Unfamiliar software on my computer

My computer has started acting weird - not shutting down even when the power button is used; starting up by itself when the power strip is turned on; and running very slow. When I went to the control panel and opened the add/remove function, I discovered quite a few programs listed that I did not recognize. I hope someone would recognize them and let me know if they are valid or not - All of them have a description similar to this - " Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB834707" There are over 20 of them showing with the same description except that the numbers following the KB are different. Can I safely remove these programs? Thanks

Hello fredrunyan,

What you have there is Windows Security Updates. In the case of " Windows 2000 Hotfix - KB834707" it addresses a security issue identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Internet Explorer and gain control over it. When necessary, Microsoft provides a new security update on the second Tuesday of each month and publishes a bulletin to announce the update.

So, to answer your question, No do not uninstall those updates. Hope this has helped you.

Regards, NJ


I suggest you post a hijackthis log so we can see if any signs of infection are present.


Please click Here to download HijackThis to your desktop.

Click the Download button. When the TrendMicro HiJackThis install box appears, double click on the HJTInstall.exe. Click on Install.

It will be installed by default here: C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis

A shortcut to the application will also be placed on your Desktop.

The program will open automatically after installation.

You can double-click the icon that was placed on the Desktop to run subsequent HijackThis scans or you can use the icon inside the folder. The folder HijackThis is where you will find the HJT logs that you save. When you use the application to remove anything, you will also find the backup copies made by HJT inside this folder.

Click on "Do a system scan and save logfile" When the log pops up in Notepad, copy and paste that file back here.

Most of what it lists will be harmless or even essential, don't fix anything yet.

Before closing HJT, please click on the AnalyzeThis button. Close the web page that appears and then close the program HJT.

ATTENTION!! "AnalyzeThis" DOES NOT mean "Analyze My Log". This function merely submits raw data to TrendMicro.