What’s Really Running On Your PC? Find Out With Free What’s Running 3.0

Regular readers are going to start thinking that along with my addiction to wine, women, and song, I must be addicted to writing reviews on Windows Task Manager replacements and the like.

This review is a little different though, since I’ve written it with the casual computer users’ needs in mind, rather than the more experienced user I usually focus on.

If you are a new or a casual computer user, What’s Running is a free application that can help you easily find what’s actually running on your computer. It presents a number of views, in a tabbed format, and each one relates to what’s really running on your machine.

Helpful definitions:

Let’s start with processes; the most basic concept – every program you start, or is started by the operating system, is a process. In the process view you can see all the processes easily.

Services are background tasks – keep in mind that a process can contain many services.

The modules are actual files with code and other data, that a process needs. Each process contains at least one loaded module.

Drivers are small programs loaded by the system, to handle hardware and specific system tasks.

IP connections are connections that your computer needs to make in order to send and receive data from the Internet.

Click on a graphic to expand to original.

Process View:

In the expanded view of this screen capture, you can readily see what’s running on the test machine. 52 Processes; 164 Services; 653 Modules; 48 IP Connections; 288 Drivers; and 6 Startups.

I’ve chosen to seek out more information on FWservice.exe by clicking on “Check info online, which returned the following from the developer’s site.

Each class of running component can be viewed in detail, by accessing the tabbed interface. Control functions are built-in by accessing the “right click” context menu.

Services View:

Modules View:

Internet Connections View:

Startup View:

Drivers View:

Snapshot View:

Fast facts:

Processes – Inspect your processes and find all the relevant details that you need. Get performance and resource usage data such as memory usage, processor usage and handles. As well, you get details about what dll:s are loaded, what services are running within the process, and what IP connections each process has.

IP Connections – Find out information about all active IP connections in the system. Get a list of what remote connections each program has, and find out what applications are listening for connections.

Services – Inspect what services are running or stopped and  find the process for your services and inspect its properties easily.

Modules – Find information about all dll:s and exe:s in use in your system. For each module you can find all processes that have loaded the module. Also you can find the full path and immediately open the folder where the file is located.

Drivers – Find information about all drivers. For running drivers you can inspect the file version to find the supplier of the driver.

Startup – Manage all your startup programs. Disable, edit, delete, etc. Manage startup programs regardless of source (registry or Startup folder).

If you are a new or casual computer user, What’s Running is a terrific application that will help you become familiar with your computer; what drives it, and in an overall sense – how it works.

Once you become familiar with your machine, you can then start taking action, including stopping and starting processes and services, and preventing unwanted programs from running on startup.

Experienced users know, that applications such as What’s Running can be used as an aid in tracking down malware infections. As a new, or casual user, it won’t take long before you have the ability to do the same thing (if you become infected) – once you learn to harness the power of What’s Running.

System requirements: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7.

USB compatible: During the install process, you have the option of a minimum install to a Flash Drive.

Download at: Developer’s site (whatsrunning.net)

Note: This application is classified as a Beta, but I’ve been running it for years (in one version or another – including this version), with no difficulties.

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RunKeeper Pro is FREE Until January 31, 2011 – Save $10

RunKeeper Pro, a hugely popular smartphone fitness application which employs GPS to keep track of –

• how far you ran
• how fast you travelled
• your running route – overlaid on a map
• and much more

is now free, through the end of January, 2011.

Features (from the site):

Activity Tracking – No need for an expensive, standalone fitness tracking device when you can use your iPhone 3G or 3GS to do the same thing. Now you can track how far you went, how long it took you, and the route you traveled right from your iPhone

Personal Dashboard – Store all historical activities on runkeeper.com, where you can keep track of totals and monitor your progress

Maps integration – See the exact path you traveled on a map, both on the device and on our website

Activity Sharing – Share your activities with friends via email, or by posting them to your favorite social sites, including Facebook and Twitter

Music – You can listen to the iPod during your activity, and even change tracks without leaving the RunKeeper application

iPod Integration – Choose one of your iPod playlists to start automatically the moment you begin your activity

Audio Cues – Get time or distance-based updates through your headphones during your activity

Interval Workouts – Create a workout built from intervals of time and/or distance, and let the audio cues coach you every step of the way

Target Pace – Enter a target pace at the start of your activity and get coached on whether you are ahead/behind that pace through your headphones

Geo-tagged Photos – Take photos without having to stop your activity. Photos are geo-tagged so when you view them on RunKeeper.com, they appear on the map right where you took them

Splits – You can see your split times in the app as you do your activities

Manual Activity Input – You can enter activities manually, including runs done on a treadmill or without your iPhone

Requirements: Smartphone – iPhone or Android.

Download at: RunKeeper

Having once been a running enthusiast (now, walking is much more my speed), I certainly recall the rather crude devices we once used to calculate running distances, calories burned, and so on. Back then, this application would have sounded like science fiction.

If running is your thing (and you’re a smartphone user), this application should help keep you on track.

I’ll get back on my soapbox (just for a moment), and recognize RunKeeper as one more mature software developer who’s focusing on the big picture – creating an opportunity for significant numbers of users to benefit from an application giveaway. Not 5 or 10 free licenses, as companies who are stuck in a Twentieth Century marketing mode, continue to do.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Look Under the Hood of Your PC with What’s Running

Regular readers are going to start thinking that along with my addiction to wine, women, and song, I must be addicted to writing reviews on Windows Task Manager replacements.

This review is a little different though, since I’ve written it with the casual computer users’ needs in mind, rather than the more experienced user I usually focus on. But, I promise, this will be the last one for some time.

If you are a new or a casual computer user, What’s Running is a free application that can help you easily find what is actually running on your computer. It presents a number of views, in a tabbed format, and each one relates to what’s really running on your machine.

Helpful definitions:

Let’s start with processes; the most basic concept – every program you start, or is started by the operating system, is a process. In the process view you can see all the processes easily.

Services are background tasks – keep in mind that a process can contain many services.

The modules are actual files with code and other data, that a process needs. Each process contains at least one loaded module.

Drivers are small programs loaded by the system, to handle hardware and specific system tasks.

IP connections are connections that your computer needs to make in order to send and receive data from the Internet.

Process View:

Services View:

Modules View:

Internet Connections View:

Startup View:

Fast facts:

Processes – Inspect your processes and find all the relevant details that you need. Get performance and resource usage data such as memory usage, processor usage and handles. As well, you get details about what dll:s are loaded, what services are running within the process, and what IP connections each process has.

IP Connections – Find out information about all active IP connections in the system. Get a list of what remote connections each program has, and find out what applications are listening for connections.

Services – Inspect what services are running or stopped and  find the process for your services and inspect its properties easily.

Modules – Find information about all dll:s and exe:s in use in your system. For each module you can find all processes that have loaded the module. Also you can find the full path and immediately open the folder where the file is located.

Drivers – Find information about all drivers. For running drivers you can inspect the file version to find the supplier of the driver.

Startup – Manage all your startup programs. Disable, edit, delete, etc. Manage startup programs regardless of source (registry or Startup folder).

If you are a new or casual computer user, What’s Running is a terrific application that will help you become familiar with your computer; what drives it, and in an overall sense – how it works.

Once you become familiar with your machine, you can then start taking action, including stopping and starting processes and services, and preventing unwanted programs from running on startup.

Experienced users know, that applications such as What’s Running can be used as an aid in tracking down malware infections. As a new, or casual user, it won’t take long before you have the ability to do the same thing, once you learn to harness the power of What’s Running.

System requirements: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

USB compatible: During the install process, you have the option of a minimum install to a Flash Drive.

Download at: Major Geeks

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Free Process Quick Link 2 – Improve Windows Task Manager

Windows Task Manager is a bit of a tease. Sure it provides you with some usable information, but it falls far short of providing you with the information that you really need. It is most commonly used to display information on all processes running on your computer, as well as advising you of the CPU and memory usage stats for a giving process. Additional selective information on running applications, performance, local area connection, and on users is also available.

Most importantly, from within Task Manger you have the option of selectively killing processes. But how do you determine which processes are safe to kill based on the limited information Task Manager provides?

If you’re a skilled computer user, it’s probable you’re aware of every process running in the background, the application or service that is responsible for launching it, and the function it performs. Better yet, you probably have the know-how to selectively kill processes to optimize memory use and trim your machine for maximum performance.

But what if you’re a novice or casual computer user? Where can you get the information on running processes so that you can make an accurate assessment on whether to kill a process or not?

Fortunately, there are a number of free tools available that will help any computer user, novice or not, to determine which process/processes can be safely shut down.

One such free tool is ProcessQuickLink 2, a small application (413 KB), from Uniblue Systems, the company which provides the indispensable process listing database ProcessLibrary.com, to the computing community free.

After downloading and installing ProcessQuickLink 2, the latest process information will be available to you directly through Windows Task Manager. Simply click on the Icon next to the process you are querying, which will now be visible in Task Manager’s process tab, and the ProcessLibrary.com website will be accessed where the essential information on the selected process can be viewed. The information provided is extensive enough to allow you to make an educated decision on the process.

If you’ve always wondered just what all those processes running in the background on your computer are up to, this cool little application will give you all the information you need.

Quick facts:

Instant one click access to process descriptions and advice through the Task Manager

Quickly and easily search 9000+ entries in processlibrary.com database

New process descriptions are added on a weekly basis

System Requirements:

Windows 2000 / 2003 / XP / Vista

Internet connection and an Internet browser

Download at: Uniblue Systems

Boost Windows Task Manager! – Free ProcessQuickLink 2

Windows Task Manager is a bit of a tease. Sure it provides you with some usable information, but it falls far short of providing what you may really need. It is most commonly used to display information on all processes running on your computer, as well as advising you of the CPU and memory usage stats for a giving process. Additional selective information is also available.

From within Task Manger you have the option of selectively killing processes. But how do you determine which ones are safe to kill based on the limited information Task Manager provides.

If you’re a skilled computer user it’s probable you’re aware of every process running in the background, the application or service that is responsible for launching it, and the function it performs. Better yet, you probably have the know-how to selectively kill processes to optimize memory use and trim your machine for maximum performance.

But what if you’re a novice computer user? Where can you get the information on running processes so that you can make an accurate assessment on whether to kill a process or not?

Fortunately, there are a number of free tools available that will help any computer user, novice or not, to determine which process/processes can be safely shut down.

One such free application is ProcessQuickLink 2, a small application (413 KB), from Uniblue Systems, the company which provides the indispensable process listing database ProcessLibrary.com, to the computing community free.

After downloading and installing ProcessQuickLink 2 the latest process information will be available to you directly through Windows Task Manager. Simply click on the Icon which will now be visible in Task Manager’s process tab and the ProcessLibrary.com website will be accessed where the essential information can be viewed. The information provided is extensive enough to allow you to make an educated decision on the process.

If you’ve always wondered just what all those processes running in the background on your computer are up to, this cool little application will give you all the information you need.

Quick facts:

• Instant access to process descriptions and advice through the Task Manager
• Quickly and easily search 9000+ entries in processlibrary.com database
• Free – new process descriptions are added on a weekly basis

System requirements: Windows 2000 / 2003 / XP / Vista

Download at: Uniblue Systems

Slow Computer? – Free Software Solutions!

There may be multiple reasons why your computer behaves badly and is no longer the speed demon it once was. The most common problems that have impact on a computer’s speed and behavior are listed here, with the appropriate free software solution.

In most cases, since a slow computer is generally suffering from more than one problem, you will probably find that you will have to resolve the issue using more than a single solution.

A Cluttered Registry

The longer you use Windows, the more cluttered your registry can become, especially if you regularly install and uninstall software. Many applications, on being uninstalled, leave behind “orphan” registry entries. They don’t remove all traces of themselves; causing problems such as sluggish performance, system lockups, or a bloated registry that takes longer to load on startup. The easiest way to clean your registry is to use a free registry cleaner, such as Regseeker. With the click of a button, Regseeker will scan your registry for these fragmented files, and safely remove them.

Download: Regseeker

Full Hard Drive

A full hard drive will not function efficiently. You require at least 2 – 3MB of free space for programs to run smoothly. If you lack this much free space, you should uninstall unused programs on your primary drive. A superior program to uninstall programs from your computer is Revo Uninstaller. This free program with its advanced and fast algorithm scans before, and after you uninstall an application.

After the program’s regular uninstaller runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, folders and registry keys that are usually left over (those “orphaned” registry entries we talked about earlier), on your computer. This feature is a definite plus.

Download: Revouninstaller

Not Enough Memory

It’s important to have enough memory on your computer to keep programs running smoothly. Current recommendations are that you have at least 512MB on your PC, although at this point, 1GB seems to be a safer bet (2 GB if you are running Vista). If you need to upgrade your RAM, check your local retail ads for sales. You can usually get a RAM upgrade at a great price.

Alternatively, you can run a free memory manager such as FreeRam XP Pro to free and optimize your computer’s RAM (Random Access Memory). The result is an increase in system performance and productivity. The application automatically configures itself for ease of use and also features advanced options and customizability. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike. I have been using this application for several years, and I am delighted with its performance.

Download: FreeRAM XP Pro

Too Many Start-Up Programs

When you boot your computer, there may be a number of programs that start automatically. These programs impact your computer’s available processing capacity and memory usage, and can slow it down dramatically. In all probability, you don’t need all of these programs to automatically start when you boot your computer.

AutoRuns is a free utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor and shows you what programs are configured to run during system boot up or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them.

These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure AutoRuns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Win logon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. AutoRuns goes considerably beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.

Download: AutoRuns

Spyware and Malicious Programs

The most common complaint about spyware is it slows down the operating system. As spyware accumulates on a computer, performance can grind to a dismal halt. Combating spyware starts with learning to recognize its presence and understanding its impact on system resources.

Recognizing when spyware is installed on a computer system and removing it promptly is the best method of protecting computers from catastrophic problems caused by spyware. There are many free applications available to help you recognize, control and remove spyware, adware, Trojans, and other malicious malware/programs that can infect and slowdown your system.

Here are some free applications that are reliable and I feel confident in recommending.

SpyBot Search and Destroy

AdAware

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

ThreatFire 3

Comodo Firewall Pro

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Get a Risk Analysis of Your Running Processes – ProcessScanner Free

Do you ever wonder about the processes running on your computer? Do you wonder if your anti-malware applications have caught all of the dangerous adware/viruses/Trojans that your computer has been exposed to, as you surfed cyberspace? Do you ever wonder if your machine is as speedy as it could be, or as stable as it needs to be?

Most anti-malware applications have a good, but far from a perfect record of preventing/detecting/removing malware. Since there is no perfect anti-malware application it’s important to be aware of the processes and services that automatically run in the background on your computer. Checking these occasionally, can help you in preventing unwelcome surprises down the road.

Because I’m a security freak, justifiable so I think, I’m always interested in any new tool that can assist me in keeping my machines free of harmful, or potentially harmful, processes or services.

ProcessLibrary.com (a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner), the company that offers what has often been called the world’s leading and most definitive process listing service available for Windows users, recently released ProcessScanner. This small executable not only scans your Windows computer for all running processes, but in addition tells you what’s running, what each process is associated with, and most importantly, a risk analysis of each process.

For example, do you have isass.exe running on your machine? Well if you do, your machine is infected with the Optix.Pro virus which carries in its payload, the ability to disable firewalls and local security protections, as well as a backdoor capability. ProcessScanner will advise you to disable and remove isass.exe immediately.

The information ProcessScanner provides you with can be useful in a number of ways. For example, I continuously notice on machines running XP Professional particularly, the large number of unnecessary processes or services that load on startup, which add limited or no functionally to the specific computer. You might be surprised to find the same situation on your computer where unnecessary processes/services are hogging your system resources and slowing down your computer.

This free service from ProcessLibrary.com can help you determine which of these you can turn off. However, be careful in turning off services. Turn off the wrong one(s), and you may find that you are unable to boot your machine. Spend some time on the Internet investigating which services are safe to turn off, or better yet read, Speedup Your PC – Turn Off Unnecessary Services in XP, on this Blog.

You won’t be alone in trying to determine how to proceed on any specific issue you are unsure of; ProcessLibrary’s forum contains plenty of help and information for new users.

Quick facts:

· No installation required

· Portable device compliant

· Fast scan time

· Identification of all running processes

· Threat level of all processes

· Free

If you’re like me, and you are always looking for additional applications to add to your security toolbox, or you are simply curious about what’s happening behind the scenes on your machine, then I highly recommend you download this program.

Processlibrary.com has been recommended by, amongst others, The Washington Post, USA Today, Yahoo and PC Magazine’s Top 100 Classic Websites.

Download at: processlibrary.com