If you're frustrated with the time it takes your Windows PC to boot and then it seems to be running slowly you may have too many programs running at start-up - and have come to the right place to identify them. This is the original startup programs (as opposed to processes/tasks) list - one of the most comprehensive and most accurate!
"Name or Startup Item" in the table below refers to how an entry is displayed in MSConfig, Windows Defender or the registry "Run" keys. "Command or Data" refers to the program the entry runs. For further information on this and how to identify and disable startup programs please visit the Startup Content page.
For further information on random startup entries please visit the Startup Info page. For the next few months and foreseeable future I'll be verifying many of the Y, U, N & ? entries via virtual machines. If you can verify/identify those entries with a "?" status (especially hardware specific - such as laptops and motherboards) then please E-mail me (address at bottom of the page) or use the new Message Board.
Last update :- 29th October, 2009
19979 items listed
"Status" key:
- "Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up
- "N" - Not required or not recommended - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary
- "U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary
- "X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"
- "?" - Unknown
Variables:
- %System% - refers to the System folder; by default this is C:\Windows\System (9x/Me), C:\Winnt\System32 (NT/2K), or C:\Windows\System32 (XP/Vista)
- %Windir% - refers to the Windows installation folder; by default this is C:\Windows (9x/Me/XP/Vista) or C:\Winnt (NT/2K)
- %UserProfile% - refers to the current user's profile folder; by default this is C:\Documents and Settings\ (NT/2K/XP) or C:\Users\ (Vista)
- %ProgramFiles% - refers to the Program Files folder; typically the path is C:\Program Files
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| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|
| bmz | X | bmz.exe | 180Search adware | No |
| Bndt32 | X | Bndt32.exe | Added by the LACON WORM! | No |
| Bnexe | X | [random filename] | Added by the KITRO.D (or ARGEN.A) WORM! | No |
| BO1HelperStartUp | U | BO1HEL~1.EXE | ScreenScenes "Butterfly Oasis" screensaver. The freeware version comes with GAIN branded ads (pop-ups and others). ScreenScenes do however offer you the option of doing away with the ads by purchasing the screensaver for a whopping $30. Please note that Claria Corporation no longer support GAIN-Supported software - see here | No |
| BO1HelperStartUp | U | Bo1helper.exe | ScreenScenes "Butterfly Oasis" screensaver. The freeware version comes with GAIN branded ads (pop-ups and others). ScreenScenes do however offer you the option of doing away with the ads by purchasing the screensaver for a whopping $30. Please note that Claria Corporation no longer support GAIN-Supported software - see here | No |
| Boarddata | X | [path] repcale.exe [path] palsp.exe | Added by a variant of the RANDON.AN WORM! Both files are often located in %System% | No |
| boat32 | X | boat32.exe | Added by a variant of the RBOT WORM! | No |
| boby | X | csrs.scr | Added by the BANCBAN-PC TROJAN! | No |
| boby | X | netburn.scr | Added by the BANCBAN-OX TROJAN! | No |
| BOC-412 | Y | BOC412.exe | NSClean (now Comodo) BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.12 | No |
| BOC-420 | Y | BOC420.exe | NSClean (now Comodo) BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.20 | No |
| BOC-421 | Y | BOC421.exe | NSClean (now Comodo) BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.21 | No |
| BOC-422 | Y | BOC422.exe | NSClean (now Comodo) BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.22 | No |
| BOC-423 | Y | BOC423.exe | Comodo BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.23 | No |
| BOC-424 | Y | BOC424.exe | Comodo BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.24 | No |
| BOC-425 | Y | BOC425.exe | Comodo BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.25 | No |
| BOC-426 | Y | BOC426.exe | Comodo BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.26 | No |
| BOC-427 | Y | BOC427.exe | Comodo BOClean anti-malware software - "Protect yourself from online identity theft. The greatest threat on the Internet today is having your personal information hijacked remotely". Version 4.27 | No |
| BOCleanautostart | Y | Boclean.exe | NSClean's BOClean anti-trojan software | No |
| BOINC Manager | U | boincmgr.exe | BOINC manager - "controls the use of your computer's disk, network, and processor resources" | No |
| Boingo Wireless Utility | U | Icon###XXX#X#.exe | Starts the Boingo Wireless utility, used to detect and login into Boingo wireless hotspots. The filename may be autogenerated when installing, two different variations along the lines listed here, where # is a number and X is a letter. Shortcut available via Start -> Programs | No |
| bolenja | X | bolenja.exe | Added by the WANTVI.BF TROJAN! | No |
| bolenjx | X | bolenjx.exe | Added by the ELDYCOW.O TROJAN! | No |
| boler.exe | X | syser.exe | Added by the RBOT-AYS WORM! | No |
| bombshel | U | BOMB32.EXE | Part of McAfee Nuts & Bolts. Protects your Windows system from application failure and crashes - similar to Norton Crashguard. Your choice - may cause problems | No |
| Bonzi Buddy | X | ?? | Bonzi Buddy adware - see here for removal instructions | No |
| BONZI Task Switcher | X | Taskswitch.exe | Added by the SPYBOT.DTR WORM! | No |
| boo | X | boo.exe | Adware downloader - detected by Kaspersky as the FAVADD.O TROJAN! | No |
| BookedSpace | X | RunDLL32.EXE bs2.dll, DllRun | BookedSpace parasite. Note that rundll32.exe is a legitimate Microsoft file used to launch DLL file types and shouldn't be deleted. The "bs2.dll" file is located in the Winnt or Windows folder | No |
| BookmarkCentral | N | BMLauncher.exe | Bookmark Express - "offers a more flexible way to manage Web site bookmarks, regardless of which browser you use" | No |
| BookMarkSink | N | syncit.exe | Bookmark synchronization utility | No |
| BookMarkSync | N | syncit.exe | Sync2IT BookMarkSync - "real-time automatic synchronization service that allows you to access your bookmarks, favorites and favorite files from any computer or any browser". Only installed with the users explicit permission and generally only remains running if the user decides to subscribe to the service. If it is no longer required it should be uninstalled to prevent a large number of clients 'checking in' to the server that have no chance of synchronizing | No |
| BookMarkSync2It | N | sync2it.exe | Sync2IT BookMarkSync - "real-time automatic synchronization service that allows you to access your bookmarks, favorites and favorite files from any computer or any browser". Only installed with the users explicit permission and generally only remains running if the user decides to subscribe to the service. If it is no longer required it should be uninstalled to prevent a large number of clients 'checking in' to the server that have no chance of synchronizing | No |
| Boost XP Service | U | bxservice.exe | Boost XP from Systweak - WinXP tweaking utility | No |
| BoostSpeed | U | boostspeed.exe | System Tray accesss to Auslogics BoostSpeed 4 system optimization utility - which "Start programs faster. Speed up computer start time. Increase Internet speed, optimize your Internet Explorer, Firefox and E-mail programs" | Yes |
| boot | X | boot.exe | Added by the PUPPET-A TROJAN! Located in the System (9x/Me) or System32 (NT/2K/XP) folder | No |
| Boot | U | Boot.exe | Part of Acer Empowering Technology. "Acer ePower Management is a straightforward interface that allows users to select from pre-configured power usage profiles, or to create their own customized profiles". Located in the "Acer\Empowering Technology\ePower" directory | No |
| Boot Check | X | bootchk.exe | Added by the DELBOT-AB WORM! | No |
| Boot Config | X | bootconfig.exe | Added by the FLOOD-EV TROJAN! | No |
| Boot K | X | bootk.exe | Added by a variant of the IRCBOT BACKDOOR! See here | No |
| Boot Manager | X | Njgal.exe | Added by the KILO TROJAN! | No |
| Boot Manager | X | bootmng.exe | Added by a variant of the SPYBOT WORM! | No |
| Boot Server | X | bootserver.exe | Added by a variant of the IRCBOT BACKDOOR! See here | No |
| Boot Service | X | bootservice.exe | Added by a variant of the IRCBOT BACKDOOR! See here | No |
| Boot Service | X | bootsv.exe | Added by a variant of the IRCBOT BACKDOOR! See here | No |
| Boot Verify | X | bootvfy.exe | Added by a variant of the IRCBOT BACKDOOR! See here | No |
| BootCfg | X | Install.log.vbs | Added by the YPSAN.D WORM! | No |
| BootCTRL | X | bootctrl.exe | Added by an unidentified WORM or TROJAN! | No |
| BootLoader | X | BootLoader.exe.vbs | Added by the WATERWORKS WORM! | No |
| bootpd.exe | X | bootpd.exe | Added by the AGENT-DT TROJAN! | No |
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You can download off-line HTML ZIP, EXE and EXCEL ZIP versions of this list from here.
In addition the following files are available for people developing mirrors of the site and using the information presented here (right-click and select "Save Target As..." for IE and "Save Link As..." for Firefox):
Startup XML File - Startup INI File - Startup HTML File
DISCLAIMER: It is assumed that users are familiar with the operating system they are using and comfortable with making the suggested changes. I will not be held responsible if changes you make cause a system failure.
NOTE: This is NOT a database of tasks/processes taken from Task Manager or the Close Program window (CTRL+ALT+DEL) but a database of startup applications, although you will find some of them listed via this method. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL identifies programs that are currently running - not necessarily at startup. For a list of tasks/processes you should try the Process Library from Uniblue, the list at PC Pitstop or one of the many others now available. Therefore, before ending a task/process via CTRL+ALT+DEL just because it has an "X" recommendation, please check whether it's in MSConfig or the registry first. An example would be "svchost.exe" - which doesn't appear in either under normal conditions but does via CTRL+ALT+DEL. If in doubt, don't do anything.
To avoid the database becoming too large, all virus entries are only shown using the registry version which is common to all Windows versions. Otherwise there would be multiple entries for popular filenames that viruses often use - such as "svchost" above for example. Multiple viruses can also use the same startup entries, in this case only those with significant differences (such as file location) are repeated in this database.
NOTE : There are a number of virus and malware entried listed in this database where specific removal instructions haven't been given. If this is the case then you could try SDFix, a program written by AndyManchesta that can remove many different types of Trojans and Worms. See here for a tutorial on how to use the program and here for the latest ReadMe file detailing the fixes included.
IMPORTANT: A number of entries are repeated due to the way that different operating systems display startup items. For example, WinMe lists "POPROXY.EXE" as "Norton eMail Protect" in both MSCONFIG and the registry whereas WinXP lists it as "Poproxy" in MSCONFIG and "Norton eMail Protect" in the registry.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you're looking for a startup manager then why not try WinPatrol (by BillP Studios) or Advanced SystemCare Free (by IObit) - both include the option to search this database for a particular entry. Alternatively try Spybot - Search & Destroy (by Safer Networking Ltd) as the startup programs section (select the Advanced mode) includes descriptions from this database. You might also want to try their RunAlyzer and FileAlyzer tools.
There are an ever increasing number of rogue applications appearing these days and many of the removal guides referenced in this database use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (which now incorporates the now discontinued RogueRemover).
As there are more than 10,000 entries in this database related to viruses, trojans, worms and other malware I recommend you use a quality internet security package. Which ever you choose, keep it updated.
Free licenses available for Oops! Backup (by Altaro) BETA Testing - Apply online here
Presentation, format & comments Copyright © 2001 - 2009 Paul Collins
Portions Copyright © Peter Forrest, Denny Denham, Sylvain Prevost, Tony Klein, CastleCops & Bleeping Computer
Database creation and support by Patrick Kolla
Software support by John Mayer
All rights reserved