PC Pitstop is the undisputed leader in PC diagnostics. Our running process library is culled from our database of over 100 million PC diagnostics and scans.

Tip from the PitCrew

Every process running on your computer takes up CPU cycles and valuable memory. For optimal PC performance and resource utilization, you should be aware of every process on your computer. PC Pitstop designed this process library to help you know which processes are worthwhile and others that slow system performance.

Furthermore, perhaps the quickest and most straight forward method to detect malware is through a running process analysis.

Process Library

  

mwsoemon.exe (MyWebSearch toolbar)

Percentage of recently scanned PC's with this process running: 0.87%
Average CPU use for this program: 0%
Average RAM for this program: 1 MB


PC Pitstop Analysis

MWSOEMON.EXE is a Toolbar that changes browser and system behavior, sometimes without clearly informing the user. Not all changes are explained in the EULA. Often installed as FunWebProducts and that designation is shown in the browser identification string. Specific concerns include:

  • Product offerings such as Smiley Central appeal to minors that do not have the legal ability to agree to the EULA terms.
  • Users may think they are only installing one application, but the FunWebProducts EULA indicates that you are consenting to install all the products. This can lead to significant changes in the default system behavior that the user may not associate with "installing one application."
  • The EULA does not disclose that outgoing emails may have an ad appended to promote Smiley Central.
  • Researchers have observed several scenarios where some of these products are force-installed without notice to the user.

Most of these settings can be individually reconfigured or disabled by following instructions in the application or FunWebProducts site. However, many users may not make the connection between their innocent installation of a single application and the extensive changes caused by this collection of products. This is especially true if a child was enticed into installing the application and a parent sees the results without realizing why it happened.

Because of the way these products integrate into system functionality, we recommend using their entries in Add/Remove Programs first, before trying to use any antispyware cleanup programs. For more information see Doxdesk.


Recommendation

Win Patrol

mwsoemon.exe is a user invoked program and a normal part of PC operations. No action required.

PC Pitstop recommends WinPatrol Plus for monitoring all of the background activity on your PC. WinPatrol Plus provides a easy to understand descriptions of over 15,000 processes and programs.



Identification

In addition to the file name, mwsoemon.exe, the following version information is used to identify the file. If the file does not match this information, it may be a different file. To ensure the file is absolutely correct, run a free and comprehensive scan.

Vendor contains:MyWebSearch
Product contains:Search
File name contains:\MYWEB

To view version information with Windows Explorer, right-click the file and click Properties, Version.


MD5 Hashes

MD5 hashes is the way that computers can define the uniqueness of a file. Anti malware vendors frequently use this technique to detect and clean malware. It is common for a program to have multiple MD5 hashes as the developers create newer versions of the program. For the program called mwsoemon.exe, we have detected more than 20 different MD5 hashes. Click on a hash to research the hash in Google.
MD5 Report Summary
Program NameMD5 Count
mwsoemon.exe> 20
#MD5Size
10xe1f44da072b04d6dfe017f214830c40f367616 bytes
20x28cd5ec12c552663b01c85f81a46a5cd357888 bytes
30xa1f69bdc00f9e7b58b4b7ad885d7990f28672 bytes
40xe7ab8610f931a462b43cbc28452e7965364544 bytes
50xab00bda9deef731eda24e0b49744499b14860 bytes
60x782f3cc05e8950ac2b0032f7d8d71499206304 bytes
70x4ded7be7ccf227c9aad545166d075442368128 bytes
80xf618d90e845ec46f8bd06f9e7748647c20480 bytes
90x460c1133384f1ed9257eefc7e3d525a8363008 bytes
100xfb9aeefda1f4479d67291eced8c424b4368640 bytes
110xdd59256ad65f4cdca0bce69216ae403b28672 bytes
120xa278c783752caac4e4cfad9d05a8c043373760 bytes
130xde5d21154d9b29326439baec3083517f368128 bytes
140xa91a12895319363e28a8ce93ace453ee369664 bytes
150x4bab03afe4da8ab38479dd66d57dc7bd20480 bytes
160x9abbe6f791c0b599a7128c9aca27c09432838 bytes
170x1685871771cfd19b9dc67517268bd92c24576 bytes
180x0665f30d0fef23596145744ef8cb3b8f24576 bytes
190xd94133d8fd574f513378e3d99dbe686b368128 bytes
200x1f5d4dd61907af3b53e5269ca927ef4028672 bytes

PC Pitstop Database Comparisons

Every week, we update our information about the running programs identified during the previous week's testing. mwsoemon.exe (MyWebSearch toolbar) has been seen on 0.87% of systems tested at PC Pitstop. As a point of comparison, it is rare for a particular malicious program (virus or spyware) to be seen on more than one or two percent of all systems tested. The average RAM memory usage for this process was 1 MB. The average CPU load for this program was 0%.


Vendor or Distributor's Web Site

http://mywebsearch.com/

Detailed Description and/or Removal Instructions

http://www.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453107252

Important note: A file name alone may not be enough for positive identification. PC Pitstop's Overdrive tests and spyware scan use information such as the company name, product name, or install directory. If you are unable to identify a file, ask about it in our forums after running our full tests.