anyone know any of these file names?

[Johnnymushio]

these are all start up files for my vista laptop.

i wanna delete some of them to make startup faster, but i dont know what these ones are. do you?

C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe

C:\Windows\explorer.exe (if i removed this, would i not be able to open windows?)

C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe

C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe

C:\Windows\AGRSMMSG.exe

C:\Program Files\Atheros\Wireless\Utility\WlanUtil.exe

C:\Windows\system32\hkcmd.exe

i know what some of these are, kind of. but if they are safe to delete at startup i dunno. i dont careif it makes the program start up faster later on.

C:\Windows\system32\igfxpers.exe

[thetestingsite]

C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe

I believe this is the initiation script for user logins and whatnot. A semi-important file that I believe would cause windows to crash if removed.

C:\Windows\explorer.exe (if i removed this, would i not be able to open windows?)

You could still open windows, you just wont be able to do anything. explorer is the main shell for windows and all programs.

C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe

That is your default antivirus or something like that.

C:\Program Files\Atheros\Wireless\Utility\WlanUtil.exe

That is for your wireless lan adapter.

C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe

C:\Windows\AGRSMMSG.exe

C:\Windows\system32\hkcmd.exe

Not sure what these are, but hope this helps.

[djr33]

WMPNSCFG -- windows media player NS [dunno] ConFiG, I'd guess.


Don't go deleting stuff you don't know. Not smart if it could be crucial to the system.

[Twey]

I doubt the Windows Media Player entry is crucial. The hkcmd.exe process allows user control of Intel multimedia chipsets (something like the NVIDIA control panel) and AGRSMMSG.exe has something to do with your modem. None should be necessary on startup (unless you use your modem, of course).

[tech_support]

If you delete something important, Vista will restore it. (Even XP, too)

[jscheuer1]

If any of those files are compromised beyond the system's ability to repair them by virus and/or malware, you are probably best off salvaging what you can and reinstalling.

Even an unimportant file, once compromised beyond the system's ability to repair it, can restore itself if deleted and then go on to compromise other vital files.

If any of this is relevant, you may be able to recover with the right sort of anti-malware, and anti-virus tools. However, especially with malware, the attackers tend to stay a step or so ahead of the defenders. The best defense is to not get compromised to begin with.

[Twey]

The best defense is to not get compromised to begin with.

In XP's case, that's rather tricky. Last time I looked, the average time of infection for a networked Windows XP PC was fourteen minutes, which is (usually, I guess someone could have a very fast processor and internet connection) less time than is required to download and install the patches that would prevent said infections.

[jscheuer1]

In XP's case, that's rather tricky. Last time I looked, the average time of infection for a networked Windows XP PC was fourteen minutes, which is (usually, I guess someone could have a very fast processor and internet connection) less time than is required to download and install the patches that would prevent said infections.

I guess I'm lucky again. I've had it since before that was the case and always keep it updated. Although, I'm not sure your figures are accurate. Speed of infection would depend upon many of the same access concerns that govern speed of updating to the current patches.

I also take prudent steps like not surfing with IE or using any MS software for regular web interface chores like email.

I do use Media Player for some things infrequently, but keep it updated. I used to prefer Win Amp (which I bet is much better than it used to be), but Player is really a nice piece of software these days.

[Twey]

Although, I'm not sure your figures are accurate. Speed of infection would depend upon many of the same access concerns that govern speed of updating to the current patches.

Malware tends to be a lot smaller than an OS update.

http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/ne...undup2005.html
http://itvibe.com/news/2834/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/secur..._on_the_r.html
http://www.crn.com/security/165700440

[tech_support]

You still could get your XP CD slipstreamed so all the updates are already on there.