As often as possible, I like to review the list of programs that our WinPatrol members are asking for PLUS Info on. This gives me a good idea of what programs have suddenly been appearing on a users system often without their knowledge.
Most of this year the number one PLUS Info request has been about “GoogleToolbarNotifier.exe”. This little program pops up now and then especially since so many new machines are coming with the Google Toolbar pre-installed. Click here for our PLUS Info
This week a new Windows “service” has suddenly appeared in our top ten. When users upgrade to iTunes 7.3, it comes with a new Automatic Service just in case you’re the proud owner of an iPhone. The file is named “AppleMobileDeviceService.exe” and can be found in your list of Services either using WinPatrol or Services.msc which comes with Windows. Apple says, it “Provides the interface to Apple mobile devices.”
It only takes up 3,640K of memory when at rest but if you don’t have an iPhone you really don’t need it. You can stop it with WinPatrol and set it to Manual startup. You’ll also find it under the list of programs in the Add/Remove Control Panel applet so it can be removed completely from there.To add insult to injury, Apple also just tried to change my default MP3 player to iTunes
Give me a break Apple. This is yet another example of companies who think they can just take over your whole machine. I’m obviously biased but you can protect yourself by downloading WinPatrol for free. If you’re not sure a program can be removed, upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS.