[the_guitarguru]

A little help if you can...

When my PC goes into "stand-by" (whether with a screensaver or just sleep mode) when it resumes there are about 20 to 30 "helpctr" processes listed in the task manager that were not previously running... each when clicked says that the program is not responding... there is no evidence of the Help and Support Center being active... what causes this and how can I best solve it?

The only files I can find for "helpctr.exe" are located in the "PCHealth" folder in Windows directory...

Any help would be appreciated... Thanks!



"I had a few things they didn't - like a teaspoon and an open mind."

[pip22]

Multiple instances of helpctr.exe could be an indication of spyware or some other form of intrusion. Although it's normally a genuine executable file which runs Windows Help, trojans and other nasties often are given genuine filenames to prevent visual detection. I would run a couple of good, updated spyware scanners:
Spybot Search and Destroy http://www.safer-net...g/en/index.html

and SpywareBlaster: http://www.javacools...areblaster.html

remove everything they find, and if no change to your problem you should install and run HijackThis:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/

Don't 'fix' anything with it at this stage. Just create a log-file with it and post on the 'malware and hijackthis logs' forum for advice on how to proceed.

Even if my suspicions are wrong, the possibility I may be right needs investigating with the tools I have mentioned.