Java VM starting to run when PC unattended

From time to time when I get back to my PC (WinXP) I see the little Java taskbar icon - indicating that some Java program has been running without me launching it. After I start moving the mouse it quickly disappears.

I always keep my antivirus, antispyware updated and they never warned me of any worms, trojans etc.

Any ideas what may be responsible for this?
Is there a way for me to trace/log the Java VM to find out what's running behind my back?

Thanks!

 

You could try AppDefend or Process Guard. They will alert you of any application attempt to execute, as well as processes being created and modified, etc. You'll get a pop-up that says "this program is trying to start" or "this process is attempting to modify this process" and you can allow or deny or allow always or deny always. If you use Process Guard don't let it go into Learning Mode because then it will let everything execute without warning you. Get AppDefend instead, it will alert you of everything.

If you are running a firewall, you could also try reseting the outbound rules and see if it warns you of any outbound connections when this java is running.

 

maybe it wasnt a java app, but just an update check.

 

That would be my guess as well, Juscheck.exe checks for update automatically.