A WinVNC console box now pops up on startup... where'd it come from...
how do I get rid of it? My Startup Manager program doesn't list it,
and I *think* Norton Antivirus stopped it once but now it's back. I
NEVER INSTALLED IT and I'm afraid it was installed by something I
downloaded.

Hi holstein,

It is very possible that you received VNC when you downloaded another
program, but not to worry, it isn't hostile and you should be able to
uninstall it without too much trouble.

What is VNC:
"VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It is remote control
software which allows you to view and interact with one computer (the
"server") using a simple program (the "viewer") on another computer
anywhere on the Internet. The two computers don't even have to be the
same type, so for example you can use VNC to view an office Linux
machine on your Windows PC at home. VNC is freely and publicly
available and is in widespread active use by millions throughout
industry, academia and privately."
http://www.realvnc.com/what.html

* Before you try anything, make sure VNC is completely shut down. 

You should be able to use the uninstall Windows feature which is here:

1. Start / settings / control panel / add/remove programs

If that doesn't work, then you'll have to remove it manually:

2. REGEDIT:
Start / Run / type " regedit " and remove the following:
*HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) / Software / ORL  
*HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU) / Software / ORL 
*HKLM / System / CurrentControlSet / Services / winvnc
*HKLM / Software / Microsoft / Windows / Current Version / Uninstall /
WinVNC
*HKLM / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion \ RunServices
/ WinVNC

Delete any WinVNC files if you have any:
Start / Find / Files or Folders / type " WinVNC "

Have a look at your Start-up files:
Start / Run / type " msconfig " / StartUp 
Remove any check marks associated with VNC files if there are any.


Additional Links:

WebAttack.com: 
"VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It is, in essence, a remote
display system which allows you to view a computing desktop
environment not only on the machine where it is running, but from
anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine
architectures."
http://www.webattack.com/get/vnc.shtml

PCWorld.com: WinVNC
"This networking utility lets you view and control another computer
remotely. VNC is platform independent; for example, a desktop running
on a Linux machine may be displayed on a PC, a Solaris machine, or any
number of other architectures. There are two parts to this
application--a viewer and a server. The viewer can be run as a
stand-alone application or as a Java applet. VNC is also sharable--one
desktop can be displayed and used by several viewers at once."
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,6671,00.asp

I hope this help. If you have any questions or if this hasn't solved
your problem, please post a clarification request before rating my
answer.

Thank you - and good luck! Let me know how it goes,
hummer

Search Strategy:
://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=%22WinVNC%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Terms Used:
"WinVNC"

---

Request for Answer Clarification by holstein-ga on 04 Apr 2003 08:37 PST

I did all you suggested, and even deleted a related .dll file (as
suggested by another website) and the WinVNC box is still popping up
on startup.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 04 Apr 2003 08:49 PST

Hi holstein,

Well that's too bad. When you Start / Find / Files or Folders / type
WinVNC, does anything come up? If not, how about typing just VNC?

Have a look at this forum:
"goto a command prompt and change to the directory where winvnc is.
Then type 'winvnc -remove'. Then make sure that it is not running
(delete the startup group shortcut if there is one) and restart or
just close the program and then delete all shortcuts to it as well as
the program itself."
http://www.realvnc.com/pipermail/vnc-list/2002-July/031689.html

hummer

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 04 Apr 2003 10:18 PST

Hi again holstein, 

If all else fails, you could try one of the registry cleaners, like
RegCleaner or RegClean.

RegCleaner:
http://www.pcmedixwebs.com/regclean.htm

RegClean:
http://download.com.com/3302-2094-881470.html?tag=mta

Many people swear by these programs, but please be very careful if you
use one of them.

Another option is to try disabling the VNC if it just refuses to be
deleted. It means going back into Regedit and changing a number there.
 
Start / Run / Regedit
HLM / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Services / 
Look for any WINVNC keys. If you find any, see if it has a DisplayName
of VNC Server. If you find it, and it has an entry of 2, change the
number to 4 and reboot.

If I still haven't been able to satisfy your request, please let me
know via a clarification request and I'll ask Google to remove my
answer (at no cost to you) in the hopes another researcher will be
able to help you.

Let me know how it goes,
hummer