[wendy k. walker]

Hi Everyone,

A couple of days ago I had noticed that something was maxing out my CPU so I had taken a peak in Task Manager to find out who the culprit was.

It turned out to be 'ieplorer.exe', which struck me as being just a bit odd as I didn't have any browsers open at the time. I clicked on it to end the task.

Now I'm remembering that that isn't the first time that this has happened. So my questions are: Is there any such thing as a browser running in the background? If there is, what would be its purpose for wanting to be sneaky like that? Is that something to worry about as far as my PC's security goes?

Thanks to anyone for any help.

♥ Wendy

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Could try installing a newer version say 7.0, or even use firefox and see if the problem still happens. If the problem is still there then it could be spyware or something similiar which has been picked up.

[mazuk]

Could try installing a newer version say 7.0, or even use firefox and see if the problem still happens. If the problem is still there then it could be spyware or something similiar which has been picked up.

[Ax238]

Hello Wendy,

This is usually due to malware and should be taken care of promptly at the Malware Removal forum. Please post an HJT log over there. If you are still experiencing issues once your log is clean, feel free to continue in this thread.

Regards,

Ax

[wendy k. walker]

Hi mazuk, Thanks for the reply.

I don't think that would help as whatever was going on was happening in the back ground, and I didn't have a browser open. I tried IE7 once and don't like it.


Hi Ax238, Thanks for the reply.

I've ran AV and spyware scans and they came up clean. But this isn't the first time that I've had occasion to find that I had an IE browser running in the back ground like that.

Guess I'll take your advice, Thanks.

♥ Wendy

[Ax238]

No problem, please let us know how it goes.

[wendy k. walker]

Hi Ax238, Thanks for the comment.

Whoa! I thought that the US mail was slow... I just got the notification that you had replied to this topic. I posted a HJT log on the 25, I think, but haven't heard anything from those folks yet.

Thanks,

Wendy

[Ax238]

Haha, maybe some server lag or some notifications got clogged in the internet tubes. I'll have to let admin know he should call a plumber.

[wendy k. walker]

Hi Ax238, Thanks for the comment.

Hey...I'll loan em my closet snake to undo the clog if it'll do any good.

♥ Wendy

[Ax238]

[Damien Kane]

Are you running any Beta programs? If not, and if it's not malware, it may be a bad hotfix from the MS site. Some other programs use the Internet Explorer technology to run - maybe a program you installed is also running - probably a spyware, virus or malware resident scanner, and is sucking the resources (uninstall the offending program will fix it).

Here's a few other suggestions, but TRIPLE check for malware and if there is none, here's a few other suggestions - can't guarantee it'll fix it though:

1. Use System Restore to a known, good configuration, or
2. Remove all hotfixes and updates from around the time you first noticed it, then re-install the updates from the MS site
3. If it still doesn't work, try a registry cleaner like CCleaner (www.ccleaner.com)
4. Maybe you have to repair your system - had to dig this URL out of the archives: http://www.informati...o...&queryText=

What else do you have on your computer, and what antivirus, spyware, etc are you running? These things are usually connected from what I've experienced.

[Major Payne]

This may or may not be related: Microsoft Security Update Cripples Internet Explorer.

This is the one to check as to whether you had it installed: MS07-069: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer

My two cents...

Ron

[wendy k. walker]

Hi Major Payne, Thanks for the reply.

If it was that update it didn't affect my machine the same way and the 100% CPU usage had only lasted for a short time ans seems to have resolved itself on its own but I'm still fighting IE problems by the basket full.

Those suckers seem to be operating in stealth mode now, starting themselves, and running in the background. It makes me wonder if someone has remote access to my PC.


Hi Damien Kane, Thanks for the reply.

Your suggestion #1 never works for me... the System Restore on this machine hates me and NEVER works. #2 is out cause I have no idea how to do that. As for #3 I run CrapCleaner every day to get rid of the unnecessary stuff. I run the registry cleaning part every couple of weeks too. Thanks for #4 its a good article but I don't have the setup disk to be able to use it.

Happy New Year Guys!

Wendy