a process named "update.exe *32" and description is "Firefox" keeps using a lot of memory and cpu; the longer forefox is on, the worse it gets. How to prevent?
using Windows 7, firefox 15.0.1 This process uses more and more memory and CPU, sometimes there are several of these processes running. If I kill these processes, it doesn't seem to affect the utilization of Firefox. Then the process slowly starts to use more and more memory and CPU all over again. This happens all the time, every time I use Firefox.
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I tried: my computer is totally clean. And the issue is permanent...
Does it make any difference if you toggle your preference for the update service?
orange Firefox button or classic Tools menu > Options > Advanced > Update
Toggle "Use a background service to install updates" and restart Firefox.
By the way, this program is really handy for researching running processes: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sy.../bb896653.aspx. In particular, it would be interesting to know the full path of the update.exe executable with command line parameters to see whether it is part of Firefox or something rogue.
Thanks jsher2000, it's a very useful tool indeed. So the command line for this process is: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ComObjects\update.exe" about:robots with parent: wscript.exe(5108) Not sure what that is...
I had tried to toggle this "Use a background service to install updates", as well as all the other tweaks related to firework updates (at least under this menu), and the problem still remains.
I do not have a ComObjects folder under C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files. That is not part of Firefox.
wscript.exe is a utility included with Windows to run scripts at the system level. It generally is not used by major programs. If update.exe is starting up with Windows, you may be able to find the script that wscript.exe is running using Autoruns.
It definitely sounds viral. I suggest deleting the update.exe file, although Windows might prevent you from doing that until you kill all related processes. And if you have a persistent infection, the file may be restored or re-downloaded.
It might be easiest to seek assistance from a forum more dedicated to malware cleanups such as the following:
- Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs - BleepingComputer.com
- Malware Removal - MajorGeeks Support Forums
Hope you get it removed.
Hi jscher2000, Thanks for you help. I deleted this update.exe without any problem, but now each time I restart my computer, I have an error message about the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ComObjects\data.js" that can't find the file... I think I indeed need to have a closer look at all this... at least it solved the issue of memory and CPU usage by update.exe Thanks for your help!