rundll32.exe

[swogden]

rundll32.exe is a system program that allows dll applications into interface with other programs on your computer.

On my laptop I have one such program working and it uses about 484k to do the magic it does. It is associated with my User Name

On my desktop, however, I have 5 rundll32.exe programs running and they are all associated with my User Name. The memory usage runs from 484k to 274000k!  (I'm looking at the Windows Task Manager to see this info.)

I suspect that I have trogans working that are causing this but I'm not sure how to get rid of them without causing other problems.
It is also causing my desktop to work less efficiently so exploring way to solving this problem.

I understand there are software programs that tackle this program, but am leary of using them because they may be malware in disguise.  Are there any software programs that you have used and/or would recommend to root out trojans and/or malware etal?

[alw3610]

MY husband uses 3 programs to keep my laptop running smoothly, all are free for home users.

CCleaner
Sybot Search and Destroy
avast!

[swogden]

Thank you for the suggestion. 

I already use ccleaner and can vouch for it as a quick way to clean out temp files.  Tho sometimes it takes out more than I want (ie all the temp files containing passwords and login details) but that is a minor inconvience compared to what it does do.

I have Norton Security on my computer and am not familiar with Avast.  But my renewal for NIS is coming up and if the free antivirus program works well, I'm thinking of saving a few bucks and go that root.  Microsoft Security  is another freeware that I'm considering.

I did download Sybot S&D on both my laptop and desktop.  Happily it found nothing on my laptop, as I hoped would be the case; and it did find several adware programs, one trojan and lots of temp file to remove.  It is easy to use; did not cause a problem with my existing security programs.

Unfortunately, it did not find everything. 3 out of the 5 rundll32.exe processes are running with reasonable memory usages, but 2 are still very high.

I also downloaded another free antispyware program (Superantispyware) and trying that out.  Their support staff is working with me to help root out the pesky bugs.  Still a work in progress.

[oldbuddy]

rundll32.exe is a system program that allows dll applications into interface with other programs on your computer.

On my laptop I have one such program working and it uses about 484k to do the magic it does. It is associated with my User Name

On my desktop, however, I have 5 rundll32.exe programs running and they are all associated with my User Name. The memory usage runs from 484k to 274000k!  (I'm looking at the Windows Task Manager to see this info.)

I suspect that I have trogans working that are causing this but I'm not sure how to get rid of them without causing other problems.
It is also causing my desktop to work less efficiently so exploring way to solving this problem.

I understand there are software programs that tackle this program, but am leary of using them because they may be malware in disguise.  Are there any software programs that you have used and/or would recommend to root out trojans and/or malware etal?

You might get some good info here: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-server-help/1127217.htm

The best Malware solution I have found is MalwareBytes available free online.

[swogden]

I ran another program called Superantispyware and it found a few more items, but i still had the problem with rundll32.exe.
I contacted their support and ran a diagnostic they sent me; then updated the original download and ran it again (per their instructions).

Didn't seem to solve the problem, but when I rechecked the system a couple of hours later, I discovered I no longer had rundll32 running on my Task Manager.  Turns out that is bad news, because none of the links on my Control panal work because Windows rundll32.exe is no longer available.

I now have a blue screen telling me that to keep my computer safe, Windows has been shut down.  Staples, here I come!

[oldbuddy]

I ran another program called Superantispyware and it found a few more items, but i still had the problem with rundll32.exe.
I contacted their support and ran a diagnostic they sent me; then updated the original download and ran it again (per their instructions).

Didn't seem to solve the problem, but when I rechecked the system a couple of hours later, I discovered I no longer had rundll32 running on my Task Manager.  Turns out that is bad news, because none of the links on my Control panal work because Windows rundll32.exe is no longer available.

I now have a blue screen telling me that to keep my computer safe, Windows has been shut down.  Staples, here I come!

Now you may have a better idea why I do my Internet surfing with LINUX.

[Assmite]

MSE(Microsoft security essentials), Malwarebytes, adaware, and spybot are all legit, work well, and are free.

[swogden]

Now you may have a better idea why I do my Internet surfing with LINUX.

I don't know anything about LINUX -- except that it is an operating system.  How does it manage to avoid malware, trojans etc getting buried in it's script when Windows can't?

[oldbuddy]

Now you may have a better idea why I do my Internet surfing with LINUX.

I don't know anything about LINUX -- except that it is an operating system.  How does it manage to avoid malware, trojans etc getting buried in it's script when Windows can't?

That's simple, of the 400 Million computers operating in the world 80% are Windows and 5% are Linux. Windows programs will not run on Linux and vice versa, so if you were a bad guy and wanted to write a program that would trash someone's computer, which operating system would you write it for?

Another point is I mainly use my Linux computer for surfing the Internet with Chromium or Firefox browsers, so they operate so close to Windows versions it's hard to notice. If someone ever did come up with a virus or malware that destroyed my computer I could just format the hard drive and have it back running in a matter of minutes. To reinstall Windows and all my programs takes DAYS.

[timetravel]

that's why my husband swears by Mac computers - because so many others use Windows operating system viruses target Windows.  We don't have laptops, just desktops, but all of our computers save for his are Windows.  And we've all been hit from time to time except him.  This computer I use, surprisingly, has wonderful security with the free Norton I got from comcast.  Knock on wood - in three years not one thing has maliciously destroyed my computer.  My daughter swears by the free microsoft security.

[oldbuddy]

that's why my husband swears by Mac computers - because so many others use Windows operating system viruses target Windows.  We don't have laptops, just desktops, but all of our computers save for his are Windows.  And we've all been hit from time to time except him.  This computer I use, surprisingly, has wonderful security with the free Norton I got from comcast.  Knock on wood - in three years not one thing has maliciously destroyed my computer.  My daughter swears by the free microsoft security.

The biggest difference between Mac and Linux is the cost of both the hardware and software. My  Mint Linux is running on a hand-me-down Pentium computer that was virtually free and the software was free too. Even the programs I use on it are all free. Even if I went out and purchased a new computer sufficient for Linux, it would cost me maybe $300 without an operating system and I add Linux for free.

[swogden]

Is Linux easy to use?  If I shifted to Linux would the learning curve be relatively short?

Does it have it's own email processor?  (Outlook Express; Live Mail?)

Are you familiar with spreadsheet programs?  I use Lotus123 and may need to move to Excel.  Are these workable in Linux?  (Suspect my version is specifically for Windows and if there were one, I would need to get one for Linux).  Lous 123 will not be upgraded for Windows 7 -- so if my PC's with Windows XP die, I will have to move to Excel.

I plan on taking my diseased PC to Staples to get it fixed.  Figure I might do permanent damage to it, if I continue to tinker.  Particularly if I try to reinstall Windows XP  -- probably will wipe out my complete hard drive and I'm hoping Staples can restore most of the programs and data when they reinstall Windows.  If I'm wrong about that, I might just use the PC to tinker and learn.

[oldbuddy]

Is Linux easy to use?  If I shifted to Linux would the learning curve be relatively short?

Does it have it's own email processor?  (Outlook Express; Live Mail?)

Are you familiar with spreadsheet programs?  I use Lotus123 and may need to move to Excel.  Are these workable in Linux?  (Suspect my version is specifically for Windows and if there were one, I would need to get one for Linux).  Lous 123 will not be upgraded for Windows 7 -- so if my PC's with Windows XP die, I will have to move to Excel.

I plan on taking my diseased PC to Staples to get it fixed.  Figure I might do permanent damage to it, if I continue to tinker.  Particularly if I try to reinstall Windows XP  -- probably will wipe out my complete hard drive and I'm hoping Staples can restore most of the programs and data when they reinstall Windows.  If I'm wrong about that, I might just use the PC to tinker and learn.

From a desktop users point of view, I think Mint Linux is easy. You just double click an icon to run a program. They have a package manager to install new free programs with a couple of clicks.

For email I use Gmail and it works fine, but there are other email clients for Linux to use for pop3 accounts like Outlook Express does.

My spreadsheet is part of the LibreOffice (or OpenOffice) suite and it's also free. You also get word processing, drawing, a PowerPoint alternative and more, all for free.

Here's something most people don't know, you can get the most popular distributions of Linux on a CD and run it from there to try it out without even installing it. Try that with Windows!

Get more here http://www.linuxmint.com/

[timetravel]

You'd get along great with my husband, Old Buddy!  He has been reading about Linux lately!  He built his Mac computer almost from scratch - started with an empty shell case he brought home from work, and ordered parts piecemeal from ebay.  He's got a good working computer now that would be worth a lot brand new.  As much as I know about computers I could never do that!

[oldbuddy]

You'd get along great with my husband, Old Buddy!  He has been reading about Linux lately!  He built his Mac computer almost from scratch - started with an empty shell case he brought home from work, and ordered parts piecemeal from ebay.  He's got a good working computer now that would be worth a lot brand new.  As much as I know about computers I could never do that!

I have done that with PC's literally hundreds of times. I spend 35 years in the computer business, but now I want someone else to do the work.