Problem with Task Manager

[Justin]

My task manager will not run, either by pressing
ctrl+alt+del or by right clicking the taskbar and
selecting Taskman.

My guess is a virus or worm must've have somehow disabled
the taskman from running if ever I tried to end it's
process. But I've scanned my computer several times,
results shown it is not infected.

I've checked the taskman.exe in the windows folder and
it's still there. I tried to run it but nothing happens.

I've recently downloaded a collection of tweaking software
called TuneUp Utilities and used it to clean the registry,
optimize the system etc. Does this got something to do
with it?

I have no idea what to do. Any help is appreciated.

I have Windows XP with Celeron 1.10 GHz 256 RAM

Justin

 

[Rich Barry]

Justin, try a System Restore to a point prior to using the TuneUp
Utility. It could also be caused by one of
three virus. Compliments of Kelly's
This behavior can be caused by a virus. One of three:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.spybot.worm.html
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]
If this is not the case: Check your settings here

Taskmgr.exe should be listed in the %SystemRoot%\system32 directory. If you
cannot find the file, you can extract it from the Windows XP CD. To do so,
you can perform the following steps:

a. Insert your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM.
b. Click Start, Run, type cmd and press Enter.
c. At the Command Prompt mode, type the following command:

For example, if the drive letter of your CD-ROM is F, you can type the
following commands:

F:
cd \i386
expand taskmgr.ex_ %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\taskmgr.exe

If it is a policy setting, run this edit:

Enable the Task Manager (Line 113)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Restore Task Manager, Msconfig and Regedit:

This worm disables NAV, Msconfig, Regedit and Task Manager:
http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/virusinfo.php?menu_id=1&v_id=114

Rename regedit.exe to regedit.com then: Download then Merge the edit on
line 251 then delete all the files mentioned in the above link.
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

To use the Regedit: Save the REG File to your hard disk. Double click it and
answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right
clicking on the file and selecting Edit.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The type of behavior you describe is typical behavior of more than
one virus/worm, the three below being the most common:

W32.Klez
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Yaha
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Spybot.Worm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.spybot.worm.html

Because many of the newer viruses and worms, such as the
Spybot mentioned above, can disable antivirus applications whose
definitions aren't kept up-to-date, try using one or more of the free
on-line scanners to double-check your system.

Trend Micro - Free online virus Scan
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

McAfee Security - FreeScan
http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp

Panda ActiveScan - Free online scanner
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm


Bruce Chambers
--
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