Computer Security & Viruses/strange noises?

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Expert: - 7/6/2004


Question
Windows XP
AVG antivirus
E-Machine 6 months old
Home network

What would cause the hard drive to spontaneously come to life, with the in-use light flickering, without any input from me? This happens at odd intervals, even when no-one is near the machine.

Answer
This is probably Windows XP "Find Fast" (findfast.exe). This service is enabled by default in Windows XP. It uses spare CPU cycles to figure out what is on your hard drive so when you want to find something it can find it fast. It's sort of a combination street map and phone book.

Just to be certain, you can disable Find Fast for a while and see whether all this hard disk action simmers down. Click Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs --> Add/Remove Windows Components and uncheck "Indexing Service."

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Carolyn Meinel

Expertise

I cover Windows, Linux, TCP/IP and Ethernet security questions. I do not cover Mac, smart phones, or other networking issues.

Experience

Books by Carolyn Meinel: wrote a chapter for The Hacking of America book (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567204600/happyhacker) My article Code Red for the Web for Scientific American was reprinted in the book Best American Science Writing 2002 (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060936509/happyhacker). My book The Happy Hacker: A Guide to Mostly Harmless Hacking is now in 4th edition with a Japanese edition (see http://happyhacker.org/hhbook/).

Organizations
IEEE, AAAS

Publications
See a list with some online links at http://cmeinel.com

Education/Credentials
MS, Industrial Engineering, The University of Arizona Took a course in computer forensics at the University of Texas at Austin/

Past/Present Clients
DARPA, SAIC, Palmer Labs

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