BleepingComputer.com: WisAvCtrl 1.0.1.3 Can I exclude from startup? New Member

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and would introduce myself as Dr Steve Brinn, A pediatrician (care for kids) for 30 years in Cincinnati, Ohio. I consider myself fairly computer literate but I have a ways to go to deal with the "Elite" computer people.

I use Vista Home Premium Version, Service pack 1, 32 bit opperating system

My computer is a laptop, Lenovo, Y710, with the Intel " Intel extreme x9000 " chip and Game zone. It has 4gb of memory, and 2 hard drives, 240 gb each. I keep 1 hard drive to use strictly for music. I also have a 1 terrabyte server at home and use it alot, watching downloads through a hard wire internet connection to my Xbox-360.

I have a few questions about STARTUP ITEMS. I do use PC Magazine Start up Pro as the place to make changes and monitor my startups (any comments welcome about that)

Startup item #1? WisAvCtrl 1.0.1.3 : I have searched for all these by Google, and find lots of people wondering about the startup items I'm going to name, but I've never found an answer as to what they do or if I can remove them.

Startup Item #2? WISOSD MFC Application

Startup Item #3? sm56hlpr Motorola app

Startup Item #4? CLIStart tied to ATI technologies

My normal desire is to start up only those items I need and leave everything else disabled. The disabled items usually open easily when trying to use that software (for instance I have adobe, itunes, anti spy ware items disabled). I run anti spyware as a daily scan but disable any real time stuff. My anti viral software ESST is the only "real time" enabled software.

I have one other concern concerning my latest edition IE browser shuting down frequently and having to restart it. It is on a Vista machine but I think I'll look for a different forum to make sure I'm not asking in the wrong place.

At any rate, thank you for having me and as a new member look forward to the wisdom of the forum members to help me through my "bumps" along Computer Road

Thank you in advance
Steve B

hi,,,, welcome to the b/c site,,,, thats a nice laptop you have there,,,, right to the problem,,, i have seen lots of crap that pins its self to startup and could not find on google or on this sites list of startup programs,,, this is the rule of thumb i go by,,,,, if its not security then i get rid of it from the startup menu,,,,, all the pc's i work on for ffriends and family i do the same thing,,,, only security and the odd thing they mite like,,,, i have on mine,,, avast a/v,, malwarebytes full version,,, and a hard disc monitor from intel,,, 3 things,,, vista firewall is also on startup but is not displayed in the microsoft configuration utility (msconfig)
most of these things are updater's,,, they look for updates for there products,,, ie,,, motorola and ATI (your graphics card maker)
so in summary,,,, zap em 1 at a time,,, all should be fine,,, if not then go put them back
good luck.

As for your startups, you've done all the research.

I suspect that, barring malware, items 1 and 2 are a part of the Lenovo startup programs (some of the references in the searches that I've conducted refer to Lenovo systems). This is just conjecture on my part because of my research and because of the frustration I felt in trying to trim the startups on my Lenovo tablet. To help find a definitive answer, navigate to the startup location and the file locations of these files. Check the directories that they're in for clues as to what they belong to. Also, right clicking on the file, selecting Properties, then selecting Details may reveal the author of the programs.

Startup item 3 is your telephone modem software. If you don't use the phone from the computer (for example, if you fax from the laptop), it's safe to disable.

Item 4 is listed in our Startup Programs database here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/C....exe-19070.html
Basically, it's safe to delete if you don't use it (the Catalyst Control Center). This won't affect your video drivers.

For most startup items, I research them as you have done. If I don't find a definitive answer, then I disable them to see what happens. If there's no problems, then I leave it disabled. If there are problems, then I re-enable it.