Suspect a keylogger

my stepdaughter had a problem with slowing down of her computer so i went to look and while checking the running tasks i found something called pradnxac.exe.found nothing on google and the windows search does,nt see it even searching hidden files.I looked in add/remove programs its not there so i installed Easycleaner by Toniarts ln the add/remove section of that it found a program call Favorit which again shows nothing in google or windows search.For those familiar with Easycleaner it shows for Favorit the uninstall string c:\users\lisa\appdata\local\pradnxac.bat. This pc was set up by her estranged husband so i,m wondering if he,s perhaps put something on to watch what she,s doing.I could,nt uninstall it so for now i ran msconfig and stopped "pradnxac.exe" form starting up with windows.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If your spelling is correct then Favorit shows THIS in Google. After a quick glance, the fourth result down shows a relationship to an RSS feed.

 

Hi Thunder thanks for the quick response but I,m not sure if your google results look different to mine but the 4th entry is for skoda favorit and also why would,nt the pc windows search not see Favorit or pradnxac.exe if was some legit program.

 

This is the link I am referencing. I run customize google w\Firefox. Perhaps the tweaks I have set are effecting how our results appear.

Not sure why Explorer searches do not show anything.

 

Thanks again Thunder i looked at that page but as you see its spelt with a full stop "fav.or.it" and is only the site name not a downloadable application and the running program is called "Favorit" as in the Skoda car.

 

The only other thing I can add at this point is that if she is running Firefox I would check either in add-ons or plug-ins to see if anything similar is listed.

Does she blog and or visit any social networking sites?

 

She is running IE7 on vista home premium as far as i know she does,nt blog , she is a facebook member and assures me she has never heard of Favorit or downloaded any programs that she ca,nt see in add/remove list.Her ex reinstalled windows 2 weeks before she asked me to look at the pc after a mysterious fatal crash.

 

I am at a lose. With so little info. that pertains to the situation. My only suggestion if you are that concerned is a total format and reinstall. You can try several scanners, but with little\no info. on the net about the file in question I doubt they will turn anything up. May even have you chasing your tail tracking down false positives.

 

Ok thanks anyway for your help Thunder , maybe someone else will have some ideas on how to proceed , do,nt really want to format if possible.

 

just a suggestion it may or may not work but How about a system restore to a earlier time.If you have a rough idea when the slowing of the machine started you can go back a little further and restore then recheck it.

 

thanks for the reply djohn but as i said the system was installed a couple of weeks ago by her ex and she says it was slow right from the start.

 

Id def use a few scanners and c if they come up with sumtin - here's things u can use: dr.web cureit, mbam, sas, prevx csi, trojan remover and a2. Does she have an anti virus running?

 

unfortunately i ca,nt get to the pc to run scans, she is in london and i,m in yorkshire and she is,nt very pc savvy. she has the Norton internet security 2009 which reports nothing.I forgot to mention i ran the windows live onecare scanner which reported 5 registry issues which it could,nt fix.

 

I would suggest to give her these links for download and update them.they offer free versions scans are manual and updating very effective cleaners. she can keep on board for future use as well just update each one and run full system scan and see what it comes up with.http://www.malwarebytes.org
and this.http://www.superantispyware.com

 

yer what john said, she can install n run them scans real easy - u might wanna just guide her trough it trough messenger or sumtin, good luck n keep us posted

 

I just can't think of their names at this minute but there are several
well known and free Apps., one of which you could install so long as your
daughter can tell that you could only sit in front of her machine from Yorkshire at a time convenient to you both.

Other words she would knowingly give you permission at THAT agreed time to
run scans and anything else you need to check and tidy up on her machine.
One of the lads mentioned certain decent scanners, (not Norton - oh hell no not Norton) Malwarebytes or Superantispyware or one of the others
mentioned should know if that .exe is a pain.

Just remembered one of them to maybe take a look at,

http://www.crossloop.com/

Might be worth trying the superb Unlocker to unlock and delete the .exe,
Snapfiles or one of the other good freeware sites will have it - I can't
remember it's home page addy.

 

just got back from night shift so sorry for late reply , many thanks for suggestions.will try free scanners and hopefully see where this program is buried.

 

If she intends to do online shopping etc I'd suggest she takes the PC into a professional who will format it and start again. It's the best way to get peace of mind.