it. To disable NETSCP, right-click on the icon in the System Tray and choose "Disable Quick Launch". Note : we also recommend that you disable NETSCP in Startup Manager as it has the annoying feature of starting the AOL Instant Messenger at boot-up.
Newsupd Newsupdate	NewsUpd.exe NewsUpdate.exe (Creative Labs)	News Update System Tray task which gets installed when you install the full suite of add-on applications that come with SoundBlaster Live soundcards. On non-DELL PCs this task is called NEWSUPD / NEWSUPDATE – on DELL systems, however, it is called UPDTRAY. Its main purpose seems to be to alert the user to software and hardware updates for his Creative Labs products. If you have a permanent Internet connection and a firewall, you will notice regular attempts from this task at connecting back to Creative Labs servers. Recommendation : Another Creative Labs nightmare. On Windows XP this task often causes endless startup and shutdown errors, while in other Windows environments some users experience Windows hangs and freezes caused directly by this task. Additionally, there is no information on the Creative Labs site as to what exact data this task exchanges over the Internet between your PC and the Creative Labs servers – that alone is sufficient in our mind to recommend that you always Disable/Delete this task. You can either do that by double-clicking on the System Tray icon and setting it as "disabled", or you can delete/disable the task with Starter.
Nhksrv	NHKSrv.exe (Netropa for Dell)	Netropa Hotkey Server task seen only on DELL and Compaq PCs running Windows NT4/2000/XP. Our understanding is that this task prevents any hotkeys you configured via the Netropa/Dell hotkeys configuration software, from working when your PC is locked by a screensaver. Recommendation : NHKSRV is sometimes responsible for literally eating up CPU cycles, up to 90% CPU usage sometimes. So, although NHKSRV is effectively a security feature, you may need to disable it and possibly completely disable hotkey support altogether. To disable, use Starter, or if you cannot see NHKSRV in Starter, go to "Control Panel \ Services" in WinNT4, or "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services" in Win2000/XP to set this service to "Manual".
Nisserv	NISServ.exe (Symantec)	Norton Internet Security Service which is installed with both Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall. It is an essential component of the firewall but we do not know its specific role within the various background tasks of Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall. NISSERV does not show in the Task List in Windows 95/98/ME as it runs as a transparent task, so you have to run Starter to see it. NISSERV shows as a service under Windows NT4/2000/XP on the other hand. Recommendation : Leave alone – essential firewall component.
Nisum	NISUM.exe (Symantec)	Norton Internet Security Stats, also listed by Symantec themselves as Norton Internet Security User Manager !! Although we are not sure it would seem that the role of this task may have changed over the years. In early versions of Norton firewall products (Norton Internet Security & Norton Personal Firewall) this task was definitely linked to the implementation of various levels of through-the-firewall access for different users. This disappeared in the latter versions of the products and NISUM seems to now be the task which gathers and aggregates all information about the traffic that goes (or does not go!) through your firewall. Under Windows 95/98ME NISUM is a transparent task visible only with a program like Starter. Recommendation : Leave alone as we are not entirely sure of its role – either way it seems essential.
Nkvmon	NkvMon.exe (Nikon)	Nikon Monitor. This background task monitors for a Nikon CoolPix camera being connected to your PC via a USB port. As soon as it detects a CoolPix camera having been connected it executes the Nikon View software which enables the user to preview and transfer images from the camera to the PC. Recommendation : Useful – leave alone.
Nkvwmon	NkVwMon.exe (Nikon)	Another version of the Nikon View Monitor, as per NKVMON above. Recommendation : This particular background task is directly responsible for computer freezes, whether it is freezes of specific applications, or freezes of the entire PC. Turning the "System Performance" setting from Optimal/Top Performance to Normal in the BIOS sometimes solves the problem (if that setting exists). In most cases, however, the only real solution is to disable this task with Starter and to start the Nikon View software manually from "Start \ Programs" whenever you need to, or use Windows Explorer.
Nmonitor	Nmonitor.exe (Novell)	This background process is part of the WIN2NCS network modem software on Novell NetWare networks. WIN2NCS enables the workstations to access modems that are attached to the fileserver, as if those modems were local to the workstations. Recommendation : Essential for the good functioning of WIN2NCS. Leave untouched.
Nmssvc	NMSSvc.exe (Intel)	Intel’s Network Management Station Service task. This task is installed by the drivers for some Intel network cards and provides SNMP support (Simple Network Management Protocol). Recommendation : If you are not on a network, then you do not need this task and you can disable it either with Startup Manager, or by setting it to "Manual" under Services in the Control Panel for Windows NT4/2000/XP. If you are on a network, liaise with your network administrator to see if SNMP is used on your network – if SNMP is not used, then, again, you do not need this task.
Nopdb	Nopdb.exe (Symantec)	Windows NT4/2000/XP service installed by Norton Speed Disk (part of Norton Utilities / Norton Systemworks). It is mainly associated with scheduling Speed Disk and is installed to start automatically by default on Windows boot-up. If you disable it, Speed Disk can still be run manually. Recommendation : This task can be extremely disruptive when left in its default Automatic mode. It intrudes at the most inopportune moments, thrashing the hard disk and floppy drive, and utilising upward of 80% of CPU. If you do not want such unwelcome interruptions, optimize your disk by always starting Speed Disk manually. If you go for that policy, then set NOPDB to "Manual" in "Control Panel \ Services" (NT4) or "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services" in Windows 2000/XP.
Notify	Notify.exe (Novell)	This is the background Novell GroupWise Notify task which notifies the user of incoming e-mails and messages. It sits in the System Tray. Recommendation : Essential. Leave untouched.
Nprotect	Nprotect.exe (Symantec’s Norton Utilities)	This is the Norton Utilities program that protects your Recycle Bin by adding an extra layer of safety to the deletion of information from your PC. Recommendation : Leave untouched. If you want to remove it, do so via the Norton Utilities’ control screen.
Nrpr	Nrpr.exe (NetRatings Inc)	Software from NetRatings which collects what is probably mainly statistical data about your Internet usage habits, and then sends it to specific servers on the Internet, http://premeter.opistat.com being one such server. NetRatings states that it is "the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis". Recommendation : At AnswersThatWork.com we simply will not have statistical software which sends data out, running on any of our PCs. Additionally, in this particular case we have been unable to find any Privacy Statement on the NetRatings site relating to NRPR, nor do we know for certain if the Privacy Statement on the Opistat site is the one we should be using. Unless you have willingly subscribed to NetRatings, we advocate its removal through the "Add/Remove Programs" icon in the Control Panel followed by a cleanup with "Spybot Search & Destroy" from our Downloads page.
Nsched32	Nsched32.exe (Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus)	Norton’s Program Scheduler. This program has the same functionality as the Windows Task Scheduler and, just like the Task Scheduler, it appears as an icon in the System Tray – you can use it to schedule regular tasks, such as overnight disk defragmentation, virus scanning, etc… Recommendation : Disable it if you do not have scheduled tasks. To do so, double-click on the icon in the System Tray, then go to the "Tools \ Option" menu option, and take off the tick showing against "Load with Windows".
Ntvdm	NTVDM.exe (Microsoft)	Windows NT Virtual DOS Machine – Windows NT4/2000/XP. Whenever you start a DOS or 16-bit Windows program (Windows 3.1 software, or a program designed for Win9x/NT4 but which has a mixture of 32-bit and 16-bit programming code) under Windows NT4/2000/XP, that 16-bit program gets run by the Windows NT Virtual DOS Machine, NTVDM, which basically emulates a DOS/16-bit environment so that your program can run. There will be a different instance of NTVDM running for each DOS/16-bit program that you run. (Note that NTVDM in turns starts a different process called WOWEXEC). Recommendation : If NTVDM is in your Task List, you have a DOS or 16-bit program running. If it is twice in your Task List, you have two DOS or 16-bit programs running, etc... Leave alone; as soon as you close your running DOS/16-bit program(s), NTVDM will disappear from your Task List under Windows 2000/XP although it will remain in your Task List under Windows NT4 – under NT4 this is by design to ensure that the next 16-bit program you run loads faster.
Nvcpldaemon	NvCpl.dll (NVidia)	NVidia Control Panel Display Properties Extensions applet. When it is running this startup and background task displays the additional NVidia-specific tabs when you go into "Display Properties" . Through these tabs you can configure the advanced features of your NVidia or NVidia-based graphics cards, something you cannot do through Windows’ standard display configuration tabs. Recommendation : Leave alone if you want to have access to the NVidia-specific display configuration tabs. Also, if you have configured some of the advanced features, this task will need to always be running for those features to be implemented. If you do not have an NVidia card, and this entry has remained after the de-installation of the NVidia drivers, delete this entry with Starter.
Nvsvc Nvsvc32	NVSvc.exe NVSvc32.exe (NVIDIA)	NVIDIA Driver Helper Service which gets installed under Windows NT4/2000/XP by the NVIDIA drivers for some of their graphics cards (or graphics cards based on an NVIDIA chipset). We do not at this stage know what this process does except consume memory ! And we also have no idea as to what a "Driver Helper Service" is supposed to do !! Recommendation : This service is often responsible for various glitches, from significant shutdown delays to excessive memory usage. Disabling it, however, does not result in any ill-effect as regards the proper operation of your NVIDIA or NVIDIA chipset graphics card, so we recommend that you definitely disable this service via "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services" ("Control Panel \ Services" in NT4).
Nwiz	NWiz.exe (NVidia)	NVidia nView Wizard present in NVidia newer graphics card drivers (2002 onward). The NVidia nView wizard is normally run from the Control Panel and provides the end-user with a literally staggering range of "things" he can do with his NVidia, or NVidia based graphics card : from having up to 32 virtual desktops, to having a desktop that is larger than the viewable area of the monitor, being able to split the display across more than one monitor, managing applications, adding transparency to applications’ windows, ability to zoom portions of the display, keyboard hotkeys, Internet Explorer extensions, additional features for laptop users so they can have a separate display on their laptop screen from the one on the monitor connected to their laptop, and, finally, monitor calibration. It is a truly amazing piece of software. On installation of the drivers, you will find NWIZ added to your Startup items, with or without switches. The only purpose is for NWIZ, the nView Wizard, to detect if you have used some of the special features mentioned above, and to re-install them immediately after bootup. If you have not used any of the special features, NWIZ terminates, otherwise it stays resident in the background. Recommendation : If you have not used any of the special nView features, you can disable this item with Starter. If you do use some of the special nView features, on the other hand, then leave this Startup item alone.
Nwrecmsg	Nwrecmsg.exe (Novell)	Broadcast message handler. Part of the Novell Client – it handles NetWare broadcast messages, such as messages from your fileserver, or print job completion messages, etc... Recommendation : Essential. Leave untouched.
Nzfprop	NZFProp.exe (Netzip Inc)	Background task installed by the Netzip zip and unzip utility. This task implements the Netzip Folders feature which makes your zip files look like folders so that you can move files in and out of those zip files with Windows Explorer as if you were dealing with folders (rather than files needing a special utility). This useful facility is now part of Windows in Windows XP. Recommendation : Essential to the proper functioning of Netzip. Note, however, that NZFPROP has been known to interfere with Norton AntiVirus LiveUpdate. If you experience LiveUpdate problems, and you also have Netzip installed, then do an End-Task on NZFPROP before doing a LiveUpdate.