SECURITY TASK MANAGER
http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/index.html
 

What’s it do?

Security Task Manager displays detailed information about all running processes (applications, DLL's, BHO's and services). For each process, it improves on Windows Task Manager. The Security Task Manager recognizes also virtual driver software, services, BHO and other processes hidden from the Windows task manager.


Does it do what it promises?

Reviewer 1: Yes.

Reviewer 2: Yes.

Reviewer 3: The program does perform its tasks remarkably well and gives mountains of information on each of the tasks. For example, by simply placing your cursor over one of the running processes a “property” dialog is shown with a rating scale showing the level or “Security Risk” involved, or what is the potential of the application being spyware, a Trojan or other malware. In this case I elected to display iTunes and the rating was determined to be harmless. In the full version, the program will prevent keyboard and mouse logging, it will prompt you if an application is trying to modify your registry and, as a bonus, it will erase your Internet browsing tracks.

Reviewer 4: Security Task Manager does what it claims. The main program displays a list of all running programs and Windows Processes, information associated with those processes, and its assessment of the level of risk of each process. In the Properties box at the bottom of the screen, it gives an explanation of the characteristics of that process that make it more or less risky. Right clicking on the file allows you to bring up the properties of the process, the options to run a Google search on it, to remove it, leave comments about it, or to view the file in Windows Explorer.

Reviewer 5: Yes, but looking at its 5-page list of processes was like trying to drink water out of a firehose! In case there might have been any suspects among the list (very few of which I could glean) the huge number listed camouflaged them well. Even worse, most of the processes cited were of well-known and readily identified programs: Google Desktop Index, X1 FileSearch, QCONSVC(MS (Windows Service Function), Epson WebToPage, Webroot Spysweeper, Paperport Memory Check, Fineprint, PDFfactory, Ewido Security Suite Driver, and a handful of IBM Thinkpad Service routines topped the 'Serious Threat' list.) I would certainly expect any program worth its salt to filter these out. It is not the "info and user opinions about common Windows processes...." that I want or need; it's about the ones that are threats.

Reviewer 6: Security Task Manager ('STM') is what Windows Task Manager ('WTM') should have been. Most visibly, it rates each process as a potential threat, taking into consideration the process' functions, certifications, and documentation. A hidden process with no documentation which monitors your keystrokes would be rated a high risk, while an open process with Verisign certification which performs an innocuous task would be rated a low risk. The properties involved in this rating are displayed, as well as text found within the file. You have the option of rating processes yourself, so for example a known and trusted process which STM rates at a high risk can reside at the bottom of the list with a happy green check mark. You may find a process that you had thought was innocuous raises a lot of flags, and you may decide you don't trust it any longer. You may find a process you had questioned is actually harmless. Offering far more information about each process than WTM, STM also permits you to end a process, but you can also Quarantine the process, preventing it from running again. It also offers the “Google” option. Initially (and somewhat deceptively) this brings you to Neuber's process database. Here you can review input from other STM users and add your own information about the process. Since many processes are not (yet) included in this database, you then have the option of searching with Google for further information, both with a Google search and by searching Google Groups.

Reviewer 7: Security Task Manager describes itself as simply a better Task Manager than the one that pops up in Windows with the famous Ctrl-Alt-Del. This, it certainly is. It will provide you with a complete list of all current “processes” running on your computer. A “process” is “a program, service, driver or Plug-in, every executed code which is active in your computer’s memory”. It thus reveals everything that has been loaded and is running from the moment you bootup your computer. This includes not only the programs that you have consciously started, but also those that load during the boot-up process itself. Those who have a very thorough knowledge of the Windows Operating System, know where to look for that information if they need it. However, for the vast majority of users, most, if not all, of this is hidden from them. This program presents an enormous amount of information in one single, simple-to-read screen. Not only that, but by highlighting any one of the processes, you will be given much more information about it, including a kind of “security rating”, which may warn you of the potential danger of that program. These ratings are not describing an absolute danger, but rate the particular process in terms of its behavior, and compare that behavior by a variety of indices, to the behavior of programs that really are dangerous: spyware, ad-ware, keyloggers, security holes, phishers, etc. If you know the process, and know that it is not dangerous, you can add a comment to yourself about it, and change the rating as it appears in the list. If you do not know the process, and if the information presented to you is not enough to help you, you can “Google” it directly from the menu or a toolbar button, and find out more information about that particular item on the Internet. In addition to what you can find out on the Internet, you can go to the “Registered Users” section of the Security Task Manager Website, where you can get information about many of the more common processes “out there” (or “in here”) on your computer. If you have particular information, you can add your evaluation to the Security Task Manager database, for the edification and use of other Security Task Manager users.


Was it easy to install?

Reviewer 1: Yes, although I was surprised that entering the registration code required a restart of the software. This would not have been as big an issue had it restarted itself, but I had to find it in the menu and start it manually.

Reviewer 2: Yes. A very small download and a very simple and straightforward installation

Reviewer 3: It was very easy to install. Select the installation application, the program installs itself and immediately starts polling your system. The initial screen is quite confusing, but after a minute or so you will start to see the logic of its design and will be able to navigate it quite easily.

Reviewer 4: Installation was smooth.

Reviewer 5: Yes, a quick and easy install.

Reviewer 6: Yes, no issues.

Reviewer 7: Yes. Installation was straightforward and I was able to specify the location, shortcuts and other program parameters.


Good points

Reviewer 1: The interface was easy to understand. The red color gradient and the bar graph made it easy to see which programs require further investigation. The actual file names were also good to see and made it easy to find any processes that I wanted to remove from my system. The bottom of the display showed detail information of the selected process. This included information available from the properties window of the files, the reason for the rating and the text that was contained within the files. I liked how they had short descriptions for the ratings by clicking on the text. The "Text in File" box was also interesting showing the strings of text contained in the program, useful for looking for nasty messages from virus/spy ware writers.

Reviewer 2: Security Task Manager is a small and relatively simple program but one which does exactly what it says it will do: It enhances and expands what can normally be viewed in Windows Task Manager and provides a security risk assessment of the processes it identifies. In addition to the basic information supplied by Windows Task Manager, Security Task Manager goes many steps further by also allowing you to view processes not shown in Windows Task Manager such as virtual drivers, Browser Helper Objects (BHOs), etc. Its best feature, however, is that not only does it allow you to view all of the running processes on your computer but it provides for each one such information as CPU usage, the type of process (application, drivers, DLL, etc.), whether the process is configured to start with Windows, its location, memory usage, and even who the manufacturer is. If you still want more information there is a nice feature built into the software that allows you “Google It,” which opens your browser and takes you to the manufacturer’s (Neuber Software) Known Process List. Security Task Manager has an attractive and easy to use and navigate GUI which requires little if any learning curve to fully master.

Reviewer 3: For the technically inclined, this program gives one an immense amount of information on each of the running processes. By double clicking on a running process you can get detailed information such as the manufacturer, a brief description, the type of program it is, whether or not it is a hidden process and the file path. Each of the running processes has an associated bar graph showing its security rating. You can change this rating based on your knowledge and particular setup. Are you curious about what processes are currently running and the amount of CPU resources they are taking? Is your system slow and something needs to be stopped? Security Tasks Manger shows the percentage of CPU being used for each application and the amount of RAM needed to run it. Now, we have a process running and are not quite sure of it. Select the questionable process, click on the Remove button and the process is either stopped (for this Windows session) or you can remove it from memory. Still not sure of a process.? Then highlight it and click on the Google button at the top of the screen and related information from the Web is displayed.

Reviewer 4: Security Task Manager provides a treasure trove of information about the processes that are running or can be run on your system. It even shows information about processes that are disabled on your system. When you run the main program, the first thing it does is to give you the option to review your Hosts file. This is a Windows file that redirects your web browser to a numeric IP address when an entered name of a URL is entered. This is important to do because some malware will use this file to redirect your browser from a legitimate site to a malware site using this file. Note that the IP address 127.0.0.1 redirects back to your own computer safely. This safety feature is used to your benefit by some anti-malware programs to stop your browser from going to known malware sites. In the next step, it analyzes the running programs and processes on your system. Think of it like Windows Task Manager but with much more detail and analysis. By default, Security Task Manager displays the processes that are the riskiest at the top of the list and marks them in the brightest red. There is relevant information displayed such as the file name, file location, manufacturer product name, and activity state. These qualities help you to determine what the process is, whether it is associated with a legitimate program installed on your system, and whether it poses a security threat. If you suspect that the process is a threat, there is a reversible quarantine option that will disable the process without permanently removing it from your system. Spy Protector is a separate set of functions that monitor your system, block dangerous activity such as keyboard and mouse movement monitoring, alerts you to new startup items being registered, and deletes traces of your Internet activity.

Reviewer 5: I found the results compact, and they contained a lot of useful information, well-designed. I would have appreciated a bit more labeling in the headers for CPU (instantaneous or average?) and (Min) Active? I feel they do a really thorough job of analyzing the situation. While I'd agree with the claim: "You can easily recognize the endangering potential of each process.", I certainly would have appreciated a much more through explanation of how the Threat-Number was calculated. Perhaps because performance analysis & tuning are my professional specialties I would very much have appreciated an explanation deeper than: "... a unique security risk rating based on analysis of hidden functions (keylogging, stealth, browser surveillance, autorun entry,...)" Helpful is the Information Web Page displayed on www.neuber.com/taskmanager where users can submit their opinion about threat-identified software or drivers, or read other user comments.. However, the credibility of such a poll is always open to question, especially for only small numbers of respondents, and I found the offer: "You can vote the process to change the Security Task Manager Rating." both worrisome and begging for further explanation.

Reviewer 6: I was very happy to see that STM resisted the temptation to rate their own processes as harmless. STM is Shareware, with a fully functional 30-day trial. I find this approach vastly preferable to 'crippleware' (“this feature is limited or unavailable – trust us that it works and pay to be able to use it!”). In the words of Neuber: “Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee: if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.” At USD/EU 30, the enhanced functionality STM offers is a bargain. If you purchase Security Task Manager, they also provide Spy Protector, This monitors changes to Windows Registry, as well as offering to block keyboard monitoring, other monitoring, and providing a simple method for wiping out various history files.

Reviewer 7: Security Task Manager has a very straightforward interface and layout. Primarily, it lists all the processes currently running on your computer. These appear, and are ranked in order from the most potentially dangerous ones all the way down to those integral to the Operating System, are certified safe, and are essential to the functioning of the computer. As noted above, those with a high rating are not necessarily dangerous – they just look as if they could be. This is explained in a window below the list. Beside the name of each process and its “Rating” are a number of other columns with information about that process. If you click on the column heading, the items in the list will be reordered from ascending to descending order by, for example, Name, CPU usage, or Manufacturer, etc. If you wish to know more about a particular process, highlight it. The bottom half of the screen changes, and displays several windows, each one giving more details about that process. Once you have looked at it all, you can decide on your own rating as to its danger or not, and add any comment you wish about it. Or you can Google it for more information before you do that. You can choose to Quarantine it, which will put that process out of action: it will be renamed, moved to a different location on your computer, and all the Autostart keys in the registry will be deleted, so that it cannot start up again on the next reboot. I have done that with some processes that I don’t particularly want, but I have to be sure that some other process or program or other doesn’t need them to function. After a few weeks, if everything else is normal, I can remove them entirely. These particular choices were not made because any of them are dangerous. They are, in most cases, bits and pieces left over from programs long ago removed from my system, but which have left parts of themselves, not only present on my hard drive, but actually running, taking up CPU work and filling active memory. In these areas, I give the program very good marks. Security Task Manager currently supports 37 different languages. Users are encouraged to send in translations of additional languages in exchange for a free license. Impressive!


Weak points

Reviewer 1: It flagged too many known programs as potentially dangerous. An option should have been provided to not display any programs that have been signed by trusted companies. On my system, many of the programs listed as potentially dangerous were those from Microsoft. It could easily lead someone to disregard the truly dangerous programs. There were also times when using the software that my system maxed out the CPU and was unresponsive. These only lasted for a short period of time (less than 30 seconds) but it was disconcerting.
Reviewer 2: Unfortunately, its weakest point is the one which puts the “Security” in Security Task Manager’s name. In addition to the aforementioned, when you run Security Task Manager, it highlights all of the processes it finds and rates them based on their potential security risk. While the program reports to use twenty characteristics to make its risk analysis, there are so many false/positives to make the program dangerous to all but the more advanced user. For example, on my machine AVG (my antivirus program), Sygate Firewall, Google Toolbar, my printer driver, and even my ISP (AOL) were listed as very high risks. While there is a disclaimer warning that a process listed as high risk may in fact be safe, this kind of false/positive identification is potentially dangerous to a less experienced user who might remove a program (that option is available in the program) that is necessary or even critical. Furthermore, if something identified as a high security risk may also be safe then what is the value of the assessments? I found there to be little help available within the program and even less on the rather sparse Web site. There is a “User Area” which might have provided additional information, but unfortunately I was never able to find the necessary codes to unlock that function to allow me to enter. There is a SpyProtector function packaged with this program but it seems to be more of a last minute add-on than any really serious attempt at spyware protection and it adds nothing significant to the program. Support is available, and while a bit slow, does respond. As the developer responded directly to my support question, I suspect that this may well be a small, one-person organization, and that may account for the slow response time in handling my request.

Reviewer 3: The initial color-coded rating of the processes are determined by the company and are based upon their research. To the novice user, these ratings may be questionable and may lead to the end user stopping a “high” process which in fact is part of the operating system and may cause the system to shutdown. The program has little on-line help or documentation. I believe it relies upon the user selecting a process and “Googling” for more information.

Reviewer 4: Security Task Manager evaluates each process on its characteristics and does not distinguish on the first pass whether it is a known safe process. Therefore, it puts the burden on the end user to make the final determination of whether a process is safe or not. I suppose that this could be considered a strength as well, since malware could masquerade as a known program file. The only thing that I found that Windows Task Manager does better than Security Task Manager is to order running processes by the percentage of CPU usage associated with that process. While the tools to do that appear to be built into Security Task Manager, an ordered list with the high CPU consumption items does not seem to come up, even when the option to view native windows processes is enabled. Even with this limitation, Security Task Manager still displays much more detailed information about the processes on your program than Windows Task Manager.

Reviewer 5: 1) Security Task Manager’s documentation, beyond the Website overview, consisted only of Help files, and, even worse, they required copying and pasting of individual screens. I find it impossible to understand any rational software designer's overlooking such an obvious user need. Moreover, the claim "Almost all technical support issues are covered in the help file "is an incorrect assertion. I believe Security Task Manager is substantially overpriced at $29; and $10-20 would be more reasonable. Security Task Manager asks the user "Please save the process list from time to time. A saved process list can serve as a point of comparison to help you find new processes in the future." This is clearly a task that Security Task Manager could easily and should handle for the user.

Reviewer 6: Bundled Spy Protector, when announcing a startup attempt, does not offer a 'remember this' option to permanently enable/disable a startup request. Unfortunately, it Won't run on Windows 95, Windows 3.1, Mac OS, or Linux.

Reviewer 7: I find the Help and Support to be the weakest part of this program. The Help files themselves are the standard Windows-type Help file, available either from the Menu or the F1 key. These are satisfactory and as far as I could see, contain no errors. However, access to On-line support was below average. First, I wanted to get into the Section under the Help Menu called “Registered Users Only.” Clicking on this item does not, in fact, bring you to that area, but to a rather useless Web page, with a login window at the bottom and instructions on how to log in. Following the instructions did not let me in. I had to look around some more until I was able to find the Contact information, which turns out to be the generic-type info@neuber.com email address. I sent a message, and two days later I had a response, which did let me into that area. Incidentally, before I had figured that out, I had followed another link called “Customer Care Center.” Rather than bringing me to the Support I was looking for, it brought me to the Share-It Website, which actually processes the sales for Security Task Manager and the other programs. My success in receiving a reply to my first email message has not repeated itself; I have a question about something in the Registered Users Area itself which I have sent twice now, and I have received neither an acknowledgement nor a reply. This is a very serious failure. In spite of my favorable opinion of the program itself, lack of easily accessible and lackadaisical (or worse) replies to questions from Registered Clients is inexcusable. Nor do I find the Registered Users Area to be particularly useful. True, there is a good and complete list of dangerous programs (more than 1400 are listed). There are also reviews of Firewalls, Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs. However, without being any kind of guru myself, I find the list, particularly in the Anti-Spyware Department, to be questionable, and seriously incomplete. I would rather that this Section be devoted to helping the users of Security Task Manager find help and information on the specific process that they are trying to investigate. That is, after all, the great strength of this program and it is to this end that their Registered Users Section should be dedicated. What is even more puzzling to me is that, as far as I can tell, none of the programs reviewed here would bring any particular benefit back to Neuber and its own products.


Other comments

Reviewer 1: The Google button probably should be renamed. It did no take me to Google but to the Security Task Manager website. Once there the input from other users was very helpful for some of the processes running on my system. I was also able to add my own comments to help expand on the knowledge base. I could have done without the advertisement asking me to "BUY NOW" since I was using a registered version.

Reviewer 2: Because I feel the only true worth of this program to be its enhanced Task Manager function, the price of $29.95 is far too high in my estimation. There are enhanced process viewers available for far less money and even for free.

Reviewer 3: For those who are curious about the processes running on their system, who want to protect their registry, who are ever worried about key or mouse loggers, then this is the program for you. It is not for the timid or the non-technical individual but rather is intended to determine what processes are running on your system, the amount of CPU and RAM usage per running process and to protect your registry.

Reviewer 4: There is a program manual in .pdf format that is distinct from the Help function for this program. The manual contains the detailed information about the extra features of this program that can’t be found in the Help screens. Overall, this is a powerful security program with a clean, clear interface and good documentation. It has been working well on my system without interfering with other programs.

Reviewer 5: On the main English Security Task Manager Overview Webpage, the SpyProtector screenshot is shown in German, not English. On the Security Task Manager User Area Webpage, "Area for registered users - ...Please hold ready your login data which you should have got with your registration." should be corrected to "Please have ready your login data which you received with your registration." In Help file "Ending a process", the note's 2nd bullet should read "You can create a restore point, to be able to restore your Windows System at any time." In Help file "Exporting process list" 1st bullet should read ".... Then you can save Windows...." I was unable to evaluate the Customer Care Center, access to which requires a User ID and Password, which were not provided.

Reviewer 6: Security Task Manager is not the only choice out there for keeping tabs on Windows processes, nor is it the cheapest alternative. It does provide a very user-friendly interface along with some very helpful functions at a very reasonable price, seems to do the job well, and is therefore highly recommended!


Will you continue to use it?

Reviewer 1: Yes, but only if I am investigating a problem. I don't see myself running this program on a daily basis.

Reviewer 2: Yes, but for the enhanced Task Manager function only.

Reviewer 3: As someone who constantly optimizes and repairs computers, I am always trying to find out why the computer is slow, where is the RAM utilization going and what really constitutes a malware application. If someone comes to me asking if they have a keylogger on their system or if a particular piece of software they have downloaded could be some sort of spyware, then this program will now allow me another step in the process of determining what is working on a particular system or not. I will continue to use it.

Reviewer 4. Yes.

Reviewer 5. Yes.

Reviewer 6: Yes, this is a keeper.

Reviewer 7: Yes, I will. But not at all as a defense against Spyware and all of its evil companions, but more in order to keep track of what is going on in my computer, and managing that more effectively than I have been able to do to date.

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