McUICnt.exe steals the current windows focus every 3 hours. How can I stop this?

[jameskyker]

For some time, I have been struggling with programs losing focus. Finally, I bought the program Focus Taker ID to identify what is causing the problem. Every 3 hours, McUICnt.exe is doing something in my system, and that is causing my current window to briefly lose focus. It returns after about 1-2 seconds. This is extremely annoying because, if I am typing in a window (like this), I will lose keystrokes! This particularly is annoying when I am gaming. For instance, on Lumosity, where scores are particularly important and based on time-reaction, McUICnt.exe completely ruins the game and skews my scores because my reaction time is destroyed when this happens.

What is McUICnt.exe doing every 3 hours? Can I somehow adjust that to only perform its function every 12 hours or 24 hours? I looked everywhere in the settings, and I cannot find a scheduled job that is running every 3 hours. Further, I checked the Windows task scheduler, and I cannot find any McAfee jobs in there at all.

Please, McAfee, fix this as soon as you can. I had to buy a $10 program to figure out what was taking over my computer because I thought I had Malware or something worse installed. It is very disheartening to find out that it is actually a McAfee product causing all my trouble.

I love the product, and I look forward to a resolution.

Kindest regards,

J.G.

[exbrit]

Technical Support would probably have been able to help you free of charge by phone or online chat and saved you that $10.  Anyway I think that you may have inadvertently installed McAfee Security Scan Plus which comes as an optional download with such things as Adobe Flash or Reader for example.   Always be on the lookout for extras that you may not need when downloading and updating software.   Check Control Panel > Programs and Features for McAfee Security Scan Plus and if there, uninstall it and the problem should disappear.

It's a sales tool that monitors systems for needed security features and doesn't offer any actual security.   The only other thing that would activate every so often would be the update check but that certainly is silent and would never steal focus.

Let me know if that helps.

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[jameskyker]

Excellent! Thanks, Peter!!! I do see McAfee Security Scan Plus installed. I will remove it and report back with my results.

[selvan]

Hi

I would suggest to turn off all pop up Notifications related to McAfee.( Open McAfee GUI > Navigation > General Settings and Alerts > Uncheck all Informational Alerts > Click Apply)

Also Change Update Setting to be Manual where you can check for updates whenever you wish.

Applying the above steps will never create a Desktop Notification therefore you can continue with your Game without losing Focus.

Post back your observations..!

[jameskyker]

Thank you, Selvan. I will try the removal of McAfee Security Scan Plus first. If that does not resolve the issue, I will certainly try your recommendations.

Kindest regards,

J.G.

[selvan]

Never knew that you had McAfee Security Scan Plus installed on your PC. BTW McUICnt.exe is a core McAfee process; unsure if MSSP has something to do with this. Let's See..!

[exbrit]

Good luck 😉

[jameskyker]

Hi again. I wanted to let everyone know that since removing McAfee Scan Plus, I have not yet noticed the problem. I forgot to run my diagnostic tool (Focus Taker ID) overnight to see if it is still happening (perhaps I am just missing the 3 hour mark). I hope to remember to do that tonight and report back tomorrow.

[exbrit]

It sounds promising, let's hope that was all that was needed.  😉

[jameskyker]

Shoot. It is still happening. Even though the log is showing this, I want to wait until I actually experience it again before I begin to try the additional measures posted.

From the log:

Lost focus at 10/19/2014 10:06:01 PM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 1:06:01 AM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 4:06:01 AM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 7:06:01 AM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 10:06:02 AM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 1:06:01 PM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Lost focus at 10/20/2014 4:06:01 PM due to C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\Platform\McUICnt.exe

Theoretically, I should be able to pay attention at 7:06 PM today. Hopefully, I will not get distracted by something else happening around the house!

Best,

J.G.