xmlprovi.dll

Suddenly, smlprovi.dll icon pops up on my desktop for no obvious reason. I am baffled. Explanation, anyone?

Your post subject says xmlprovi.dll but in the post body, you have smlprovi.dll. Please clarify. I can't find anything on the smlprovi.dll, but entering xmlprovi.dll in Google shows it to be a legitimate file dealing with driver database. Is the icon a shortcut?

Your post subject says xmlprovi.dll but in the post body, you have smlprovi.dll. Please clarify.

I can't find anything on the smlprovi.dll, but entering xmlprovi.dll in Google shows it to be a legitimate file dealing with driver database. Is the icon a shortcut?

Sorry about the typo, it is xmlprovi.dll; I googled it, too, same result. But the icon is not a shortcut, and appeared without any prodding.

Well then I would run through all my anti-malware scans to make sure it is not something malicious. Here's a link to my canned text on Cleaning Out Malware. Use it if you don't already have a complete security suite and disk cleaning utilities to rid your system of malware and clutter. You can also use it as a guide to build your own security suite, and to help you develop a "Practicing Safe Computing" self-discipline.

If you are concerned about simply deleting that file, a trick I use all the time for files and folders I don't recognize or know what they do anymore is simply rename it. This has to be done in such a way that you can remember what to name it back to if something no longer works. So what I do is append the word "delete" and today's date to the file/folder name.

For example:

Old filename: filename.xyz
New filename: filename.xyz-delete-12-16-07

Old folder name: Folder
New folder name: Folder-delete-12-16-07

Then I leave it for a week or two (some times months if the file/folder is buried deep in the drive some where and I forget about it) and see what happens. Then next time I stumble upon it, I can see by the date how long it has been, and easily determine if it is safe to simply delete it. But if I rename it and something breaks, I don't have to guess what the old name was and can easily remove added text and be good to go.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I am using Oupost Pro firewall which is not supposed to let in any baddies, but mistakes may happen. I have run a gamut of scanners on the file; no positives. Now I have also run a search on xmlprovi.dll on my system. There seem to be three copies: 1. Desktop 2. system32 3. ServicePackFiles\i386 I am inclined to see what is on the desktop as superfluous, and do not like the way it turned up there. Conclusion: I am going to erase it.

I am using Oupost Pro firewall which is not supposed to let in any baddies, but mistakes may happen.

No, a filewall will block any unauthorized access attempts but it basically does nothing to stop malicious code being let in by you, the user. That's why you also need an anti-spyware program (which OPP has), an anti-virus program (which OPP does NOT have). It also does not stop spam, or popups, nor does it stop you from visiting sites your mother would disapprove of!!!

I am going to erase it.

That's what I would do. Then, if sure nothing else is in there you might want, I would empty the Recycle Bin.

Hi,
As well as Digerati's usual excellent and comprehensive advice, you could consider having a look at the files properties to see if they are the same as these here:

File Name: xmlprovi.dll
File Size: 50176 bytes (49 KB)
Extended file info:
Version: 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Company: Microsoft Corporation
File Description Network Provisioning Service Client API
Product Name Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
OS info NT-Win32
File Type App
File SubType N/A

The file is usually to be found in C:\Windows\System32, the dll cache, and its not unusual for it to be in i386 as well.
You could also submit it to jotti for a multi engine scan for further information:
http://virusscan.jotti.org/
Regards
paws

This is what I found on the file:

File Name: xmlprovi.dll
Product Name: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Network Provisioning Service Client API




Company : Microsoft Corporation
Product Version: 5.1.2600.2180
Part Number: 2180

Original Filename: xmlprovi.dll
Internal Filename: xmlprovi.dll

Product Major Part: 5
Product Minor Part: 1
Product Build Part: 2600

File Major Part: 5
File Minor Part: 1
File Build Part: 2600

Key: 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Language: English (United States)

EDIT —> Hey Paws! Great minds

(Digerati) "No, a firewall will block any unauthorized access attempts but it basically does nothing to stop malicious code being let in by you, the user. That's why you also need an anti-spyware program (which OPP has), an anti-virus program (which OPP does NOT have)."

I am belt & braces, very cautious with letting stuff in … but mistakes may happen. Using AVG antivirus; it has not found a thing in ages. Apart from the firewall built-in anti-spyware & being on the paranoid side, I continuously apply a number of other scans.

But this dll was just strange, so as promised, I gave it a Gutmann erase without hesitation. Same for the bin, of course.

Thanks to paws & Jacee, too; I thought exactly the same, i.e. system32 and/or i386 being the right places for this dll. But with it on my desktop, I did not wait to ask more questions before blasting it away. So, unfortunately, there is nothing to let jotti take a look at now.

(Digerati) "No, a firewall will block any unauthorized access attempts but it basically does nothing to stop malicious code being let in by you, the user. That's why you also need an anti-spyware program (which OPP has), an anti-virus program (which OPP does NOT have)."

I am belt & braces, very cautious with letting stuff in … but mistakes may happen. Using AVG antivirus; it has not found a thing in ages. Apart from the firewall built-in anti-spyware & being on the paranoid side, I continuously apply a number of other scans.

But this dll was just strange, so as promised, I gave it a Gutmann erase without hesitation. Same for the bin, of course.

Sounds good. I use and trust AVG AV too. You say "built-in anti-spyware" - built-in to what? Do you mean something like ZoneAlarm Pro that includes an anti-spyware?

Hopefully, this will not reappear on your desktop - reappearing would really concern me.

Oh, I just meant the anti-spyware that is part of Outpost. Thanks once again & All the best!

Ah, adding anti-spyware to firewalls seems to be a trend. FTR, I don't like security suites for there are just too many single points of failure that can take down your entire defense system (common UI, common update site, common databases, common development/update teams, common scheduler, and other common code). While a combined firewall and anti-spyware share several of those common points, a firewall and a file scanner are too different to share everything, so I made the exception for that. That said, I have recently abandoned ZoneAlarm Pro (their combined FW and AS) for Comodo FW and CounterSpy AS anyway so the point is moot.

Same opinion on security suites, but firewall + anti-spyware shield does seem to be a good idea. I have also recently gone off ZoneAlarm, briefly tried Comodo (causing too many problems on my machine), and finally opted for Outpost which has a very high rating. It seems to work fine, althoug it slows the system down a bit. Currently I am in a project involving frequent exchanges of sizeable Word documents, and majority of them seem to be macro virus-infested. Hard to do much about that except for the continuous clearing of Normal.dot. So I am looking out for anything even vaguely suspicious all the time.