TaskManager - User listing

Hello all!

Went to check the TaskManager and found that there were no users listed next to the processes. The column was still there but empty, apart from System and System Idle.

Hit the Users Tab and no user (me) listed.

Restarted a couple of times but status quo.

Everything seems to work properly and I have ran NAV, Ad-aware and Spybot S&D with a clean bill of helath.

Anyone else with the same experience?

Thanks for Your time,
Christer

 

That´s exactly what I did, disabled the Terminal Service. I was told that a computer with a single user didn´t need that service and was actually better off disabling it.

I set it back to automatic and restarted. The users are back in TaskManager.

Now, what should I do, leave it at it´s default settings or disable the service as recommended by a good, knowledgeable friend of mine?

Thanks,
Christer

 

I´m not sure about this and it could be a coincidence in time but when I disabled the Terminal Service, Windows Messenger started to log me in at random. I was under the impression that I had WM under control but obviously not.

Christer

 

Johanna,
I´ve been on a short, well deserved vacation. It was only a week and the "well deserved" is my opinion ...... ...... ! The rest of the time, I´ve had my hands full, not only at work but in my own time as well.
I´m reluctant to start or enter a discussion when I don´t know when I get the next opportunity to check in but now, things seem to slow down and I can continue pestering the lot of You!

Christer

 

Just uninstall it.

Terminal Services: (from blkviper.com)
Allows remote login to the local computer. This service is required for Fast User Switching, Remote Desktop Server and Remote Assistance. You will not be able to view who is logged on to a particular computer by viewing the "user" tab located in the Task Manager if this service is disabled. For security reasons, disable this unless you specifically require its functionality.


If not using any remote access connections to a Windows based server or domain, then get rid of this service.

 

Don´t want that. I want to log in and use it at MY discretion and not at MICROSOFTS discretion.

I´ve "tweaked" the services according to his recommendations and he also says that the SAFE setting is MANUAL which is the default setting.

That was the recommendation from another friend too and I´ll set it back to disabled after a week or so when I´ve seen how the recent updates affects the issue with WM.

Christer

 

Fair enough. I take it that Messenger loads at statrtup and you only want it loading when you initiate it, correct? There should be a setting in preferences to disable it from loading at startup, else delete the reg value for WM at:
hklm\software\miscrosft\windows\current version\run or
hkcu\software\miscrosft\windows\current version\run or
use msconfig to disable it from loading at startup.

What exactly is WM doing that is not under your control?

re Termional Services service:
It is not needed at all for WM and can be set to manual or disabled. If set to manual, then check the services applet periodocally to ensure that the service is not started. If it is set to manual and it is started, then spome other service is dependant upon it and starts it, even if set to manual.

If you are not on a domain then there is no service that you need that is dependant upon Terminal Services, and there is also no service that you need running that Terminal Services is dependant upon (except RPC). Fast User Switching service is not needed for a single users system and for that matter it's not even needed for a multiple user system.

 

TonyT,

It loads and logs me in AT RANDOM. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn´t and YES, I´d like to initiate all logins myself.

I have unchecked all the appropriate check boxes in Windows Messenger, Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook (even though I don´t use it) and Norton AntiVirus.

There are no entries for WM in those registry keys.

Nothing in msconfig regarding WM.

Tony, if You had a way of anticipating the answer to that question, You´d never ask it ...... ...... see
this thread which I hi-jacked from mikenowo (sorry about that) and
this thread which I started myself.

Christer

 

Have you looked here?
I suspect that your random startups and logins have something to do with Remote Assistance. I'll bet you have one or more of these services set to automatic instead of manual or disabled:
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Secondary Logon
Help and Support
Automatic Updates

 

No, I haven´t looked exactly there but in other places with the same information. Preventing WM from running means that I can´t start it myself and preventing other apps from starting WM didn´t help.

My settings for the different Services are according to BlackViper's SAFE settings:

Remote Access Auto Connection Manager - Manual / Stopped
Remote Access Connection Manager - Manual / Stopped
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager - Disabled
Secondary Logon - Disabled
Help and Support - Automatic
Automatic Updates - Automatic

I have set Help and Support to Disabled but it gets changed when a Help button is clicked. I´ll have to quit that habit and ask You good folks instead ...... ...... !

I want Automatic Updates to notify me but I always download from the corporate site and install from the HDD. I think it´s convenient to get a notification.

Christer

 

Here's some solutions to the random and auto logins of WM that I found om google:

You can stop Windows Messenger from automatically signing in by clicking the Start Button, then click the Control Panel. Then, click User Accounts in the Control Panel. Select your
account name, and then on the left side of the screen, under Related Tasks, click 'Manage my Network Passwords'. In the window that opens, click the Passport.Net\* (Passport) entry and
click 'Remove'.

There's also a newer worm that uses WM to send itself out to others and this could be the cause of the random logins and av apps do not detect it yet, or could be a different worm that has gone undetected so far:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1424750,00.asp

 

Tony,
You may be on to something here!

I deleted the .NET Passport from my user account.

I opened WM and logged in. I was prompted for e-mail address and password, I didn´t check the box to log in automatically when I return.
Next, I logged out and closed WM.

A different entry in my user account had been created but it is no longer a .NET Passport but my e-mail address with a (Passport) within brackets after it.

I went back to WM and had to log in manually again. It remembered the e-mail address in a drop down menu but I had to enter the password. This time, I checked the box for automatic login.
Next, I logged out and closed WM.

The .NET Passport was back in my user account, alongside the e-mail address (Passport).
I deleted the .NET Passport and left the e-mail address (Passport) and will have to log in manually from now on.

If this really works (time will tell) then the mistake was made the first time I used WM when I was prompted to either set up a .NET Passport or provide an e-mail address.

Christer

By the way, I don´t think it´s virus related since it has been like this since day one when I installed XP (june 2003).

 

OK.
Hopefully this will work.
It's best to have to manually enter passwords anyway, it's more secure.

After reading about the .NET Passport some bells went off for me as well. I recently received an MSMVP Award and in order to login to the secure section of the MVP site I had to establish a .NET Passport. I had never had a need for .NET anything before and also uninstall WM immediately after any XPPro installs. I've discovered that I now have a .NET passport Network Account on my system which I will probably keep as the only thing it's used for is login at the MVP site. It does not remember my password but does remember the email address associated with the account. If I can still login at the MVP site after deleting the .NET stuff I will do so, but haven't tested it as of yet.

 

I´m a lazy bugger and my unwillingness to type passwords on my own computer may have caused the problems with WM.

When the .NET Passport was gone, I had to log in manually on Hotmail as well. Still being a lazy bugger, I set it to automatically login. The .NET Password did not reappear in my user account.

I still have to manually log in on WM which indicates that there is no direct link between the two applications.

Next, I will reenable Norton Protection for WM downloads and see what happens but one thing at a time so that won´t happen until I have seen that it (probably) works without Norton Protection.

Christer

 

Well, it´s been a week without any random logins.

I´ve enabled Norton Protection for Messenger to see what happens.

Christer

 

keep us informed...

 

It's been working well for three weeks now, no random logins but I'm still holding my breath ...... ...... !

Christer