What/who is eating my data!?

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riscbroker

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I recently had to re-install XP, so this is a newly acquired problem. Some app is using data and I can't track it down. I disabled Win auto updates and antivirus (avast) auto updates, I don't have MS Orifice or any others that may be 'phoning home for updates/patches/whatever.

On 2 occasions today I have had an unwanted download process whilst browsing, so I installed NetLimiter to try and find out what is snaffling my data. Seems to be a process svchost.exe, downloading happily on my 3G connection at about 250kbps. Chewed up about 20 MB in total before I killed the connection.

Is this a virus or something innocuous application that I'm not aware of ?
 
It could be one of many things. Firefox just upgraded me on the sly, but you would only have found out if the process had finished.

Adobe is quite sneaky and persistent. Everyone has their reader program installed.

Svchost is generic. I found this:
I can understand your confusion with svchost.exe. It seems like it's a "mystery" process that continues to multiply the longer Windows is running. But there is good reason why this process exists.

Some Components of Windows, that are implemented as Services, are known as Programs (executable) and run the background. These Programs are known as stand alone programs.

Another type of program exist, known as DLL's, which are a library of functions, that can not be implemented as a Service and run in the background on it's own. Because of this, a program named svchost.exe exist to run programs, implemented as DLL's, as a service.

Still confused? Let's take a visual look and see what programs (DLL's) are running that have been started by svchost.exe.

Open a command prompt and enter:

tasklist /svc /FI "IMAGENAME eq svchost.exe"

The above command will list all the svchost.exe processes and display the programs (DLL's) that have been started by svchost.exe.
Click to expand...
http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-identify-what-programs-started-svchostexe-in-windows.html
 
riscbroker said:
I recently had to re-install XP, so this is a newly acquired problem. Some app is using data and I can't track it down. I disabled Win auto updates and antivirus (avast) auto updates, I don't have MS Orifice or any others that may be 'phoning home for updates/patches/whatever.

On 2 occasions today I have had an unwanted download process whilst browsing, so I installed NetLimiter to try and find out what is snaffling my data. Seems to be a process svchost.exe, downloading happily on my 3G connection at about 250kbps. Chewed up about 20 MB in total before I killed the connection.

Is this a virus or something innocuous application that I'm not aware of ?
Click to expand...


I had the same problem with XP pro SP1

Update to Service pack 2 and then 3

It will solve your problem
 
Sackboy said:
Is SP3 cumulative - i.e. includes 1 & 2?
Click to expand...

no, first you install xp which is service pack 1
then install 2
then after 2 , you install 3

but don't connect any network with SP1
its unsafe because remote excess was public
 
I'm using XP Home SP2. NetLimiter shows the offender as svchost.exe, process 1088 and gives a source IP that alters when I disconnect and reconnect. I've run antivirus check with avast, spyware check with Windows Defender, nothing found and still something is gobbling up my data. I've checked every application and made sure none are on auto update. What can it be?
 
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