WMIPRVSE.EXE - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\ClientAnalytics\Scripts

[dajiang]

Hello

Last week when using my laptop, I suddendly got a thick black line across the top of the screen and everything hung for a while.

After that things seemed to return to normal except that the process WMIPRVSE.EXE is ALWAYS using about 10 to 15% of cpu.

I had made no changes to system.

On investigation I see that the files under

C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\ClientAnalytics\Scripts

had been modified.

Could these be the cause of the use of WMIPRVSE.EXE?

Why were they modified when auto updates is off, and I normally would do updates manually?

Is McAffe collecting Personal data that I don't know about?

Are these files Malware?

[Help_Everyone]

I think there is an old post in the forum that represents the same issue. I don't think it's a malware.

[Madhan]

Hello @dajiang 

We are sorry to hear that you ran into a problem and suspect that there might be a malware causing this.

We request you to run this McAfee Stinger Tool and then check if the issue still persists.

If so, please try to reinstall McAfee and check if the same file utilizes more CPU usage.

Regards,
Madhan M

[dajiang]

I ran Stinger, nothing found.

I restored my laptop from a backup from the end of January.

At first everything seemed fine. WMIPRVSE was only using 2% cpu.

However, after plugging into the internet, usage of WMIPRVSE again went up to 10% or so.

I also noticed that on plugging into the internet the files under C:\Program Files\McAfee\WebAdvisor, had all been updated and had a timestamp matching the time I plugged into the internet.

Could the update to WebAdvisor be causing WMIPRVSE to use 10% cpu?

Can I somehow disable WebAdvisor? How?

Should I uninstall WebAdvisor? How?

Why is WebAdvisor updating, when I have turned off auto updates in McAfee?

Adviced appreciated.

[dajiang]

An update

I stopped the WebAdvisor service and the cpu used by WMIPRVSE went down to 0-2%.

So it looks like the update to WebAdvisor has caused the problem  of increased cpu usage of 10% +.

The version of WebAdvisor was updated to 4.1.1.7.2

What should I do now?

[dajiang]

More Info

Although the installed program shows version 4.1.1.7.2 in Control Panel, in IE11 the addon displays as version 4.1.0.0 but with the date the update happened., and Firefox shows version 8.0.0.37627 for addon, also with the date of update.

So WebAdvisor is the cause of cpu usage.

Can I do a restore from backup and stop updates to WebAdvisor, or is there another fix?

[Peacekeeper]

To uninstall Webadvisor follow

Remove from Windows

1. Close all web browsers.
2. Click Start   on the bottom left of your Windows desktop.
3. In the search box:
    
   1. Type control panel.
   2. Press Enter.
       
4. In the Control Panel:
    
   1. Double-click Programs and Features or Add/Remove Programs.
   2. Select McAfee WebAdvisor or McAfee SiteAdvisor from the list.
   3. Click Uninstall/Change or Remove.
   4. When prompted, select only the checkbox next to SiteAdvisor or McAfee WebAdvisor.
   5. Click Uninstall or Remove.

Then reinstall from here

https://siteadvisor.com.

See if the issue goes away. If not you can try some of the free scanners here

Antispyware tools

[dajiang]

Hello

I uninstalled WebAdvisor as instructed, and downloaded and saved the file from the link provided.

After running the install it says it installed ok.

However, the WebAdvisor service is not running when I check. This is because the service refers to the file

"C:\Program Files\McAfee\WebAdvisor\ServiceHost.exe"

On checking this directory this file does not exist, so, of course the service cannot start.

[Peacekeeper]

Strange I have that file in that folder. Best ask Madhan. Did you run some of the free scanners?

@Madhan 

Can you help further please

[dajiang]

I have restored laptop to previous backup so that WebAdvisor is running but using 10% + of cpu.

I ran stinger and Malwarebytes and McAfee. Nothing unusual found.

I am thinking if I should restore to an earlier hard disk backup to a previous version of WebAdvisor that does not use 10% of cpu and then somehow preventing WebAdvisor from updating to 4.1.1.72.

Is it possible to stop WebAdvisor from automatically updating?

I see that there is a file c:\Program Files\McAfee\WebAdvisor\updater.exe ,  if I rename this will it stop updates to WebAdvisor.

Of course, I would rather run with the current version 4.1.1.72, but this is using 10% + of cpu.

Thoughts appreciated.