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j2b
Tl Posts:
1

USA
Posted - 3/30/2002 2:30:54 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
I have a Sportster 56000k Voice PnP (Python) that came with my NEC 350 PII, running Win 98 and 256 ram. This system is about 3 1/2 years old. I have never had any problems. The modem has been great and is quite fast. The hardware ID is "USR3090,ISAPNP,USR3090".

I've always thought this was a hardware modem, and by reading through the articles on this site, and also perusing some questions on this forum, the conclusion I get is that it is definitely a hardware modem. Yet, when I emailed USR, their repsonse was that it was a winmodem.

I never paid it much attention until a high CPU idle load started appearing about a month ago once I connected to the internet. When I'm not online, the CPU usage is normal.

After countless cpu monitors, anti-virus scans, trojan scans, checking for hidden processes, deleting almost all startup programs, checking boot procedures, verifying win .ini and system .ini files, and just about everything else I can think of (this is the 5th forum I've been to), I'm now looking at the modem as the source of the problem simply because of "ptsnoop.exe".

It is in my user.dat and system .dat folders, and since this is not a trojan on my machine, I can only assume that I really do have a winmodem. And, if so, shouldn't the modem have been sucking resources a long time ago, instead of just appearing out of nowhere after 3 1/2 years? (Or is the modem telling me it's getting close to dying?)

One other strange occurence is that when I'm online and the cpu usage is hovering around 86, if I open a java based charting service (IQ Charts) that doesn't even go through internet explorer, the cpu usage drops to about 44 and stays there until I close the program. Then it jumps back to around 86. Once I log off the internet, the cpu load stays high until I reboot.

Bottom line is that everything works fine. Should I ignore this, or is the high cpu load (only while I'm online) harmful to the computer?

charles
Tl Posts:
5879

USA
Posted - 3/30/2002 5:45:25 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
The PTSnoop program is used by the modem to interface with your computer.

The program is not actually "snooping", but is interfacing with your computer to allow the modem to function. It is looking for an available COM port for your modem to use.

PTSnoop is not a malicious program and is not gathering any data about you. You can remove the PTSnoop application, but every time you reboot your computer it will reinstall itself

This file is part of the PCTEl modem chip drivers.

charles
Tl Posts:
5879

USA
Posted - 3/30/2002 9:07:11 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
What is the model number of the pc.Have you ever installed another modem on this pc? Do a cold boot,connect to the net,click ctrl,alt,delete and see what is running in the background.Also turn down your display setting to 16 bit high color.

Edited by - charles on 3/30/02 10:59:15 PM

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