Spyware, viruses, & security forum: Launcher.exe : legal process or spyware?

at http://www.softthinks.com .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"SoftThinks is the industry leader in Software Deployment and Recovery solutions.

Dedicated to providing state-of-the-art software to some of the largest OEMs in desktops, notebooks and tablet PCs, SoftThinks mission is to provide simple effective solutions to meets the needs of all OEMs.

Founded in 2000, SoftThinks has grown rapidly to support a portfolio of the worlds largest companies in the computer industry.

HP, Compaq, eMachines, Gateway, ViewSonic, Alienware, Best Buy, MicroCenter, Dixon, ZT Group, Seneca Data, Tatung and many more are part of the SoftThinks family of OEMs."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So it looks like it is software to do with the 3rd party trial and other OEM software that came pre-installed on your Vista computer. Which means that it probably isn't a malware infection of any sort.

However the softthinks site doesn't give too much away and says nothing about the launcher.exe program. Is there anything else in that C:\Windows\SMINST folder that could give a clue, eg a ReadMe, or any other txt file?

Mark

Hi Raj,

Yep it could be. If there are other logs in there for other software, and all that software came pre-installed on the computer, perhaps its an inventory of some sort to do with installing the software.

I take it this is an OEM computer?

There are possibilities about this launcher.exe. It could be a helper to install the software, or even a helper to launch any of the software already installed when you want to use any of it. Or perhaps it is a utility that checks on the internet for updates, etc. That 3rd doesn't sound likely to me as often the OEM software is trial software only, and so would not qualify for upgrades.

Is it in your Startup folder or just in the Start > Programs list? If it is in the startup folder, (runonce is a clue), then it loads at boot up for some reason. If this were me I would move the Startup folder shortcut to a new Programs list folder I created called "Disabled startup", then reboot and see if anything happens. But then I don't like unknown processes starting when I boot up.

Perhaps the virus experts here will have better information.

Mark

To find out IF the file is "good or bad" pls. upload the file to:

Jotti Malware Scan
http://virusscan.jotti.org/ or

Virus Total
http://www.virustotal.com/ or

http://scanner.virus.org/

..because: Prevx1 V2 2007.10.11 Heuristic

so, you are fine

thanks, Mark and Marianna.

I just wanted to say thank you, your reply was the first instance where there was any proof that disabling it or removeing would speed it up so i did and went from a 4min load to a 25sec load..... Thanks again

I've just bought an HP desktop and found Launcher.exe (in my Startup/Programs) that was used to launch a program that solicitate signing up for "Online Services" (such as AOL and others).

I guess in this context it is a "legit" program "implanted" by OEMs to launch certain other programs. By the same token it can also be implanted by any other people/software to launch whatever they intent to. That means the program itself is not a "malware", but the program it launches maybe.

Since it is a program that launch other programs, there ought to be a parameter or a list of parameters that are provided to this program to tell it what to launch - In addition to removing Launcher.exe from your startup\programs I suggest doing a "search" to find all entries in your computer that has the word "launcher", i.e. *launcher, and also remove those entries if you know what being launched isn't what you want.

Kim

I have a new HP laptop also, and after going to a suspect site,I have had my homepage redirected and can't fix it. All the scans come up clean, At first the virus protection found something, but got rid of it. This is the name coming up and it is NOT signed.Also strange things happen upon occassion

I deal with it in a simple way. I'd just move Launcher.exe from its home which has the path: C:\Windows\SMINST\launcher.exe to (another) data folder to mess up the path to the program. It can't be executed if it cannot be found.

If it is not in that path, you need to search for the word launcher* in your hard drive/s. Make sure to check and turn on "systems files" in Folder Options first (under "View" tab, I think) so it would not be hidden from view.

As for the Trojan virus just scan your computer with an antivirus software. Trojan is a "older" virus most antivirus software would have had it "covered". It's faster that way.

Happy July 4th!

Hi poohkt,

You're welcome, I am glad to be of any help.

Reply to question 1: Yes, you're right. I would move the program "launcher.exe" to any directory in C (D,E,F, etc.) other than "Program Files" or "Windows" where a lot of programs and Windows Systems files are kept. Don't forget to write down the original path just in case you may need to move it back in order to launch whatever program you may need at a later time.

On question 2: I found some information about this virus on http://www.viruslist.com/en/viruses/encyclopedia?virusid=211717.

There is no further description of it on this website probably because this particular version of Trojan Horse is fairly recent (10/07) and is not widely spread. You can find, however, general info about Trojan Horse virus on antivirus software websites like McAffee.

I think each antivirus software company has their own database of viruses which maybe different at times. Probably that's why some viruses may appear on one company's database and not on others.

If you have any reason to believe that your computer may have been infected by any virus, please be very concerned; back up your important data regularly and make sure to run your antivirus program periodically to spot and remove virus when they are detected.

Have great fun with your new computer!

Thanks so much!!!! After reading all of the posts, I still wasn't sure what to do. So, would you recommend disabling it until needing it for a system restore? Or just leaving it alone? I too am trying to clean up all the software that automatically starts on my HP notebook.

You can disable this software by downloading windows defender from the microsof page, install it, and you will find in settings where to disable a lot of programs from start and still keeping them there in case you need them, also windows defender protects your machine against spyware

You're right, I meant recover. I already have Defender, but noticed that it doesn't give me the option to disable it, so I think I'll just leave it alone. And I did make the recover disks when I first began using the laptop, so I would want to use them, thus this file, if ever needed. Again, thanks for the advice! Even though you might not be a computer specialist, like myself, you found the relevant info on the HP site, saving me and perhaps others time, which is often lost taking care of our computers.

To all the contributors to this post: thank you for helping me understand this issue. I am transitioning from 'User who thinks they're an Administrator' to bonafide developer. VBAUnit is next - wish me luck!

- J.J.