Startup Applications List
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 :- 31st August
21939 items listed
"Status" key:
Variables:
| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSPetServ | X | PET32.EXE | Added by the IRCBOT-VE WORM! | No |
| MSPluginSrvc | X | p3.exe | Added by the RBOT-WV WORM! | No |
| MSPRO32 | X | pnp.exe | Added by the ZOTOB.O WORM! | No |
| mspwr | U | pupstman.exe | "Transparent icon background" feature of Ashampoo'sPowerUp XP (WinNT/2K/XP) and PowerUp Deluxe (Win98/Me) | No |
| mspwr | U | pupxpman.exe | Related to Ashampoo's PowerUp XP | No |
| mspwr | U | pwrupst.exe | Ashampoo's PowerUp XP is a "tool for fine-tuning your Windows NT4, 2000, 2003 Server and XP configuration" | No |
| mswspl | X | plugin1.exe | Added by the SMALL.IQ TROJAN! | No |
| NETVISIONPasse-partout | X | Passe-partout.exe | Added by the DIALCAR-M DIALER! | No |
| NeuerSchild | X | pgs.exe | NeuerSchild, German rogue security software - not recommended. A member of the AVSystemCare family | No |
| Newman | X | playavi.exe | Added by the LINEAGE-AT TROJAN! | No |
| NexusServer | U | PNXSERVR.exe | Related to ProCoder 2.0 from Canopus. "ProCoder 2.0 software combines speed and flexibility into a streamlined video conversion tool for professionals. Featuring, extensive input/output options, advanced filtering, batch processing and an easy-to-use interface, ProCoder 2.0 is the ideal solution for high-quality multi-format video creation" | No |
| No Credit Card | X | plugin-[random].exe | Adult content pop-up dialler | No |
| NOD32POP3 | Y | Pop3scan.exe | POP3 E-mail part of Eset's NOD32 virus-scanner | No |
| none | X | pmsngr.exe | Added by the ZLOB.MEDIA-CODEC TROJAN! This purports to be a Windows Media Player upgrade (with names such as "iCodecPack", "X Password Manager" and "Media-Codec") to allow the user to view adult oriented videos on certain websites - but actually downloads and installs additional malware on the user's machine. Various directories and filenames are used - see the link for details. The most popular for this example appears to be "Video ActiveX Object" | No |
| Norton AV Preload | ? | Premend.exe | Norton Antivirus related. What does it do and is it required | No |
| Norton eMail Protect | Y | POPROXY.EXE | Proxy E-mail protection from Norton Anti-Virus (prior to 2002). If you have it installed, leave it enabled to automatically check for suspect attachments in E-mails that may contain viruses. It downloads the E-mail into poproxy, which serves as a proxy server on the local machine, before scanning it | No |
| notepad2.exe | X | popuper.exe | Added by the PUPER-E TROJAN! | No |
| NoWayVirus | X | pgs.exe | NoWayVirus rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here. A member of the AVSystemCare family | No |
| OfficeScan95 | Y | pccwin97.exe | Trend Micro antivirus OfficeScan | No |
| OfficeScanNT Monitor | Y | pccntmon.exe | Trend Micro OfficeScan Antivirus real-time scan monitor | No |
| Optional Web Drivers For WIN32 | X | phqghume.exe | Added by a variant of the RBOT WORM! | No |
| overinstall | X | pgs.exe | Part of VirtualPCGuard, VirusGuardPlus and other members of the AVSystemCare family of rogue security software suites. See here for more examples | No |
| p | X | p.exe | Added by the AGENT-U TROJAN! | No |
| P Antispyware 09 | X | pas.exe | P Antispyware 09 rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| P2kAutostart | U | P2kAutostart.exe | P2kCommander a filemanager application for Motorola p2k mobile phones | No |
| P2P NETWORKING | N | P2P Networking.exe | Peer to Peer (P2P) sharing of files on the internet | No |
| P2P Networking | N | P2P | Peer to Peer (P2P) sharing of files on the internet | No |
| p2p networking | X | p2pnetworking.exe | Added by the RBOT-ECP WORM! | No |
| P2P Networking2 | X | P2P Networking2.exe | P2P Networking2.exe is an advertising program by Joltid. This process monitors your browsing habits and distributes the data back to the author's servers for analysis. This also prompts advertising popups. This program is a registered security risk and should be removed immediately | No |
| P2P Networking3 | N | P2P Networking3.exe | P2P Networking, a component bundled with Kazaa that enables other applications to use Peer-to-Peer functionality. Not required - see here | No |
| p2pnetwork | X | p2pnetwork.exe | Added by the ALCAN.A WORM! | No |
| p2pnetworking | X | p2pnetworking.exe | Added by the RBOT-AFL WORM! | No |
| P3p4chk | X | P3p4chk.exe | Added by the GEMA TROJAN! | No |
| p4mx4 | X | p4mx4.exe | Added by the CRYPTER.A TROJAN! | No |
| PaciSoft | X | pacis.exe | PacerD Media/Pacimedia.com adware installer | No |
| PadTouch | N | PadExe.exe | Toshiba Touch and Launch - offers easy movement and freedom of programs navigation with TouchPad | No |
| Pag Windows Monitor | X | pag.exe | Added by the AGENT-EOT TROJAN! | No |
| Pagekeeper Jobs | U | pkjobs.exe | PageKeeper Jobs is a separate PageKeeper program that handles the analysis of new documents and keeps track of the location and content of current documents in PageKeeper. Pagekeeper comes bundled with scanners such has HP, Microtek, etc | No |
| Pagekeeper Lite | U | pkjobs.exe | PageKeeper Jobs is a separate PageKeeper program that handles the analysis of new documents and keeps track of the location and content of current documents in PageKeeper. Pagekeeper comes bundled with scanners such has HP, Microtek, etc | No |
| PAgent | X | PAgent.exe | Scans your hard drive for the popular P2P file-sharing applications BearShare, Grokster, Kazaa, Limewire and Morpheus. After searching the entire local filesystem for any files with those names it connects to the DownloadWare servers and tells it what, if anything, is found | No |
| Pagoo | N | PAGOO.EXE | Pagoo - internet call waiting. Intercepts telephone calls like an answering machine and plays the voice message on your PC. Only required when you're on-line and via dial-up modem | No |
| PaintingRoom evidence monitor | X | paintingroom.exe | Paintingroom.com smiley software - not recommended as the site tries to drop a trojan on you... | No |
| PaintingRoom smile monitor | X | paintingroom.exe | Paintingroom.com smiley software - not recommended as the site tries to drop a trojan on you... | No |
| Paladin Antivirus | X | pav.exe | Paladin Antivirus rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| Palm Desktop | N | Palm.exe | Palm Desktop Software for use with Palm handheld devices. Available via Start -> Programs | No |
| PalNetaware | X | pnetaware.exe | PalTalk adware - as included in Morpheus | No |
| Palo Alto Software Update Manager 8.0 | N | PAS8_UD.exe | Update manager for small business planning software from Palo Alto Software - such as Business Plan Pro, Marketing Plan Pro and Email Center Pro | No |
| PaltalkNetaware.exe | N | PALNETAW~1.EXE | Voice chat program. This program stores all buddy list info apparently on the server itself so you never lose your buddy list should you need to reinstall the program due for whatever reason or even reformat. Available via Start → Programs. Delete the shortcut in Start → Programs → StartUp as well otherwise it will be reinstated | No |
| pamela.exe | U | pamela.exe | Pamela is a plug-in or add-on that adds features to Skype peer to peer voice service | No |
| Panda Antispam Server Service | U | PasSrv.exe | AntiSpam part of an older version of Panda Internet Security | No |
Download Alternative Formats
The following files are available for people developing mirrors of the site and using the information presented here:
Startup XML File - Startup INI File - Startup HTML File
For IE users, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..." - note that for the INI and HTML files the suggested filename will be "startuplist.htm" and you'll have to rename them "startuplist.ini" and "startuplist.html" respectively.
For Firefox users, I recommend downloading the zipped versions from here. Otherwise, you'll have to open the file and save it - which can take a long time due to the size.
NOTE: These downloads are password protected and free to anyone producing a mirror or free utility. If you produce a commercial/shareware utility please contact me to discuss options. If you don't fall into any of these categories and want to download any of these files you will need to either make a donation of $15/year or more via PayPal (or E-mail me) and you will be provided with the login details which will change at the beginning of each year. The donation will go towards researching new and existing entries for the database and creating these files. Since making these files available for download they've been available free of charge and downloaded thousands of times. I believe they are unique as to my knowledge, no similar site offers such a resource as the lists they offer are on-line only.
Warning
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.
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Copyright
Presentation, format & comments Copyright © 2001 - 2010 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
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