One missing svchost.exe process in task manager

I hope this is just something that happens, and not another romp in the park with malware or something. I open my task manager every time I turn on my computer, just for the sake of killing the process of the Carbonite preinstaller that came with the machine, as I'm unsure as to whether I can simply uninstall it. I've always had, up until this point, 8 processes of svchost.exe running in the list, but now I'm only seeing 7. Four were always listed as under the "user name" SYSTEM, two for NETWORK SERVICE, and two for LOCAL SERVICE. One of those listed for SYSTEM is missing. Our internet choked a while ago (it just kind of stopped for about a minute, then picked right back up again), which is kind of bothering me, and I'm hoping it wasn't something squirreling on here and messing with the system somehow. I tried restarting the computer to see if that would bring the svchost.exe back, and it did not. I did get a Windows update last night, could that have done it? Here's to hoping someone can lend a hand! EDIT: I feel I should mention that as of this particular moment, everything seems to be running fine; the computer shutdown, started up, and connected to the internet without a problem.

I did get a Windows update last night, could that have done it?

Here's to hoping someone can lend a hand!

EDIT: I feel I should mention that as of this particular moment, everything seems to be running fine; the computer shutdown, started up, and connected to the internet without a problem.

It is possible that a windows update may have shut down an item that was no longer needed, here is a good info on the subject that may give some light on the subject. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis…-is-it-running/

Just keep a watch on your pc to see if it starts to act funny, lock up's, poor performance or shut downs, if so then report back here.

Jimbo1

Hi mediaklepto,

The missing process might have had something to do with your recent update download, but as your PC is running OK I wouldn't worry about it.
The best setting for Microsoft downloads is to uncheck the 'automatic download' option and choose the 'Notify me but don't automatically download or install them' option. Microsoft updates can often be problematic.

CarbonitePreinstaller.exe file information

The process CarbonitePreinstaller.exe or Carbonite Setup Lite belongs to the software Carbonite Online Backup Setup by Carbonite, Inc.

Description: File CarbonitePreinstaller.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files". Known file sizes on Windows XP are 318,096 bytes (33% of all occurrence), 283,792 bytes, 294,544 bytes.
File CarbonitePreinstaller.exe is certified by a trustworthy company. The process starts when Windows starts (see Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run). The file is not a Windows core file. The program is not visible. Therefore the technical security rating is 34% dangerous.
Important: Some malware camouflage themselves as CarbonitePreinstaller.exe, particularly if they are located in c:\windows or c:\windows\system32 folder.

As far as I know this program is used for on-line backup, but apparently the backup is not encrypted. It's not part of /Microsoft Windows OS, so It can be safely be removed if you don't use it.

Cheers,
Lee