Processes in Task Manager

Kill those processes

I play around killing everything and checking if the machine can still run. When I kill something and i get screwed I note down the process name and never kill it again...

I also kill explorer before I play games

Couldn't resist. It's the best way to get rid of pop-ups, ActiveX, COM, .Net nasties, etc. 'Course, I'm doing 100% .Net client at work (C#)...but the middle tier is 100% Java.

I would kill them.
The IExplore could be hung processes that didn't get cleared, typical with Internet Explorer. BTW, why are you using Internet Explorer? Try out Mozilla, Firebird, Opera or anything but IE. Here's the reason: IE is built on Activex technology which is dangerous and the #1 for spyware to get loaded onto your machine. To prove this I scanned my system for spyware it was clean. I visited one (1) site using Internet Explorer. After I closed the browser and did a scan I now had 125 different spyware programs installed on my machine. ALL without my knowledge or consent!!!


RunDll

It depends. There are some virus that masquerade as rundll. You may want to get your PC scanned for viruses at TrendMicro you can get a virus scan online. Also get and run Adaware (lavasoft.de) and Spybot Search and Destroy.

The real rundll is a .dll which has tons of hooks to run different 'programs' such as shutdown dialogs, etc.

FWIW, Firebird is now Firefox (as of the 0.8 release). They had issues w/ another open source project, so renamed themselves. I like the veiled reference to speed as it relates to the old Clint Eastwood movie of the same name...

Hey beakmyn!

What sites are you visiting? I have been using IE for years (used to use Netscape because I "grew up" on Mosaic) and it is vastly superior to any recent NS product. This is especailly true since the google toolbar only runs under IE.

Oh yeah - I've never had a spyware program get on my machine...

IE is vastly superior? I used to think so until I met Mrs. Opera and Mr. Mozilla

IE and Microsoft seem to think that they have a right to intrude into your computer operation and screw with you...

Firefox has an integrated (and separate from the link box) search box.

The only time and reason I ever use IE is for Windows Updates. Other than for that I strictly use Pheonix, er, Firebird, I mean Firefox. Ah, just pick a name and stick with it already!

I won't mention the site but it helped me evaluate some software which I ended not liking so I'm glad I didn't pay the money for it. Anyway, being computer literate I get lots of questions from folks. I first ask them a few questions of which the first two are always:

1. Do you run an AV program?
2. Do you use IE?

I then scan the systems and 9 times out of 10 there's at least 10 pieces of nasty spyware borking the system. Internet Explorer is a decent browser but it does too much without you knowledge or permission. This leads to problems. Activex technology is just a bad idea for web browsers. It's also too integrated with the OS.
I currently use Opera at home and Mozilla at work. IMHO they can do everything IE can do and more and better. Tabbed browsing being and built in smart pop-up control being favorites. If I need to do a google search I just type g search term into my address bar and away it goes. I've got about a dozen or so different 1 or two letter shortcuts like this.

Given that something like 90% of people use IE it's always going to be a favorite and easy exploit so by using an alternative I've automatically added some protection.

Course since right now I'm using a Morphix LiveCD I've got no worries.