winchost.exe?
 

I'm not sure what this is, and it doesn't really affect how my computer is operating, but everytime I restart my computer, I get the warning/error screen saying it's got erorrs and is forced to shut down. Since I DLed some unidentified stuff later was told that was a trojan, I was just worrying if it's gonna do damage to my PC, if anyone has any idea, please share your thoughts. THANKS if advance. :)

EDIT: It's actually winchost32.exe, and every time i uncheck it under msconfig from the startup section...it's miraculously rechecks itself again then give me the error message anyways.

I was unable to find "winchost32", however I could find "winhost32".

http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner...32/index.phtml

If you can't delete it due to permissions problems, reboot into Safe Mode and try removing it then.

There is also the slight possibility that it is a modified trojan. Search for "winhost32" yourself on Google and see if you can find some of the other listed virus files. If so, quarantine your computer and delete them all.

i checked again, it is winchost32.exe...and now there are two of them. and i couldnt find anything on it, i tried DLing a couple of anti-trojan softwares to scan my registry and hds, and found nothing, i also tried the safemode thing, but it still autoruns itself at startup no matter how many time i tried to get rid of it....i may have to format harddrive...again. thanks!http://server5.uploadit.org/files2/040104-winchost.JPG

Sounds like a trojan.. do you have a firewall like Zonealarm? See if it asks for internet permission. If not, I wouldn't format over something like that. It could also be something sneaky like spyware that reinstalls itself on reboot (like gator)

I searched my comp and was unable to find a winchost.

Try this. http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

i don't have firewall, and i doubt it's a spyware since i use ad-aware on start-up every time, i just ran the program you said, it didn't spot anything winchost related, just a bunch of errors generated from WinM player. :( i wonder what it is...they're multiplying.

Have you done a scan for viruses (and by this I mean a full system scan using something like Norton Anti-Virus)? A startup program magically re-enabling itself and the location of the winchost32.exe file in your registry are signs that you're probably infected. Winchost32.exe may not mean anything in itself - it's probably just a random file name created by the virus.

Scary...you use most unsecure OS and don't have firewall and then you wonder how your computer gets trojans
:heh:

I actually got the trojan by downloading a stupid patch off mirc from a random pm.... probably i'll call the tech support later. but thanks for the help. i'll just switch to my laptop for now.

*tip* if you run windows..and use mIRC..don't click random links..actually don't click any links at all unless you are 100% sure of where it is takin ya :d (especially if your default browser is ie...)

I have better suggestion...don't use mirc ;)

alternative answer?
 

hmm.. if u cant use msconfig to kill the file from starting up... i think i might have another way of killing it.... if you look at the location of the file in your msconfig, that is actually the location of the file in your registry... now if ur willing to go into ur registry i can help maybe.. and maybe kill anything else you got booting up in hiding.... run "regedit" and go into "hkey_local_machine", then go to subfolder "microsoft"
then subfolder "windows", then to subfolder "currentversion", then subfolder "run" in this folder lies all the commands that windows runs when u log in. you should find your winchost32.exe file under the name catagory. otherwise search through the data and find the winchost21.exe. end the task first in your task manager, then delete it from your registry and your msconfig. then reboot and that should solve your problem. this will also solve any other programs "hiding within your boot up and log in... not guaranteeing anything.. just an alternative i use sometimes...

hope this helps you and gL trying it out.. if u have any problems gettin this to work right or if i didnt explain it clearly enough just PM me here and i'll give more details or something...

try spybots
 

Try installing spybots and run it. Go to http://www.download.com and search for spybots. Hope it works.