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:
all others A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [0-49] [50-99] [100-149] [150-199] [200-249] [250-299] [300-349] [350-399] [400-449] [450-499] [500-549] [550-599] [600-649] [650-699] [700-749] [750-799] [800-849] [850-899] [900-949] [950-999] [1000-1049] [1050-1099] [1100-1149] [1150-1175] | ||||
| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | ajsha5.exe | Added by the SPYBOT-NX WORM! Note - has a blank entry under the Startup Item/Name field | No | |
| !!!AntiHook | Y | AntiHook.exe | AntiHook - the "ultimate Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) for protection against Malicious Software" | No |
| 'Ashampoo AntiSpyWare 2 Guard' | Y | AntiSpyWare2Guard.exe | Part of Ashampoo® AntiSpyWare 2 from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG. This part is the realtime monitor that looks for changes on the users system such as BHO, Winsock LSPs, Windows Hosts file, Autostart entries, etc | Yes |
| *MSConfig32 | X | aecache.exe | Detected by F-Secure as the OBFUSCATED.GP TROJAN! | No |
| .. | X | ABC2007.exe | Added by the DLOADR-ASH TROJAN! | No |
| 1 | X | addit.exe | Added by the SDBOT-RI WORM! | No |
| 388529725448 | X | AutomaticUpdates.exe | Added by the SDBOT-DEN WORM! | No |
| 76112549345328287 | X | angpd.exe | ANG AntiVirus 09 rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| 9xHtProtect | X | AVprotect9x.exe | Added by the NETSKY.M WORM! | No |
| @Hoc Toolbar | N | AtHoc.exe | One-click activated browsing toolbar used by various web-sites. See here for more info | No |
| a | X | a.exe | Commercials file that registers itself in the system registry and redirects IE to a certain commercial website | No |
| A Note | N | A Note.exe | "A Note is a program that lets you create post-it like notes on your Microsoft Windows desktop" | No |
| a² | Y | a2guard.exe | System Tray access to and Anti-Malware Guard feature of Emsisoft Anti-Malware from Emsi Software GmbH - which provides "comprehensive PC protection against viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, worms, bots, keyloggers and rootkits". Previously known as "a-squared Antitrojan" and "a-squared Anti-Malware" | No |
| a2adguard | Y | a2adguard.exe | System Tray access to and Background Guard feature of Emsisoft Anti-Dialer from Emsi Software GmbH - which "provides a complete defense against Dialers" | Yes |
| a2dservice | ? | a2dservice.exe | Related to the Air2Data Wireless HISA (High-Speed Internet Access) service. What does it do and is it required? | No |
| A4Proxy | U | A4Proxy.exe | Anonymity 4 Proxy - local proxy server that makes you anonymous when visiting web sites | No |
| a9z1eizA1e | X | atulabov.exe | Added by the AGENT-GWD TROJAN! | No |
| aaa | X | aaa.exe | Added by the POISON.PG BACKDOOR! | No |
| AAACLEAN | ? | AAACLEAN.INF | ?? | No |
| aacmeyf | X | aacmeyf.exe | Added by the AF.20 TROJAN! | No |
| AAK | U | aak.exe | Advanced Anti-Keylogger - "Anti-spy software to prohibit operation of any keyloggers currently in use or presently being developed anywhere" | No |
| aaLDTaskCompletion | U | amclient.EXE | LANDesk® Management Suite software component | No |
| AAMSFree702 | X | Avengine.com | Added by the DELF.LJ TROJAN! | No |
| Aaou | X | amee.exe | PurityScan adware | No |
| Aapp | X | adprot.exe | AdBlaster adware | No |
| aauclient | ? | ACNUpdater.exe | Appears to be related to software from Accenture.com | No |
| AAW | U | Ad-Aware.exe | Ad-Aware SE Personal from Lavasoft - popular spyware/adware removal tool. Now superseded by Ad-Aware 2008 Free | No |
| AAWTray | U | AAWTray.exe | System Tray access to Ad-aware from Lavasoft - popular spyware/adware removal tool | No |
| abass | X | abass.exe | Added by a variant of the Storm/Nuwar/Zhelatin WORM! See here for an example | No |
| abcdefgh | X | abcdefgh.exe | EPJ TROJAN! | No |
| ABITEQ | N | abiteq.exe | Monitoring utility for ABIT Motherboards. Displays system voltages, temperatures and fan speeds | No |
| Abox | X | Abox.exe | Adultbox adware | No |
| Abrada WIN32 | X | abrada.exe | Added by the DERMON-G TROJAN! | No |
| ABRegmon | Y | ABregmon.exe | Part of the ArcaVir antivirus suite from Polish company Arcabit. What does this part do? | No |
| Absolute StartUp monitor | U | ASMon.exe | Absolute Startup - startup monitor from F-Group Software | No |
| ABsr | X | absr.exe | Added by the AUTOUPDER TROJAN! | No |
| AbyssWebServer | U | abyssws.exe | Abyss web server | No |
| aca | U | aca.exe | Access Controller - "a desktop locking security utility you can use to protect your desktop when you are not near your PC. To activate protection, define a password in Options, and select the Lock command. Password protection can be automatically activated on boot or with a click of an icon in the system tray." The same program as 1 Click & Lock and Access Lock (and maybe others) - the same file for the same version is used by all programs but the filename is different in each case | Yes |
| aca.exe | U | aca.exe | Access Controller - "a desktop locking security utility you can use to protect your desktop when you are not near your PC. To activate protection, define a password in Options, and select the Lock command. Password protection can be automatically activated on boot or with a click of an icon in the system tray." The same program as 1 Click & Lock and Access Lock (and maybe others) - the same file for the same version is used by all programs but the filename is different in each case | Yes |
| AcBtnMgr_X63 | U | AcBtnMgr_X63.exe | "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program" for the Lexmark X63 all-in-one multifunction printer/copier/scanner. Button manager for features such as scan, scan to E-mail, copy, etc | No |
| AcBtnMgr_X63.exe | U | AcBtnMgr_X63.exe | "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program" for the Lexmark X63 all-in-one multifunction printer/copier/scanner. Button manager for features such as scan, scan to E-mail, copy, etc | No |
| AcBtnMgr_X73 | U | AcBtnMgr_X73.exe | "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program" for the Lexmark X73 all-in-one multifunction printer/copier/scanner. Button manager for features such as scan, scan to E-mail, copy, etc | No |
| AcBtnMgr_X83 | U | AcBtnMgr_X83.exe | "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program" for the Lexmark X83 all-in-one multifunction printer/copier/scanner. Button manager for features such as scan, scan to E-mail, copy, etc | No |
| AcBtnMgr_X84-X85 | U | AcBtnMgr_X84-X85.exe | "Lexmark Scan & Copy Control Program" for the Lexmark X84-X85 all-in-one multifunction printer/copier/scanner. Button manager for features such as scan, scan to E-mail, copy, etc | No |
| acc | U | acc.exe | Advanced Call Center - "full-featured yet easy-to-use answering machine software for your voice modem" | No |
| Accelerate | U | accelerate.exe | Webroot Accelerate - allows you to optimize Windows network registry settings in order to boost surfing speeds. Leave this enabled if you find it improves your connection | No |
| AccelerometerSt | Y | AccelerometerSt.exe | HP 3D DriveGuard uses a digital accelerometer protects your disk drive by parking and halting I/O requests if you drop your PC or if you move your PC with the display lid closed | No |
| AccelerometerSysTrayApplet | Y | AccelerometerSt.exe | HP 3D DriveGuard uses a digital accelerometer protects your disk drive by parking and halting I/O requests if you drop your PC or if you move your PC with the display lid closed | No |
| Access Ramp Monitor | N | armon32.exe | Monitors your progress on the internet; hang-ups, connection speeds, internet congestion and traffic flow. It prevents some games from running also. To disable the Access Ramp Monitor (1) Open Windows Explorer (2) Open the Program Files folder (3) Open the MindSpring folder (4) Open the AccessRamp folder (5) Double-click on the ARMCfg32.exe file (6) Uncheck Enable Dialup Monitor and click OK (7) Restart the computer and try again | No |
| AccessManager | U | AccessMgr.exe | Part of SmartPipes SecureSite software. "SecureSite enables rapid turnup and enhanced administration of VPNs. It automates and simplifies tasks for VPN design and policy management, access control management, and key management" | No |
all others A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [0-49] [50-99] [100-149] [150-199] [200-249] [250-299] [300-349] [350-399] [400-449] [450-499] [500-549] [550-599] [600-649] [650-699] [700-749] [750-799] [800-849] [850-899] [900-949] [950-999] [1000-1049] [1050-1099] [1100-1149] [1150-1175] | ||||
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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