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? |
|---|
| Billminder | N | Billmind.exe | Can be setup in Quicken to remind user of due payments. Available via Start -> Programs | No |
| bin32hpu | X | ppstub.exe | PrecisionPop adware | No |
| bingdian | X | Bingdian.vbs | Added by the BINGD WORM! | No |
| Bingo Charm | ? | charms.exe | Some kind of screen icon kind of like desk flag, but it gives you a choice of icons? | No |
| Biomenu | U | menusw.exe | Related to Sony VAIO - passwords, encryption, and a biometric fingerprint sensor | No |
| Bionix Wallpaper 5 | U | Bionix Wallpaper 5.exe | BioniX Wallpaper Changer - "the most advanced wallpaper changer/wallpaper manager software in the world" | No |
| BioniXWallpaper | U | Bionix Wallpaper 5beta.exe | BioniX Wallpaper Changer - "the most advanced wallpaper changer/wallpaper manager software in the world" | No |
| BioniXWallpaper | U | BioniX Wallper.exe | BioniX Wallpaper Changer - "the most advanced wallpaper changer/wallpaper manager software in the world" | No |
| BioniXWallpaper | U | BionixWallpaper5.exe | BioniX Wallpaper Changer - "the most advanced wallpaper changer/wallpaper manager software in the world" | No |
| Bios | X | Bios32.exe | Added by an unidentified VIRUS, WORM or TROJAN! | No |
| bios | X | bios.exe | Added by the BANCBAN-PW TROJAN! | No |
| BIOS XP Loader | X | [random filename] | Added by the RBOT-IC WORM! | No |
| BIOS1 | X | BIOS1.EXE | Added by the OPASERV.T WORM! | No |
| BIOVCIP | ? | BIOVCIP.exe | ?? | No |
| BisonHK | ? | BisonHK.exe | Related to a Bison webcam - which is used on notebooks from a number of manufacturers including Acer, Asus, Lenovo & Samsung. What does it do and is it required? | No |
| BitComet | N | BitComet.exe | BitComet P2P client - can be launched from Start -> Programs | No |
| BitDefender 12 | Y | bdwizreg.exe | Configuration wizard for BitDefender internet security products. Only runs once the product has been installed. Guides you through the steps necessary to configure the BitDefender modules, applies settings to cover your requirements and security needs and takes the first actions to making your computer virus-free | Yes |
| BitDefender 2009 | Y | IEShow.exe | Anti-phishing component of BitDefender internet security products. Anti-phishing prevents sensitive data such as usernames, passwords and credit card details being acquired by web-sites and E-mails masquerading as a trustworthy sources | Yes |
| BitDefender 2009 | Y | bdagent.exe | BitDefender Agent - for BitDefender internet security products. Maintains settings (for all users) and provides alerts and System Tray access to the main program. Note - for the System Tray icon to be displayed the Terminal Services service must be set to either "Manual" or "Automatic" | Yes |
| BitDefender Antiphishing Helper | Y | IEShow.exe | Anti-phishing component of BitDefender internet security products. Anti-phishing prevents sensitive data such as usernames, passwords and credit card details being acquired by web-sites and E-mails masquerading as a trustworthy sources | Yes |
| BitDefender Antivirus | X | BITDEFENDERX.EXE | Added by a variant of the SPYBOT WORM! | No |
| BitDefender Communicator | Y | xcommsvr.exe | BitDefender antivirus | No |
| BitDefender for MSN Messenger | U | msnmon.exe | Bitdefender anti-virus for MSN Messenger - no longer supported at the BitDefender website | No |
| BitDefender for Yahoo! Messenger | U | yahmon.exe | Bitdefender anti-virus for Yahoo! Messenger - no longer supported at the BitDefender website | No |
| BitDefender Live! Init | Y | bdinit.exe | BitDefender antivirus | No |
| BitDefender Scan Server | Y | bdss.exe | BitDefender antivirus | No |
| BitDefender Virus Shield | Y | vsserv.exe | BitDefender antivirus | No |
| bitdefenderlive | Y | avxlive.exe | Main program of BitDefender virus scanner/firewall | No |
| BitDefender_P2P_Startup | U | BitDefender_P2P_Startup.exe | Bitdefender anti-virus for P2P clients - no longer supported at the BitDefender website | No |
| Bittorrent | X | bittorrent.exe | Added by the RJUMP-D WORM! Note - do not confuse with the legitimate BitTorrent file-sharing client which is normally located in %ProgramFiles%\BitTorrent. This one is located in %Windir% | No |
| BitTorrent | N | bittorrent.exe | BitTorrent file sharing client - from BitTorrent, Inc. For more information about the protocol see here. As BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing client used to distribute large amounts of data between multiple users make sure you have good, up-to-date virus protection and check any downloads | Yes |
| BitTorrent DNA | N | btdna.exe | "BitTorrent DNA is a FREE content delivery service based on the BitTorrent protocol which brings the power of user-contributed bandwidth to traditional content publishers while leaving publishers in full control of their files". Now a stand-alone product where the user creates the download, DNA used to be included with and used by earlier versions of the main BitTorrent client. As files are downloaded via a file-sharing network make sure you have good, up-to-date virus protection and check any downloads. Start manually via Control Panel → DNA | Yes |
| bittorrent.exe | N | bittorrent.exe | BitTorrent file sharing client - from BitTorrent, Inc. For more information about the protocol see here. As BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing client used to distribute large amounts of data between multiple users make sure you have good, up-to-date virus protection and check any downloads | Yes |
| BitWare Print Monitor | N | bwprnmon.exe | FaxServe network fax software | No |
| BJ Printer Status Monitor | N | Cjstsr.exe | Canon BJ printer status monitor | No |
| BJ Status Monitor 5xx | N | CJSTRxx.EXE | Canon printer status monitor - where "xx" is different depending upon the version. Not required as you can check the printer status via My Computer -> Printers | No |
| bjcfd | N | cdf.exe | BroadJump Client Foundation. Broadband troubleshooting software installed by various companies. Not required and you can remove it via Add/Remove programs | No |
| BJLaunchEXE | U | BJLaunch.exe | Memory Card Utility for the Canon i470D, i475D and i905D photo printers - which allows "your computer to access the memory card reader feature of your printer" | No |
| BJPD HID Control | U | TVMon.exe | Related to Canon Photo viewer | No |
| BlackBerryAutoUpdate | N | RIMAutoUpdate.exe | Automatic updates for BlackBerry smartphones, provided by Research In Motion. Run manually when required | No |
| BlackICE PC Protection | N | blackice.exe | Loads the user interface for the BlackICE PC Protection (was Defender) firewall program. From the parent site - '(the user interface) starts in the "Startup" menu and adds itself to the taskbar. The user interface is independent from the rest of the system and only displays the output or reconfigures the system. It does not need to be running for the rest of the system to run.' See also LoadBlackD | No |
| BlackIce Utility | N | blackice.exe | Loads the user interface for the BlackICE PC Protection (was Defender) firewall program. From the parent site - '(the user interface) starts in the "Startup" menu and adds itself to the taskbar. The user interface is independent from the rest of the system and only displays the output or reconfigures the system. It does not need to be running for the rest of the system to run.' See also LoadBlackD | No |
| blads | U | blads.exe | A Tweak-XP component, blocks advertisement banners in Internet Explorer. Can be enabled/disabled via Tweak-XP / Internet Tweaks | No |
| blah service | X | winupdate.exe | Added by the GAOBOT.BIA WORM! | No |
| blah service | X | winsysengine.exe | Added by the RBOT-KI WORM! | No |
| blah service | X | internet.exe | Added by a variant of the RBOT WORM! | No |
| blah service | X | smnp.exe | Added by the RBOT.IZ WORM!
| No |
| blah service | X | msnmsgrr.exe | Added by the RBOT.PZ WORM! | No |
| blah service | X | tazkmgr.exe | Added by the RBOT.UA WORM! | No |
| blah service | X | FaLeH.exe | Added by the RBOT-AES WORM! | 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