IE task cpu extremely high - rampant background IEXPLORE.EXE

[dhomas trenn]

I've noticed over the past couple months (or maybe longer) that IE 6 (build
6.0.2800.1106) on Windows 2000, will often start slowing down my entire
system substantially. When I look at cpu usage in Task Manager, it jumps
around from low to often very high percentages like 80% for IEXPLORE.EXE.
This happens if I leave IE sitting open to any webpage and just ignore it.
After awhile the system will start to get really slow. If I then close (all)
the open IE windows, and then look at Task Manager, there will always still
be an IE task running that has no associted window (that I can find anyway).
If I kill that task, everything goes back to normal. I open up IE again, and
eventually the cycle continues. Leading up to the problem there are no
visible extra IEXPLORE.EXE tasks, but when closing windows, there always
ends up being that one stuck behind doing all the dirty work.

I've scanned my system with various methods and am pretty confident that
there are no rampant virii or such hanging around. But... you just never
know.

Thoughts?

 

[gsjutla]

Please scan again through http://safety.live.com

download process explorer from http://www.sysinternals.com and check for the
execution path of the iexplore task that you suspect.

Disable any browser plugins using autoruns from sysinternals.com. disable
any third party under internet explorer and explorer tabs

reboot and check if the issue persists

 

[PA Bear]

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting your hijackthis log
to an appropriate forum.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=5878
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://defendingyourmachine2.blogspot.com/
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.exe) is the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware with
assistance from an expert. **Post your log to
http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30, or other appropriate forums for expert
analysis, not here.**

If the procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.

 

[dhomas trenn]

I have thourugly scanned the computer as you described. And still nothing. I
also disabled browser plugins, and the problem persists. The resultant high
cpu usage task, does appear to be the real IEXPLORE.EXE, not a fake. And it
either ends up being a windowless task, or will go away when I close a
specfic window. That is, if I say open 4 browser windows and one of them
shows high cpu eventually, either closing teh windows of all 4 will get rid
of the high cpu usage, or after closing them all, there'll be one left over
that there doesn't seem to be a window for.

The problem seems to happen without there necessarily being any activity in
a window. I can open a browser, go to a website, do something there for a
bit, then ignore that window for awhile, and it may eventually start kicking
into high cpu -- or it may not.

--

dhomas trenn
founder, creative interpreter - young monkey
---------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.youngmonkey.ca/

Please scan again through http://safety.live.com

download process explorer from http://www.sysinternals.com and check for the
execution path of the iexplore task that you suspect.

Disable any browser plugins using autoruns from sysinternals.com. disable
any third party under internet explorer and explorer tabs

reboot and check if the issue persists

 

[PA Bear]

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting your hijackthis log
to an appropriate forum.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=5878
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://defendingyourmachine2.blogspot.com/
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.exe) is the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware with
assistance from an expert. **Post your log to
http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30, or other appropriate forums for expert
analysis, not here.**

If the procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.