what is Active X and do I need it?

[HAN]

Got to thinking and thought it might help you if you added Startup Monitor and Startup Control Panel. (Can be found here.)

Startup Monitor (SM) is a very teeny tiny little program that alerts you to when something is trying to add itself to your PC's bootup/startup routine. (Be aware it can't help if something is added as a browser helper or the like.) SM is very quick and gives you the chance to decide that it's ok to add the new item or that it's NOT ok.

Startup Control Panel (SCP) is a powerful tool that works in conjunction with SM. SCP shows all of the startup locations that SM monitors and lets you review, deactivate/activate or even delete startup related items. (Of course, use caution when deleting something!)

As I mentioned above, SM can't catch all the nasties. But lots of them are often added to a PC's startup. And for those, it can make a very big difference...