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What are these??



 
 
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  #16  
Old April 7th 04, 03:53 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















Ads
  #17  
Old April 7th 04, 03:53 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #18  
Old April 7th 04, 03:53 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #19  
Old April 7th 04, 03:58 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















  #20  
Old April 7th 04, 04:36 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















  #21  
Old April 7th 04, 04:36 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















  #22  
Old April 7th 04, 05:41 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??











  #23  
Old April 7th 04, 05:41 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??











  #24  
Old April 7th 04, 05:42 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I can only suggest some detective work on the applications you have
installed, perhaps going through the setup disks looking for these files.
Conversely, you might try removing applications one at a time.

I don't know to what these belong, you've run virus checks and apparently
Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad Aware and they turn up nothing and Google
comes up blank.

Another possible way would be to simply start over with a blank slate,
install XP clean and then with each installation of any software whether for
applications or related to your hardware, drivers for example, check for
these items.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #25  
Old April 7th 04, 05:42 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I can only suggest some detective work on the applications you have
installed, perhaps going through the setup disks looking for these files.
Conversely, you might try removing applications one at a time.

I don't know to what these belong, you've run virus checks and apparently
Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad Aware and they turn up nothing and Google
comes up blank.

Another possible way would be to simply start over with a blank slate,
install XP clean and then with each installation of any software whether for
applications or related to your hardware, drivers for example, check for
these items.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #26  
Old April 7th 04, 05:59 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #27  
Old April 7th 04, 06:00 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you have

no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need to

do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??













  #28  
Old April 7th 04, 06:37 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















  #29  
Old April 7th 04, 06:37 PM
Ratan Maitra
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??















  #30  
Old April 7th 04, 10:54 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default What are these??

You are welcome, good luck.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks a lot Mike, for your painstaking detective work :-))

As these haven't caused any 'significant' problems yet, I'm presently
killing these two processes and manually preventing msthost from
connecting
to the net, after each booting. You have rightly observed, it is this
suspicious behaviour of ZoneAlarm setting for msthost.exe that drew my
attention to the processes running in the background. Moreover, neither
msthost nor altsvc appear in any start-up programs !!!

I'll delete these files and let you know the results.
Thanks again

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote in
message ...
I was doing some work in my Registry when I came upon a reference for
msthost.exe and altsvc.exe in a sub-key of Search Assistant. However, I
don't show them on my system as being located on my hard drive.

Why they are in your system32 folder I don't know unless there's
something
on your system that has placed them there. The interaction you describe
with Zone Alarm raises a red flag with me and it would seem to indicate
malware, possibly taking advantage of a registry pointer but you say Ad
Aware and Spybot came up clean as did AV scan.

I'm sorry, I can't give you much beyond this.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
There are absolutely no details except the file size, which I have

already
mentioned...
I have noticed one feature though, after each reboot, msthost manages
to
erase the "block" settings of ZoneAlarm and I have to block it
afresh...

Any other suggestions, please??

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)" wrote
in
message ...
These are not Windows files. You can try right clicking and selecting
properties to see if you can figure out to what they belong. If you

have
no
viruses or malware installed, they may belong to other applications
installed on your system.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike, but I do mean msthost.exe (817kb) and altsvc.exe (13kb)
...both
located in system32 directory..as correctly mentioned earlier.
I have the latest 4 April NAV update and run the scan regularly...I
have
also undergone free online scans of Panda and Trend....but nothing

was
detected.
I couldn't get any information about these two processes running in

the
background...


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User)"
wrote
in
message ...
If you mean alertsvc.exe and mshost.exe, the first thing you need

to
do
is
make sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Ratan Maitra" wrote in message
...
Of late I have noticed msthost.exe and altsvc.exe (both located
in
Windows/system32) are
running in the background. .....and msthost tries to connect to

the
internet
immediately after logging on..
What are these, any ideas??

















 




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