Getting random CMD window popups.. can't figure out what from?

[Shyatic]

Hi guys,

Does anybody know of a tool that tracks any processes that launch while you're on the PC? I'm on the PC often for playing games and I'll get a CMD window pop up for a second, then close immediately (makes me lose focus on the game so I have to alt-tab back). I'm sure there is some process happening but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.

Appreciate any help! I did the virus/malware scans first of course, turned up nothing... so I'm all ears on to what it might be.

 

[lakedude]

Windows 10? I have the same issue. One time a window lasted long enough for me to see what it was and in my case it had something to do with Office. I uninstalled Office and haven't seen the popup since.

 

[JackTheBear]

I've had the same thing happening for two days. I couldn't find any entry for the pop up process in the system logs, and nothing unusual was running, though it is impossible to know what all the svchost.exe processes are. I went to restart my pc this morning and a Windows update was pending, waiting for me to let it install. When it was done installing I played for 20 minutes and I didn't get any pop up, so hopefully it's fixed, but that is a very short test.

I do also have Office installed, so it could be that too.

 

[Ketchup]

It very well could be Office. Happened to me on a laptop I use a just a couple days ago, which has office 365, which runs "OfficeClickToRun" at all times. I remember at the time thinking the CPU fan was really cranking up, but by the time I checked the background, it had finished and processes were back to normal. This wasn't Windows 10 machine, however.

Then again, it could be malware that is going to destroy your PC in a matter of seconds. How would one know?

Kudos to Microsoft for not letting updates for Office and Widows 10 run in the foreground, where we actually know what's going on. My theory is that in the Microsoft bubble, they don't think people actually notice this stuff.

 

[Shyatic]

Windows 10? I have the same issue. One time a window lasted long enough for me to see what it was and in my case it had something to do with Office. I uninstalled Office and haven't seen the popup since.

Yeah, Windows 10... started happening the last few weeks. Not much on my system has changed but jeez it's really annoying. I hate having to alt-tab back into Overwatch because of that stupid window.

 

[lakedude]

Yeah it is a little annoying watching Netfix but if dumps you out of a fullscreen app it would be super annoying. I did my best to get rid of the issue by going into selective startup in hopes of not starting the offending app but no luck there. I'm just inches away from erasing W10 and running Linux. If you need MS Direct-X I guess you need to put up with their crap.

 

[Shyatic]

I'm just trying to figure out why the hell it's happening. Driving me bonkers.

 

[Shyatic]

Should note I've checked the event log and I can't find any corresponding events for it, so I honestly have no idea what the hell is launching.

 

[Ketchup]

To be get more specific to some things mentioned, are your running Office 365? Actively using OneDrive? Any non-MS backup software?

You mentioned event logs. Which ones did you look at?

 

[Shyatic]

To be get more specific to some things mentioned, are your running Office 365? Actively using OneDrive? Any non-MS backup software?

You mentioned event logs. Which ones did you look at?

Application, security, system... I would note the time that the popup happened and tried to figure out what happened at that moment, but I can't find anything to match it. I use OneDrive and OneDrive for Business both.

 

[Ketchup]

See if there is anything in the Windows Update log for that time period.

 

[Shyatic]

See if there is anything in the Windows Update log for that time period.

It happens every hour or so. And I checked task scheduler as well.

I just wanna know if there's a way to monitor stuff that launches.

 

[Ketchup]

Something that come up every hour, all hours, would cause me some concern. Have you done a malware scan lately?

 

[Shyatic]

Something that come up every hour, all hours, would cause me some concern. Have you done a malware scan lately?

Yep... I deleted one of my Google Chrome updates, not sure why but the time was very close. Let's see how it goes.

 

[lakedude]

I just wanna know if there's a way to monitor stuff that launches.

If only... Seems like it is getting harder rather than easier to do this.

 

[deustroop]

https://superuser.com/questions/603226/does-windows-log-programs-that-have-been-run-called

 

[JackTheBear]

Assuming you have Office 365, this fixes it, and it's easy.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/here-is-a-fix-for-microsoft-office-command-prompt-issue/

 

[Shyatic]

Assuming you have Office 365, this fixes it, and it's easy.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/here-is-a-fix-for-microsoft-office-command-prompt-issue/

This is it -- matches all the timestamps I keep getting the problem!

Thanks so much!

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've had this issue on some of my machines. Seems to pop up soon after a re-start, once I reach the desktop.

Not sure what it could be. I don't remember installing updates in the prior session, and I don't have NVidia drivers (don't think? Maybe they could still be installed.), or MS Office installed.

I do have Skype running in the background, and it runs, of all things, Flash Player, constantly in the background, "displaying ads".

Well, I know that not all ads are up-and-up, because more than once I've caught them trying to download files onto my PC. (The File Save dialog was up. Always set your browser to PROMPT you before saving any files.)

I just know that one day recently, around after when this happened on one of my recently-built PCs, my Paypal password stopped working, and then I wasn't able to get my 2factor Auth keys via SMS on my phone. I changed my password, but it still gives me pause.

It seems almost too easy, that malware agents are seeding Skype ads with Flash Player exploits, to install keyloggers onto PCs. And of course, Microsoft could care less. If they did care, they wouldn't run Flash Player and make that a permanent part of their program. (What's wrong with HTML5 ads? I don't run Flash Player in my browser.)

 

[Burpo]

Edit.. Ooops, already posted..