I have XP... what is vistadrive.exe, and what is it doing in my startup??

[piesdelpollo]

Hi all, I'm new, PLEASE tell me if I'm posting anything in the wrong spot...thanks.

So here's the poop.

Comp started rebooting randomly, whenever it felt the urge. Sometimes before windows was fully loaded, sometimes after a few hours of use, sometimes not at all. Went into msconfig/start up to see what kind of nasties might be in there....found vistadrive.exe. Then I went a googling, can't seem to find anything concrete on it. Some say it's bad, some say it's good, some say there's a good one AND a bad one, some say the jury's out, we'll get back to you.

Also, out of the blue, before windows loads, I get the message "your password will expire in x amount of days...it started at 14 days and is ticking down. I don't have a password, I didn't set it up to need a password. Is this related to the vistadrive.exe thingie, or is it a whole other nasty?

and if part of getting a solution is to do the HJT thingie, could you please tell me HOW to do the HJT thingie...going through this sight was the first time I've heard of it.

well, that's it for now
thanks and cheers

me

 

[papercut_2008]

Taken from http://www.file.net/process/vistadrive.exe.html

Description: File VistaDrive.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows. Known file sizes on Windows XP are 280779 bytes (82% of all occurrence), 215845 bytes.
There is no description of the program. The application is loaded during the Windows boot process (see Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run). File VistaDrive.exe is not a Windows core file. The program is not visible. The file is located in the Windows folder, but it is not a Windows core file. It can change the behavior of other programs or manipulate other programs. VistaDrive.exe is able to record inputs, monitor applications, manipulate other programs. Therefore the technical security rating is 86% dangerous.

Important: Some malware camouflage themselves as VistaDrive.exe, particularly if they are located in c:\windows or c:\windows\system32 folder. Thus check the VistaDrive.exe process on your pc whether it is pest.

Hope this helps.

 

[piesdelpollo]

Hey papercut_2008

Thanks, I found that clip when I was trying to figure out what the heck the vistadrive.exe was. I still don't know...sigh....and I was afraid to go playing to get rid of it in case I mucked up legit stuff. I've had XP pro for 3 years now and I have never seen this file. It only appeared since I installed in a new hard drive about a month ago.

When I go into msconfig/start up, it's there...running....first thing on the list.

Can I unselect it without causing any problems? Will it even stay unselected?

Thanks for trying, I appreciate it.

cheers

me

 

[papercut_2008]

did you install any new software that might be "shady?"
you could try browsing to that file (vistadrive.exe) and deleting it.
i have no idea what that would do, or if it would do more harm than good, but it seems like it may help.

 

[raybay]

An infestation must be a major suspect. What have you done with spyware, antivirus, etc... and have you downloaded the latest version of HiJack This?

 

[piesdelpollo]

I've installed a bunch of stuff, but just drivers and tools for peripherals...printer(Brother), web cam (Logitec) keyboard and mouse (Logitec), but no programs, only thing that goes on my comp are Windows updates, and I am up to date....ARGH! <---Scottish for $^%&, and other uncivilized speech.

 

[piesdelpollo]

k...so this is were you get to laugh at me....what is HiJack this?????, where do I get it...what do I do with it....explain it like I don't have a clue...cause I don't....cause I don't. The only thing that I've done with spyware and antivirus is nothing....I have F-Secure...which I've just uninstalled so I can reinstall it cause it went schizo on me...does that periodically.

 

[raybay]

Use a Google Search. It is a very useful tool for evaluating possible damaging infestations. Free. Useful tool if you have to have our infestation Guru's take a look at your system. It reports most relevant situations.
Whatever you have could be an infestation, and it could be affecting even F-Secure. HiJack This will perhaps tell you... with the Help of Momok, Harold_Hopkinso, Miss Kitty, and others.
You might also do a search on this forum for relevant data and ideas.

 

[piesdelpollo]

Roger that raybay!....will do, and thanks!

I'll keep you posted.

cheers

me

 

[darth3pio]

The only example I have seen of this process is linked to Vista Drive Icon, uses about 916kb of system memory when you look at it in Windows Task Manager. The application is available from several safe locations the Wincert Forums (wincert.com) being among them. The purpose is to give you Vista like functionality in My Computer replacing the default hard drive icons with ones that resemble Vistas that are updated based on the percentage of storage that is being used up on each particular hard drive.

Here is an example of it running on my computer
img228.imageshack.us/img228/524/vistadriveexemz9.jpg

Unfortunately, I have just joined these forums so my posts aren't high enough to actually use bb code or html or whatever to display the image or hyperlinks (you will have to add the www on the front of that due to this forums coding and rules) but if your hard drive icons look sort of like that (some versions have slightly different icons), then this is what it is.