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Some places do seem to be making their free downloads harder to find, in an effort to get you to buy their commercial versions...

You probably downloaded a nasty there. Better look into removing it.

Thanks. I forgot to mention that what prompted this is my computer failing to completely shut down until I manually "End Program" for something calling itself sprtcmd.exe. Probably a nasty? Ghaaah.

SUPERAntiSpyware works pretty well. It found a bunch of shit that spybot didn't.

Is sprtcmd.exe spyware? No.

Not that you shouldn't have a remover anyway, but it's not necessarily a sign of spyware to have to end programs manually. I often have to force Adobe Acrobat to close.

Also, did you google the program name? Looks like it's some support software from dell.

Look here: Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites. Linked from Windows Secrets article on bogus antivirus downloads here.

Dell? Wonderful. I ♥ Dell. How do you put a strikethrough on an &-hearts ?
;-)
Thanks again, all.

Here's some different info about sprtcmd.exe.

There used to be a couple of good sites for looking up process names for PC programs, but they don't seem to be around anymore. The ones I can find suck. Anyone know what happened to the good sites?

Autoruns is the shit. You have do some research on what each thingie does, but it's really good at letting you root out things that don't really need to be running on your computer at startup.

I often have to force Adobe Acrobat to close.

Yes. Yes. I hate Acrobat so very, very much. I finally discovered Foxit Reader, and now my life is perfect. After downloading Foxit Reader, I lost 20 pounds, and my hair became naturally curly. With Foxit Reader, I no longer stumble for words, because my vocabulary increased by 48%, and difficult concepts that I might have once had trouble grasping now seem crystal clear. Food tastes better, flowers smell sweeter, and I have more energy than ever before. Get the Foxit Reader!

There used to be a couple of good sites for looking up process names for PC programs

I never use a specific site. But if you use the google protocol:

+"What is fooprrgram.bak?" safe spyware

You will usually find some useful anti-spyware resource site.

it's not necessarily a sign of spyware to have to end programs manually. I often have to force Adobe Acrobat to close.

You're right. Adobe Acrobat is more accurately described as malware. Ever try removing it?

<s>♥</s>

And I haven't even had caffeine yet this morning. ♥

i installed ubuntu and it killed every bit of virus and spyware on my computer, and hasn't let any back in almost three years.

♥

And I haven't even had caffeine yet this morning. ♥

That strikethroughed heart looks like an upside-down five-point star.

Hail seitan!
;-)

Actually, "upside-down five-point pentagram" would make the point better. Oops.

I like quonsar's solution. If I could get iTunes (yeah, no accounting for taste, I know) to run on it, I'd jump ship because I'm sick and tired of Windows and everything associated with it. I've always been a big Windows supporter and would have stayed so if they had fixed some of the ongoing problems with Vista, but they spent all that money and energy on making them much worse. Plus, if I have nothing to do with Windows, I "won't know how" to fix every man and his/her dog's shitty PC because "I don't know much about Windows".

Really, I guess it comes down to me being to lazy to change. My only real defence is that I haven't been able to find drivers for my RAID array with Linux.

WELL, SEE, THERE IS YOUR PROBLEM. THINKING THE MS/APPLE WAY! ITUNES SCMITUNES! DO IT THE LINUX WAY - DOWNLOAD CD RIPS VIA BITTORRENT. GREAT PRICE, PLAYS ANYWHERE!

HAPPY CAPSLOCK DAY!