http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-svchostexe-and-why-is-it-running/

You are no doubt reading this article because you are wondering why on earth there are nearly a dozen processes running with the name svchost.exe. You can’t kill them, and you don’t remember starting them… so what are they?

So What Is It?

According to Microsoft: “svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries”. Could we have that in english please?

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can’t launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you’ve ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

So What Can I Do About It?

You can trim down unneeded services by disabling or stopping the services that don’t absolutely need to be running. Additionally, if you are noticing very heavy CPU usage on a single svchost.exe instance you can restart the services running under that instance.

The biggest problem is identifying what services are being run on a particular svchost.exe instance… we’ll cover that below.

If you are curious what we’re talking about, just open up Task Manager and check the “Show processes from all users” box:

Checking From the Command Line (Vista or XP)

If you want to see what services are being hosted by a particular svchost.exe instance, you can use the tasklist command from the command prompt in order to see the list of services.

tasklist /SVC

The problem with using the command line method is that you don’t necessarily know what these cryptic names refer to.

Checking in Task Manager in Vista

You can right-click on a particular svchost.exe process, and then choose the “Go to Service” option.

This will flip over to the Services tab, where the services running under that svchost.exe process will be selected:

The great thing about doing it this way is that you can see the real name under the Description column, so you can choose to disable the service if you don’t want it running.

Using Process Explorer in Vista or XP

You can use the excellent Process Explorer utility from Microsoft/Sysinternals to see what services are running as a part of a svchost.exe process.

Hovering your mouse over one of the processes will show you a popup list of all the services:

Or you can double-click on a svchost.exe instance and select the Services tab, where you can choose to stop one of the services if you choose.

Disabling Services

Open up Services from the administrative tools section of Control Panel, or type services.msc into the start menu search or run box.

Find the service in the list that you’d like to disable, and either double-click on it or right-click and choose Properties.

Change the Startup Type to Disabled, and then click the Stop button to immediately stop it.

 

You could also use the command prompt to disable the service if you choose. In this command “trkwks” is the Service name from the above dialog, but if you go back to the tasklist command at the beginning of this article you’ll notice you can find it there as well.

sc config trkwks start= disabled

Hopefully this helps somebody!

50 Top Computing Tips

Whether you’re looking to fix what’s broken, speed up what’s slow, or just tweak for fun, our Tip of the Day can help. Here are 50 of the most popular tips from the past year.

Source:  PC Magazine Staff

 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2201874,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03129TX1K0000625

 

1. Outsmarting Keyloggers
Keyloggers can thrive on public terminals and PCs, feasting on the passwords and personal info you type in. Here’s how to outwit this type of spy software.

2. The Ultimate Upgrade Guide
Looking to upgrade your PC instead of investing in a whole new rig? This upgrade guide offers strategies and suggestions about what to buy and build.

3. Protect Your Passwords
If you’re logging in using one of the 10 most common passwords, you need to change your ways, or you may face a breach in security. Protect your login with these guidelines for coming up with a safe password that you might even be able to remember.

4. Upgrading to USB 2.0
A reader writes:
“I have an old laptop that supports only USB 1.1. Is it possible to change it to USB 2.0 without changing the hardware?”

5. Google Tip: Use a Colon
Here’s an easy trick for making your search queries more precise, so you can get exactly what you’re looking for.

6. The Best Free Software
Most software is expensive and bloated, while free software typically does one task and does it with precision and elegance. Among the thousands of free apps available on the Web, we’ll show you the best, most reliable ones for your needs.

7. Virtual Memory Low—What to Do?
What should you do when you get that vexing message that your computer’s virtual memory is low? It’s an easy tweak, and you’ll find it here.

8. Hacking XP
If Windows XP finally has you mad enough to buy a MacBook, this is the story for you. We’ve got 11 hacks that can get your computer running faster, increase your productivity, and make Windows a little less annoying.

9. Speed Up Windows XP
Does it ever seem as if the little squirrels inside your computer aren’t racing fast enough on their conveyor belt? Yeah, we’ve been there, too. Memory-hogging start-up programs, a hard drive that has not been defragged since a Democrat was in the White House, and that one nasty spyware app—all of them can really bog down Microsoft Windows XP. Want to speed things up? We’ll show you how.

10. How to Unlock Your Phone
Many Americans are fed up with their cell provider’s lame handset selection. Show your carrier a thing or two by going with a cool unlocked phone that answers to no one except you. Read on to unlock the secret.

11. Dangerous Searches
Some seemingly safe and simple searches can actually make your computer vulnerable to malware. What should you be wary about typing in to that Google search box? Read this tip to find out.

12. Missing DLL Balks Install
A reader writes:
“Sometimes when I try to install a program, I receive a message that reads ‘Unable to locate component: this application has failed to start because framedyn.dll was not found. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.’ But when I reinstall, the problems keep on coming.”

We can help you fix that.

13. Make a Bootable USB Key
What do you do when your computer won’t boot, your most recent backup is three months old, and you don’t have an emergency CD? What if you’re using a laptop that doesn’t even have a CD drive? Kiss your data goodbye—or read this tip for another answer.

14. De-Clutter Your Inbox
Is your e-mail inbox a mess? Are you drowning in junk? We’ll show you how to delete it, defer it, and delegate it.

15. Undiscovered Computing Websites
When you feel like geeking out, after you’ve read everything at PCMag.com, head over to these great computing sites for inside info, tips, and tech news.

16. Cover Your Tracks Online
You’ve got nothing to hide, right? Then you should have no issue with search engines storing your data! …Feeling a little uncomfortable with that prospect? Read today’s tip to learn how to keep yourself at least somewhat anonymous with the most popular search engine, Google.

17. Shortcut to Open a Window Maximized
A reader writes:
“When I open any Windows application, it opens in either half or three-quarters of the screen. How can I make all my applications open in maximized form? And how can I quickly maximize any window from the keyboard?” Here’s our expert advice.

18. The Worst PCs
Shopping for a PC these days can be overwhelming. We’ve reviewed a ton of laptops and desktops in the past year or so, and we’ve seen the good, the bad and the worse. So, to help you narrow down your options, we’ve pulled together a list of the PCs you should avoid—don’t go shopping without it!

19. Before You Give Away Your Old PC
When you get a new computer, odds are that you don’t simply throw away your old one. You may tuck it away in the closet, or set it up elsewhere in the house as a “backup” PC but never use it. You may have considered giving your old PC away to a family member, or perhaps to someone who can’t afford a new computer (needy students are everywhere). Before you send your machine to a new home, read this tip to make sure it arrives in the best condition.

20. Make a Recovery Partition
If you’ve ever reformatted your hard drive, reinstalled Microsoft Windows, reloaded all your applications, and reset all your settings, you know what a time-consuming and generally heinous process it can be. We’ve got some steps you can take to make the process slightly less painful.

21. Still Haven’t Adjusted for Daylight Saving Time?
Is your PC’s clock still an hour off? Find out how to fix it here.

22. What Not to Buy for the Holidays
Great news! There are more ways than ever to screw up your holiday purchases. Lance Ulanoff shared some of his tech-shopping secrets last year, and his words are still applicable 12 months later.

23. Internet Explorer Sluggish at Start
A reader writes:
“I have a broadband Internet connection. Every time I try to open Internet Explorer, there is a long delay while it searches for proxy settings. I get a message “Detecting Proxy Settings.” I don’t use any proxy. My response is just to wait. After about 30 to 60 seconds, IE opens up. How can I solve this problem?” Here’s how.

24. Side-by-Side Instances of Windows Explorer
A reader writes:
“I often need to move files and have found that the best way to do it is to open two instances of Windows Explorer and then size them so they fit side by side on the screen. It’s cumbersome to go through the motions of opening one instance of Explorer, sizing it, opening another instance, and sizing that one. Is there any utility or program that can do this automatically?” Yup, and we’ll show you what to do.

25. Utility Superguide
Oddly enough, no one has come up with the perfect PC with the perfect operating system and the perfect applications that make everyone happy all the time. Crazy world. That’s why we turn to utilities, from the little ones that show you the weather forecast and keep you from making common e-mail faux pas to the far bigger ones that search your system at the speed of thought and back up your hard drive. Read this tip for all our recommendations on the most useful utilities.

26. Handy Keyboard Shortcuts
We all know a few keyboard shortcuts—Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Alt-Tab—that make our life and work easier. The PC Magazine staff has collected a few that you might not know in this tip.

27. The Best and Worst Firefox Extensions
One of the best things about that little upstart Web browser, Firefox, is how easy it is to customize it with extensions to enhance your productivity, or just to have a little more fun. You can use them to block annoying popup ads, find out your local weather forecast, and a lot more. We’ve got a collection of some of our favorites to get you started.

Top 15 Firefox Extensions

Even More Mozilla Firefox Extensions

And, of course, not all extensions are created equal… we’ve also found more than a few that have left us scratching our heads at just what possible purpose they could serve. But, hey, if someone wants to turn their stop button into MC Hammer, who are we to say no? Check out that weird extension, and nine more, in our Top 10 Useless Firefox Extensions roundup.

28. Toss Your Tapes
For most of us, the cassette-tape collection went into shoeboxes years ago. It’s time to dig out those forgotten gems for digitization—and make room for CDs in the shoebox!

29. Turn Off Hidden Shares
With all the attention that spyware, phishing, e-mails, and corporate hackers get on any given day, we mustn’t forget that good ol’ Windows itself can be the source of a security hole. It turns out that Vista has a back door that could permit someone else to read any file on your hard drive, and the same problem exists in Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP. We’ve got a way to get around it here.

30. What to Do With An .iso File
A reader writes:
“I downloaded Vista from the Microsoft Web site, and I can’t find installation instructions. The file extension is .iso, so it’s not an executable. I tried using the Run command and the install from Add/Remove Programs, but they won’t run it. What do I do to make this file run?” We’ll show you in this tip.

31. Is This Processor Fast Enough?
A reader writes: “I am looking at buying a new computer, and I like everything that I’ve seen about the HP Pavilion DV9005US, except that the processor speed is 1.6 GHz. Is this adequate? Should I try to stay over 2.0 GHz?” Here’s your answer.

32. Updates for a Sloooow Computer
It’s important to keep your system updated, but what if you’re stuck behind a dialup connection? This tip has an answer for handling those big downloads.

33. Beware Windows Hactivation Threat
This threat masquerades itself as the Microsoft Windows activation interface. Read this tip to learn how to recognize this Trojan horse, and how to remove it should you get infected.

34. Sending E-mail Without Your Server
Sometimes it’s handy to be able to send mail without your mail client or server. Learn how here.

35. IE Favorites in Alphabetical Order
A reader writes:
“Can I configure Internet Explorer to arrange the Favorites menu in alphabetical order automatically? Or must I do the arranging of the items manually?” We’ll show you how to rearrange your Favorites menu.

36. Google Tip: Calculate!
Why do math when you have the Internet? This tip shows you a quick way to do calculations and conversions using Google.

37. Customize Your Drive Icons
In the early 1980s, when the computer revolution brought us removable storage media, all we had to worry about was two floppy drives—A: and B:. By the late 1980s, the advent of consumer hard drives eliminated the need for swapping those 5.25-inch disks, but we had another drive letter, C:, to contend with. Since then, the alphabet soup has boiled over, but in today’s tip, we’ve got a solution for keeping things straight.

38. Which Wireless Router is Right For Me?
A reader writes:
“I have just switched from dial-up to DSL service rated at 3 Mbps for four computers in my home. The ads for wireless routers and adapters show “g” and “n” versions at speeds much higher than the DSL’s rated speed. What will “n” (at twice the price) do for me that “g” equipment will not? We use our PCs predominantly for e-mail, Web surfing, and sending/receiving photos.” Here’s what 802.11n can (and can’t) do.

39. Is Mysterious MFE Malicious?
A reader finds that his e-mail software is changing all instances of his name to the mysterious phrase MFEMFEM. Is this a sign of something malicious? Read this tip for the answer.

40. How to Hack Everything!
Want to upgrade your iPod? How about boosting your Wi-Fi? In this tip, we’ve got over 40 cheap ways to help you get more from your gear.

41. A Hot Tip for Firefox Users
Morning Coffee, a handy Firefox extension, helps streamline your morning surfing rituals. Check it out here.

42. Kiss Those Cables Goodbye?
Organize your desk, unclutter your office, even stream video wirelessly! If you want to get away from those tangles of cords and cables, here’s what you need to know now about new wireless technologies.

43. 59 Ways to Supercharge Windows
With our 15th Annual Utility Guide, we highlight 59 tools that instantly improve Windows (including Vista). We’ve got everything from browser boosters to widgets, and you’ll find them all here.

44. Sync Folders the Easy Way
What’s the easiest way to keep your USB thumbdrive in sync with a folder on your desktop? Forget the Windows Briefcase—it’s old, clunky, and hard to use. Instead, check out this 3-minute video tip for a far easier way, using a secret Microsoft utility that you can download for free.

45. From Video to DVD
This tip will show you how to convert your old videotapes to DVD before they deteriorate.

46. Adding USB
A reader writes:
“I have an older laptop with only one USB port, yet I need to manage a memory stick and two other USB devices through that one port. I need a solution that won’t block other ports on the back of the laptop. What’s the easiest solution?” We share our answer in this tip.

47. From VCR to DVD: Update Your Oldies
With the VCR approaching extinction, this is a very good time—maybe even an essential one—to convert your old VHS tapes to DVD. We’ve got a guide to what you need, and what you need to do.

48. The Best Download and DIY Websites
As part of our Top 100 Undiscovered Websites, we’re bringing you sites that can help, whether you’re hunting for a DLL file, the perfect font, or an invite to that hot new beta Web service.

49. Top 100 Classic Web Sites
We’ve put together our yearly list of the best sites the Internet has to offer. In our collection of classic sites, you’ll find a lot of old favorites that can teach you more about tech, the world, and even let you have a little fun.

50. Protect Your Identity
People take risks online with their identity that they’d never dream of taking in the real world. We’ve gathered 12 tips and 3 apps that can help you keep you safe.

Source: http://freelanceswitch.com/humour/15-web-addresses-for-wasting-time-view-at-your-own-risk/

15 Web Addresses for Wasting Time … View At Your Own Risk!

There’s a lot of articles around about how to make your time more productive. But some days I really don’t want to be productive, and while I should get off my chair and go outside instead I find myself killing time online.

Here are a few of my favourite web addresses for wasting time. (Got your own favourites? Comment them!)

1. MyGame
http://www.mygame.com/
Create your own games and play them with just a photo and some free time

2. Fuzzwich
http://www.fuzzwich.com/minivid/minivid.php
Make hilarious cartoons with Fuzzwich’s video making machine. Complete with music, backgrounds and actors…

3. Strip Generator
http://stripgenerator.com/
Similar to Fuzzwich, strip generator gives you everything you need to make amusing cartoon strips of your very own. You can even “strip blog” which isn’t nearly as risque as it sounds.

4. Url-a-dex
http://www.urladex.com/
Fight for fame and glory by buying and selling shares of websites. Not sure if this is a ‘do something’ or ‘play something’, probably a little in between. The site uses Alexa rankings which everyone knows are somewhat arbitrary which makes it that much more realistic I suppose.

5. Duels
http://www.duels.com/
It’s like Magic the Gathering but online and very, very addictive. Approach with caution!

6. Desktop Tower Defence
http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/game.asp
If you haven’t played DTD you may have been living under a rock. It’s so simple, yet so blindingly addictive. When you find yourself watching videos on YouTube to understand how to top score you know you’ve gone too far.

7. Kongregate
http://www.kongregate.com/
It’s the home of everything gamey, witht 1345 flash games and lots of community, kongregate is games 2.0

8. WeeWar
http://weewar.com
Designer cool meets pixel gaming. Weewar is a round based strategy game that is well wortth seeing.

9. Stackopolis
http://www.stackopolis.com/
A bizarre combination of pixel graphics, tetris and neatness won this little game a webby!

10. Mansion Impossible
http://3form.net/mansion_impossible/
Like property, but too cheap to actually buy any? … fear not with Mansion Impossible you can waste time and get rich … sorta.

11. Kottke’s List
Need More? Try Kottke’s list of addictive online games – http://www.kottke.org/06/12/addictive-little-online-games

12. Newgrounds
http://www.newgrounds.com/
The grand-daddy of Flash movies and games, newgrounds would take years to traverse properly, so there is no way you won’t find something interesting to watch (or play)

13. Trailers on Apple
http://apple.com/trailers
The only drawback to watching trailers is that when you go the cinema the ones before the movie aren’t nearly as exciting as they used to be. Still the great thing about watching trailers is they’re nice and short so you can get back to being productive again … unless of course you start watching another one.

14. Very Funny Ads
http://veryfunnyads.com/
Movies not your thing? How about rampant commercialism made good!

15. Metacafe
http://www.metacafe.com/
Tired of wading through the rubbish on YouTube? Metacafe filters so the quality is much higher meaning even more time wasted.

Visit his site, it is AWESOME!!!!

 Click HERE http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/2007/07/25/the-10-strangest-real-things-in-space/

V838 Monoceroti Expansion (Hubble)

It wasn’t anything interesting until it happened but the star V838 Monoceroti, which had simply sat in obscurity, flared up in 2002 to become 600,000 more luminous than our own Sun. It didn’t take long for the star to fade back into the darkness but the Hubble Space Telescope managed to get quite a few pictures of it during its active phase. (Click for animated version)

In this series of images you can see how the star’s outer layers were first expelled and then cut away by the powerful radiation from the star. The event was made even more interesting by the fact that a ‘light echo‘ was seen. During the expansion the object appeared to expand faster than the speed of light – the effect was however merely an astronomical optical illusion.

The Egg Nebula (Hubble)

Also known as CRL2688, the Egg Nebula shows a pair of mysterious ’searchlights’ bursting out from a dense cocoon of dust surrounding a hidden, Sun-like star. We see the light escaping in the directions where the cocoon is thinner. Objects like CRL2688 are rare because they are in a phase of their evolution that is short-lived. Images like this one are very important to understanding how stars like our Sun will ultimately die.

The Sun in UV (SOHO)

The surface of the Sun is far more active than most people would think. This ultraviolet video taken by NASA’s SOHO spacecraft gives brilliant detail. It allows us to see one full revolution of the Sun on its axis, which normally takes about 25 days. In this video you can make out large flares erupting from the surface and the striking magnetic loops that seem to whirl about them as they go. (Full 512×512 MPEG Here)
Red Square Nebula Nebula (Hale/Keck)

Discovered in 2007, this ruby-like nebula may be the result of two interacting stars. If one star is dying then the material from it may be dragged into a disc around the orbits of both objects. Material can then only escape from the system along the poles of the disc, resulting in two cones leading out of the stars. When viewed from the edge these cones seem like two triangles. Here the system is seen in the infrared. Structures like this are rarely seen in nebula but there is in fact a Red Rectangle Nebula which is less symmetric but still quite interesting to look at.

Abell 39 (NOAO)

Here we see an almost perfect planetary nebula that sits about 7,000 light years away in the constellation Hercules. The dot at the centre is the original star, which – as it died – released the expanding gas shell also seen clearly here. The ghostly appearance of the shell is due to the blue-green filter used to take the image, which picks out the oxygen emitted light at 500.7nm.

Saturn’s Rings (Cassini)

This marvelous panoramic view was created by combining a total of 165 images taken by the Cassini wide-angle camera over nearly three hours on Sept. 15, 2006. Cassini was sheltered from the Sun’s glare by positioning itself behind Saturn. Ring structures are revealed here in detail as they brighten substantially at viewing angles where the Sun is almost directly behind the objects. These observations allowed Cassini to detected two new faint rings.

The Horsehead Nebula Swallowed Something (SCUBA)

Observers used the JCMT submillimetre telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to take this image of the familiar Horsehead Nebula, who’s outline can be seen here. When observed at 850 microns, we are seeing the cold dust at temperatures close to absolute zero. This dust is deep inside the optical nebula normally seen, which is transparent at this wavelength. It seems from the image that the Horse has swallowed a ‘lozenge’ which is in fact a region of dense dust that may be collapsing under gravity. In fact this could be a star system in the making.

Gomez’s Hamburger (Hubble)

 

Arturo Gomez found this odd object in 1985 and it became known as Gomez’s Hamburger for obvious reasons. It is actually a proto-planetary nebula, an earlier version of Abell 39 perhaps. The curves of light (the bun) are reflecting light from the star which is being obscured by a thick band of dust (the burger). The whole thing is only only a fraction of a light year across and located 10,000 light years away in Sagittarius.

The Solar Spectrum (NOAO)

If you could catch a rainbow and put it under a microscope you would see that it was not a continuous blend of colours. Along the width of it would be seen, scattered irregularly, dark patches. Atoms and molecules in the Sun’s atmosphere pick out specific frequencies of light and absorb them, diminishing their intensity by comparison. This images shows the spectrum of light from the Sun stretched out to make these absorption lines visible. We use the reverse of the idea (emission lines) when we make coloured lights. For instance, we excite sodium atoms to emit a signature orange light in street lamps. In this image you can see two prominent dark bands in the yellow-orange section which are the absorption due to sodium.

The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared (Spitzer)

By looking at things in different wavelengths we can see much more than meets the eye. This image is a perfect example. Just as with the Horsehead image above we are seeing cooler material. This time it is dust in the Sombrero galaxy. The red ring is a thick band of dust encircling the whole galaxy. In the optical, this dust ring is what gives the Sombrero its distinctive black, obscuring line.

Oddities in the Orion Nebula (Hubble)

 

Deep within high resolution images of the Orion Nebula taken by Hubble we can see dark blobs. When you take a closer look you can see that these are like little flattened blobs. Some show a dim, red glow at their centres, others are just dark. These are proto solar-systems.

The red glowing is a protostars attempting to burst through and the dark disks are thick dust regions where one day planets may form. 6 billion years ago, this is what our Solar System may have looked from very far away.