27 February 2010
Fixing mpsvc.exe and mpclient.exe
I found a solution at http://forums.techguy.org/malware-removal-hijackthis-logs/901616-cant-kill-infected-process-just.html and wanted to thank the original poster, but I’m having problems with my registration on that forum.
Well anyway, I wanted to put another post on the Internet about the issue. My dad’s laptop — an old one still running Windows XP Service Pack 3, came upon a situation where five instances of MPClient.exe were running and taking up 100% of the processor.
Deleting one would make it reappear again.
Deleting the parent process, MPSvc.exe would only cause it to restart and generate FIVE MORE MPClient.exe
The files are hidden, located in C:\Program Files\Windows Defender
but that didn’t make a lot of sense at all; it’s likely a fake, a spoof. I read elsewhere that Windows Defender is for Vista and above, not XP. So I think it’s just pretending to be something important to cause you problems.
So as per the TechGuy posting, I went to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx and downloaded Process Explorer. This free, easy-to-use program provides a much better visualization of the processes on your computer than the standard Windows Task Manager (which I use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to pull up, not the common Ctrl+Alt+Del).
I discovered that the MPSvc.exe was a child process of Adobe Updater. That is even weirder to me; why would Adobe do that? ….Or perhaps that was just another part of the malware’s trickery, to hide within Adobe, which a majority of computer users have.
Well anyway, killing the Adobe Updater process tree stopped MPSvc from respawning. And that allowed me to force-delete “C:\Program Files\Windows Defender” and the hidden programs in it. I also went ahead into ‘regedit’ and deleted any mention of MPClient and MPSvc from my registry.
Restarted the computer, and I think everything is fine now. Another copy of MPSvc seems to still be lurking around, but it is not spawning processor-hogging MPClients, so I think it’s okay. Maybe there is a legitimate MPSvc, so I’ll leave it alone until it causes problems again.
But yes, I hope this can help a few more people who happen to be experiencing this.
10 November 2009
Red Trillian
I upgraded to Windows 7, and my Trillian is suddenly red. I mean the Preferences window, which has had a dark blue background as far as I can remember, is now dark red.
Not sure if that’s just because of my new OS … or if Trillian is trying to say something to me.
It’s fully-registered. Maybe I should ask tech support. o.o
3 September 2009
Computer supply troubles?
Hey computer friends,
My PC won’t turn on anymore. It was running okay, and then I told it to go into standby. Well, it didn’t go into standby — it just shut off.
This had happened once before, and I just needed to fully cycle through the power (unplug, replug) for it to work again. But now nothing works.
After a lot of trial and error, I see that the green LED on the back of the power supply only comes on when I have the supply disconnected from the motherboard. As soon as I connect the 24-pin connector from the PSU to the motherboard, this LED goes off.
Random Google searches talk about issues with standby power … or stored static charge. Pretty sure I’ve gotten rid of any excess static from all the fumbling around I’ve done, removing modems and video cards and detaching/reattaching RAM, etc. But it seems the motherboard won’t accept the PSU anymore?
21 January 2009
International Saimoe League
Lately I’ve been putting a lot of my time maintaining and improving the International Saimoe League, now in its second year. It’s fun for me because I get to do some programming, and it’s related to anime, which is another favorite hobby of mine. In addition to HTML and CSS, I have been learning PHP, Javascript, and small touches of PERL while helping to develop the site, so I think it’s great experience.
Teamwork, too, I suppose. You can never get enough of that kind of learning, even though college puts you through a lot of it.
So if you’re a fan like me, please support the site and participate in the tournament!
12 May 2008
LostWinds is pretty
I bought LostWinds for WiiWare and love it. Spent 2 hours on it, and I think I’m 75% through the game. It’s pretty, though, and I just move a little fast. I did miss some of the collectible statues, though, but it’s a game where you semi-backtrack when you get new powerups to get to places you haven’t before. And locked doors that mysteriously open and close depending on plot progression. There are always new areas, though. It’s an entertaining game. Very pretty music and graphics keep the experience smooth and soothing.
Doodle 4 Google is cute
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJZ2WA8EClo
If you have a Gmail (or just a Google) account, you can vote the winner out of the finalists of this contest. Basically, K-12 students competed in drawing a new Google logo with the theme “What if…?” as it relates to the status of the world, whether culturally, technologically, or anything else.
It’s a cute humanitarian effort by Google … and also the most amazing business strategy ever. Look at all those kids holding up ad banners for Google. I mean, they totally just locked in millions of future users. Sucks to be you, Yahoo!.
9 April 2008
Bill Nye!
I got to see Bill Nye tonight. He’s still as awesome as I remember him from my childhood.
And I got to shake his hand, too. Rockin’
SCIENCE IS COOL
19 January 2008
A Friday day
My professor talked about how her flight was delayed because of some instrument problems on the plane. Everyone was seated, and the plane left the gate twice .. but came back both times after some short taxi-ing, because an instrument was reading 200 knots of wind speed when they were still on the ground. Everyone had to switch planes eventually, and what surprised my professor the most was that people were pissed about it. Here’s the airplane pilot, responsible for all the lives on the plane, noticing a safety issue that could endanger everyone, so he makes the right decision about it. But everyone’s all “It doesn’t matter! Just fly already!”She wanted to go thank him, but I’m not sure if she could.
In other news, rock candy is still popular with college students.
I heard that some friends were going to see Cloverfield at midnight. With all the hype about it and the big group that was going, I asked to go, too, lest I miss out on all the discussion in the days to come. Plus I need to teach myself to stay up late again; I’ve been feeling still gradually better as each day passes.Well I spent the evening photographing the Shana that my friend let me borrow until it was time to hit the theatres. The weather had turned to a mild sleet, but it wasn’t really snow-likely. Anyway the movie was an interesting experience. I grew tired, so the shaky camera gave me a headache sometimes, but it wasn’t bad. The ending was perhaps expected, but you don’t really believe it at first. In the end, the movie was probably just all hype. It was very unique though and worth a watch, just so you get the experience of how different it is. Although I never did watch Blair Witch, although this film is very likely way better than that one was.
One in our group said, “Whoa, I forgot I was watching a movie,” and I think that was what/all the director wanted out of this film.
Got back. My hallmate was still awake, so I got his new Canon Rebel Xti camera for a quick Shana picture or two. But the ISO setting was wrong. Eh, it was very late, and I was ready for bed. More photos with both my camera (Canon PowerShot S2 IS, a great camera but clearly inferior to the more expensive SLRs) and his camera tomorrow. Oh, but I did set up my second lamp, and it does make pictures look a lot brighter. It’s just that Shana’s hair is a bit translucent, so there’s going to be some glare.
