Remove Program

[Sally]

I recently realized that I have a program in task manager that controls my
video sound on the internet. The name of this is flashmute.exe I have not
downloaded this program that I am aware of. Anytime I want to hear videos
like youtube...
I must go to task manager and end flashmute.exe.

Can someone please tell me how to remove this program? It is not in Control
Panel/add-remove, under any name I recognize. It only shows up when I do a
search of my file/folders. One is Flashmute the application in C\Windows
and the other is flashmute.exe... in C\Windows\Prefetch. When I click on the
program it does not open.

Today when I went in my Task Manager to end the process, there were at least
5 flashmute.exes

Can I just right click and delete this program in my search? and do the same
for the
file in windows\prefetch?

I have gone to the site for the program but it is slow to reply.

Thanks All

 

[Ron Badour]

Rather than deleting, I'd rename it by changing its extension, i.e.,
flashmute.bak. That way, if something even more undesirable happens, it is
easily changed. The file is probably being started at boot at one of the
run points so you would need to disable that as well. Go to Run on the
start menu and type: msconfig and hit OK. When it opens, go to
the startup tab and look for an entry pertaining to the file. Remove the
mark from in front of the files name. Click OK and reboot. A message will
appear on boot about using msconfig--just mark the box that says not to show
the message. If after a couple of weeks there are no problems, delete the
files you renamed.

 

[Sally]

How do I rename it? and do I rename both?
Thanks Ron

 

[Ron Badour]

I'd rename both. Find the files in Windows Explorer (you already know where
they are located), right click them and select rename.

 

[Sally]

Thanks Ron
I am amazed at all the things running in msconfig. Does this slow my PC
and how may I go about shutting others down?

 

[Ron Badour]

Hi Sally,

There is undoubtedly an impact on your PC's performance if you have a ton of
programs running in the background. Here's my standard blurb:

Cut back on the number of programs starting at boot by checking the programs
for an option not to load. You might have to double click an icon in the
tray (others might require a right click) and then look for preferences or
options. If you cannot find an option, look for and remove the program
from the start up folder on the start menu or the registry run keys (use
regedit.exe):

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\Run
2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­Run
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce
4. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­RunOnce
5. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServices
6.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServicesOnce
7.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce\Setup

If tinkering in the registry is not your thing, you can use msconfig.exe,
startup tab, to disable programs. There might be some double entries in
msconfig--be careful not to disable parts of your anti virus program for
example. My personal rule of thumb is that if a program is not used about
95% of the time when I start a computer session, I do not load it at boot--I
start those programs when I have need for them.

If you disable an entry in msconfig or remove it from the start up point and
the program loads again after a reboot, that is an indication that you
missed an option on the program itself. If you don't know what an entry is,
use google.com or check here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm Finally, after using
msconfig to disable a program from starting, you will receive a notice when
you reboot--just mark the box to not show the notice.

 

[Sally]

OH MY GOSH RON
I had not rebooted until just now but the fix did not work. Not only that
but the program has recreated another flashmute besides the flashmute.bak I
made.
Also when I did reboot a pop up says that my msconfig is running in
diagnostic or selective mode causing the pop up and utility to run on start
up. Says I should choose normal mode and undo my changes. Also when I go to
msconfig there is also another flashmute there. HELP

 

[Sally]

RON
I did reboot again and checked the box not to show the message however, it
still came up again?

 

[Elmo]

RON
I did reboot again and checked the box not to show the message however, it
still came up again?

It came up again because you edited it again.

Does msconfig show what folder contains flashmute.exe? That may give
some idea what program is adding it to the startup..

A search engine might help..

This result suggests malware:
http://www.threatexpert.com/report.aspx?uid=c683a892-a3d7-4226-bcbe-49001fcfd418

A link to information on the file suggests the file itself isn't
malicious, so it must be installed by the malware, perhaps as a joke, or
so the author can see results of his "work".

FlashMute (exe), from InDev - Software Downloads - TechRepublic Open in
New Window
FlashMute is a tool which allows you to mute/unmute Flash movies viewed
in Web browsers. The muting will not affect any other programs, so music
played from ...
software.techrepublic.com.com [Found on Google]

 

[Ron Badour]

Hi Sally,

This program is not behaving as described by the maker:
http://www.indev.no/?p=projects According to the blurb I read, the program
should be on the add/remove list and it can be uninstalled by using a
shortcut in the program's folder on the start menu or the add remove screen.
I do not like the fact that another flashmute.exe file was created when you
rebooted--that is what often happens when you have some sort of malware on
your PC. Note, I am not saying the flashmute file is malware--just that it
is acting like one. If you cannot find a way to uninstall this program,
then I would ask the author for help.

As far as the msconfig screen goes, just mark the box to not show the screen
again. Good luck

 

[Sally]

Ron
I have been at the maker's site. The program is not in the add/remove list
only the two files I mentioned originally except now they have duplicated
themselves.
On return to my msconfig, the program is identified as c\windows\flashmute.
It does not show in start/program/flashmute on my system.

Sally