as requested:
Dell tower
System: Intel Core i5-3330 CPU @ 3GHz, Ram 8GB
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
Let me know if you need other info
I do not know what you are referring to here: "Smart messaging aimed at your Install rather than general installs. Usually a popup within the Graphics User Interface."
I am still trying to determine how I can repeat the McUICnt.exe call on demand. Sometimes it will happen after a reboot or wake-up, but not always, and sometimes it repeats after 3 hrs to the second, again - not always.
Next to Mozilla/Firefox, and unless I looked in the wrong place, I have only one program common to those of Jameskyker's listing in post #48:
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime (x64) 10.0.50903
I'm chiming in here on this one too.
My 'situation' appears to be a little bit different, although it does appear to be McAfee doing the focus stealing. In my case it happens usually within a few minutes of booting and the desktop coming up fully usable. I can't pin a specific time on it. I do NOT see it all the time either as I do not have a window focused when it happens sometimes I'm sure. I've seen it happen random times well after boot.
Usually I am either reading my e-mail using Thunderbird within a few minutes of booting or browsing the web using Firefox.
This is a Dell XPS 8700. The version of McAfee I am using IS the Dell version, which tends to trail behind the standard Live Safe version that others use.
I mean that smart messaging pops up messages that refer to your install ie Vulnerability scanner has finished a scan etc not messages in the task bar
Leaving further comments to Selvan to ask
I am having the same issue as the OP. Here is my system information:
McUICnt stole focus at 2:23 PM and 8:23 PM today. I don't know if it also stole focus at 5:23 PM because my focus logger was not running at that time. No notification or window is shown when the focus is stolen. The Windows event log does not show anything at this time either.
Please let me know if you need any more information.
As mentioned it is caused by the smart messaging module that McAfee has confirmed. But without logged support calls and log dumps when the issue happening I do not think it will get fixed as the call volume is negligible and only a few here are mentioning it.
best to call support and have the focus program mentioned early on installed. You may need to escalate the issue and from what I gather reinstalling no fix.
Check post 48 and see if any common programs
Hi All,
It looks like we are seeing many versions of the issue. Here's what we could try
1. Look into the one that most users face
2. Check if it could be replicated in our lab environment
3. Once replicated, we could investigate further
Here is the list of programs on my machine, collected using the same command as that of post 48. Interestingly, I don't have McAfee Total Security, only McAfee AntiVirus and McAfee WebAdvisor:
Tools for .Net 3.5
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
Adobe AIR
Adobe AIR
Adobe Download Assistant
Adobe Download Assistant
Adobe Refresh Manager
AI Suite 3
Android SDK Tools
Apple Application Support (32-bit)
Apple Software Update
Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio 2013
ASUS Boot Setting
Asus Sonic Suite Plugins
AzureTools.Notifications
Battle.net
Behaviors SDK (Windows Phone) for Visual Studio 2013
Behaviors SDK (Windows) for Visual Studio 2013
Blend for Visual Studio 2013
Blend for Visual Studio 2013 ENU resources
Blend for Visual Studio SDK for .NET 4.5
Blend for Visual Studio SDK for Silverlight 5
Build Tools - x86
Build Tools Language Resources - x86
Catalyst Control Center Graphics Previews Common
Catalyst Control Center InstallProxy
Catalyst Control Center InstallProxy
Catalyst Control Center Localization All
CCC Help Chinese Standard
CCC Help Chinese Traditional
CCC Help Czech
CCC Help Danish
CCC Help Dutch
CCC Help English
CCC Help Finnish
CCC Help French
CCC Help German
CCC Help Greek
CCC Help Hungarian
CCC Help Italian
CCC Help Japanese
CCC Help Korean
CCC Help Norwegian
CCC Help Polish
CCC Help Portuguese
CCC Help Russian
CCC Help Spanish
CCC Help Swedish
CCC Help Thai
CCC Help Turkish
Corsair Hydro Series 7289 USB Device (Driver Removal)
Corsair Link
Corsair Link(TM) USB Dongle (Driver Removal)
Cppcheck 1.68
Dotfuscator and Analytics Community Edition
EndNote X7
Entity Framework 6.1.1 Tools for Visual Studio 2013
Evernote v. 6.1.2
EVGA PrecisionX OC
FAHClient
Geeks3D FurMark 1.15.1.0
Git version 1.9.5-preview20141217
Google Chrome
Google Cloud Printer
Google Drive
Google Update Helper
Google Update Helper
Guild Wars 2
Heaven Benchmark version 4.0
Intel(R) Chipset Device Software
Intel® Security Assist
IntelliJ IDEA 14.1.5
Java Auto Updater
JetBrains PhpStorm 8.0.2
JetBrains PyCharm 2016.1.3
Kit SDK de vérification de Visual Studio 2012 - fra
Kits Configuration Installer
LocalESPC Dev12
LocalESPCui for en-us Dev12
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware version 1.70.0.1100
McAfee WebAdvisor
McAfee® AntiVirus
Memory Profiler
Memory Profiler
Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Multi-Targeting Pack
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 Multi-Targeting Pack
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 SDK
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 Multi-Targeting Pack
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 Multi-Targeting Pack (ENU)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 RC Multi-Targeting Pack for Windows Store Apps
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 RC Multi-Targeting Pack for Windows Store Apps (ENU)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 SDK
Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows 8.1 - ENU
Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows Phone 8.1 XAML - ENU
Microsoft Advertising Service Extension for Visual Studio
Microsoft ASP.NET and Web Tools 2013.4 - Visual Studio 2013
Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4 - Visual Studio 2013 - ENU
Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4 Runtime
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Frameworks and Tools - Visual Studio 2013 - ENU
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Pages 2 - Visual Studio 2013 - ENU
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Pages 2 Runtime
Microsoft Azure Mobile Services SDK
Microsoft Azure Mobile Services Tools for Visual Studio - v1.3
Microsoft Azure Shared Components for Visual Studio 2013 - v1.3
Microsoft Azure Tools for LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 - June 2014 Update - v2.4
Microsoft C++ Azure Mobile SDK for Visual Studio 2013
Microsoft C++ REST SDK for Visual Studio 2013
Microsoft Exchange Web Services Managed API 2.1
Microsoft Expression Blend SDK for .NET 4
Microsoft Help Viewer 2.1
Microsoft Help Viewer 2.1
Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator 1.4
Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 Core
Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 CoreRes - ENU
Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 v4.5 Tools
Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 v4.5 ToolsRes - ENU
Microsoft LightSwitch v4.5 SDK
Microsoft NuGet - Visual Studio 2013
Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio
Microsoft Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio ENU Language Pack
Microsoft Portable Library Multi-Targeting Pack
Microsoft Portable Library Multi-Targeting Pack Language Pack - enu
Microsoft Report Viewer Add-On for Visual Studio 2013
Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2012 Nuget Package
Microsoft Silverlight 5 SDK
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Data-Tier App Framework
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Management Objects
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Language Service
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Management Objects
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 T-SQL Language Service
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools - enu (12.0.41012.0)
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools Build Utilities - enu (12.0.30919.1)
Microsoft SQL Server System CLR Types
Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012
Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2014
Microsoft Visual C++ ARM Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ x64 Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ x64 Native Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ x64 Native Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ x64-arm Cross Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ x64-arm Cross Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ x64-x86 Cross Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ x64-x86 Cross Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ x86 Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.17
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.6161
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable - 10.0.40219
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 32bit Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Core Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Core Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64) - 11.0.61030
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) - 11.0.61030
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) - 11.0.61030
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86 Additional Runtime - 11.0.50727
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86 Additional Runtime - 11.0.61030
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86 Debug Runtime - 11.0.60610
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86 Minimum Runtime - 11.0.50727
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86 Minimum Runtime - 11.0.61030
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 x86-x64 Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 32bit Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Compilers - ENU Resources
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Core Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Core Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Extended Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Microsoft Foundation Class Libraries
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) - 12.0.30501
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x86) - 12.0.30501
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x86 Additional Runtime - 12.0.21005
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x86 Debug Runtime - 12.0.21005
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x86 Minimum Runtime - 12.0.21005
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 x86-x64 Compilers
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) - 14.0.24210
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86) - 14.0.24210
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 x86 Additional Runtime - 14.0.24210
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 x86 Minimum Runtime - 14.0.24210
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Add-in for Windows Phone
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Add-in for Windows Phone - ENU Language Pack
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Devenv
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Devenv Resources
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Diagnostic Tools - x86
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 IntelliTrace (x86)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 IntelliTrace Front End
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Preparation
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Profiling Tools
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Shell (Minimum)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Shell (Minimum) Interop Assemblies
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Shell (Minimum) Resources
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Team Explorer Language Pack - ENU
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 XAML UI Designer
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 XAML UI Designer - ENU
Microsoft Visual Studio Premium 2013
Microsoft Visual Studio Premium 2013 - ENU
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 - ENU
Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2013
Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2013
Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 - ENU
Mozilla Maintenance Service
MSI Afterburner 4.3.0 Beta 4
MSXML 4.0 SP3 Parser
Mumble 1.2.10
MySQL Connector Python v2.0.4 for Python v3.4
Notepad++
NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver
OCCT 4.4.2
Office 16 Click-to-Run Extensibility Component
Office 16 Click-to-Run Localization Component
Open XML SDK 2.5 for Microsoft Office
Plex Home Theater
PowreShellIntegration.Notifications
PreEmptive Analytics Visual Studio Components
Prerequisites for SSDT
Prerequisites for SSDT
Pulse Secure 5.1
Pulse Secure Setup Client Activex Control
Python Tools Redirection Template
Realtek High Definition Audio Driver
Release Management for Visual Studio 2013
ResearchSoft Direct Export Helper
RivaTuner Statistics Server 6.4.1
RStudio
SDK de comprobación de Visual Studio 2012 - esn
SDK Debuggers
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Skype™ 7.24
Steam
SteamVR Performance Test
Team Explorer for Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
Team Fortress 2
TeamViewer 11
TeXstudio 2.11.0
TypeScript Power Tool
TypeScript Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
Update for (KB2504637)
Update for Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 (KB2932965)
VirtualCloneDrive
Visual F# 3.1 SDK
Visual F# 3.1 VS
Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK
Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK - chs
Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK - enu
Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK - ita
Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK - jpn
Visual Studio 2012 유효성 검사 SDK - kor
Visual Studio 2012 驗證 SDK - cht
Visual Studio 2012-Verifizierungs-SDK - deu
Visual Studio 2013 Update 4 (KB2829760)
Visual Studio Extensions for Windows Library for JavaScript
Vive
Vive
VIVE Software
Vive_Phone_Services
ViveDriver Installer
Viveport VR Client
VS Update core components
WampServer 2.5
WCF Data Services 5.6.0 Runtime
WCF Data Services Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio 2013
WCF RIA Services V1.0 SP2
Windows App Certification Kit x64
Windows Azure Tools for LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2013 - v2.1
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK - ARM
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK - Desktop
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK - x86
Windows Phone 8.1 Tools for Visual Studio 2013
Windows Phone 8.1 Tools for Visual Studio 2013 - ENU
Windows Phone 8.1 Tools for Visual Studio Professional 2013
Windows Phone 8.1 Tools for Visual Studio Professionald 2013 - ENU
Windows Phone SDK 8.0 Assemblies
Windows Runtime Intellisense Content - en-us
Windows Software Development Kit
Windows Software Development Kit DirectX x86 Remote
Windows Software Development Kit EULA
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows 8.1
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows Store Apps
Windows Software Development Kit for Windows Store Apps DirectX x86 Remote
Windows XP Targeting with C++
WinSCP 5.5.6
World of Warcraft
Xming 6.9.0.31
Пакет Visual Studio 2012 Verification SDK - rus
Although I appreciate the effort that the community moderators have done to deal with this issue, I wish to share what McAfee's official stance is when you take the suggestion to call up.
I've called McAfee literally almost a dozen times on this issue. Every single time I pointed them to this thread and the request that we provide log dumps and other evidence of this problem. Every single time I was told that this was NOT a McAfee issue. I used Process Hacker to show them logs of the issue happening. I once had the higher level technician on my computer with me at the exact time it happened so that he could see it and also witness the corresponding logs showing that the process was responsible. I was told they would send it up to their engineers for further examination.
And every single time I would get a follow-up call telling me that it must be a virus, that it must be a problem with my windows installation, or something else. Every time I pointed them to this thread and the others talking about the same thing. When they had control over my computer and could see my screen, I would literally bring up this thread to prove to them that this is an acknowledged issue. And every time was like the very first time they'd ever heard there was a thread on their forums, or that this problem even existed.
They finally had somebody who told me that doing a clean install would fix this problem. Let me be clear what that means: wiping your hard drive and basically starting over on a computer from scratch. It takes a tremendous amount of time to get the computer back to a place where you can actually work on it, get your documents back, your programs, and your settings. I asked them to verify that they knew this would fix the problem. They told me they knew it would. It was the only solution. So I bought it. I did a clean install. As you can probably guess, the problem was not solved. Within three hours of reinstalling McAfee, the problem recurred.
I've had another 3-4 calls since then. They continue EVERY SINGLE TIME to pretend that I am the only one with this issue, that it doesn't exist, and EVERY SINGLE TIME they act surprised when I point them to this thread and the others like it.
This also happened earlier today. The only difference is that the higher level technician finally told me that since it only happens to 3 or 4 people, it's not a priority and no attempt will be made to fix it. I pointed out that it'll never be more than 3 to 4 people because even when I mentioned this thread repeatedly in every call, they always acted like it was for the first time. They are seemingly steadfast in their refusal to acknowledge the issue. When they finally do, the official response was "We have no plans to fix it."
So let me tell you the only way to solve this problem, and what I wish I had read in this thread before I literally wasted 20-30 hours trying to work with McAfee and deal with a clean installation.
The only way to fix this problem is by uninstalling McAfee and finding another antivirus program.
If it's not that big of a deal to you, then keep using McAfee and keep losing focus. If it is a big deal, don't waste any more of your time and use the one sure method of fixing the problem. I certainly wish that's what somebody would have written here, so I'm doing it to hopefully help those of you who come later.
New to the forums or need help finding your way around the forums? There's a whole hub of community resources to help you.
Thousands of customers use the McAfee Community for peer-to-peer and expert product support. Enjoy these benefits with a free membership: