Strange Device that I don't recognize appears in my Network at boot-up

[stois2121]

Hello,

When my computer starts I notice in the Network that shows the devices in my home network a strange device named: : p3plcpnl0481.prod.phx3.secureserver.net@SSL@2078. This device appears next to my PC and after a while it dissapears.

I searched online for this hostname and it shows me a remote server. I have no idea why this is happening and for how long it has been there. I am worried that maybe my computer is compromised?

I would be grateful for any advice on how to find out what this device is and how to stop this from happening.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello and welcome stois first some system specs please very hard to work with something we know virtually nothing about http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

Now for starters please run these
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html < if necessary include the /f and /r in the command line as per Option2 < in safe mode

if no change then try these

SUPERAntiSpyware | Remove Malware | Remove Spyware - AntiMalware, AntiSpyware, AntiAdware!
Malwarebytes | Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium
AdwCleaner Download
ADW download from bleeping computer delete any rubbish found with the malware scans
NB If anyone who has Kaspersky as their security they may find it will not like ADW running and to stop the nagging just temporarily disbale the Kaspersky while one runs ADW

If these come up with nothing then run this Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10
you will need to make a bootable disk and this scan does not involve Windows which is a good thing.

 

[stois2121]

Hello ICIT2LOL,

I have updated the system information and I have run the system file checker and disk check, no problems were reported. I then used the spyware and malware removal programs you suggested and they identified some suspicious files that I removed but that did not resolve the issue.

Below, I post a screenshot of the device in order to understand exactly what I am referring to:

I still see the above device when I start the PC. I searched online and the hostanme p3plcpnl0481.prod.phx3.secureserver.net has an IP of 50.62.176.8. Thus, I openned wireshark as soon as windows started and I captured some traffic. Whithin the captured traffic I see that a TCP connection is established between my PC and the remote IP 50.62.176.8, some packets are exchanged and then it is terminated.

However, I cannot understand how this happens and how to stop it.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Stois,
thats primarily an email server, do you use a third party one, it appears and dissappears because its checking for new mail.

Roy

 

[stois2121]

Hello Roy,

Thank you for your reply. As far as I know I do not... The only email I use is personal one that I log in from a browser.

Can you please explain a bit more what this means and how I can investigate it more?

 

[torchwood]

Stois,
You said i use my own one,
which one Outlook/gmail/thunderbird/ there are lots more.

Roy

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yes mate as torchwood has said I too use a dedicated email server WLM not a web based one like I think you are referring to and mine does get laggy at times.

 

[stois2121]

By my own I am referring to gmail, I do not use any external email servers. If it is indeed an email server it is very strange that it appears.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Stois,
When this first appeared had you installed any new program.
Its possible that you also picked-up an add-on at the same time. (foist ware)

Roy

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Its possible that you also picked-up an add-on at the same time

Good point and stois one way to avoid that sort of crap for the main part is this https://unchecky.com/ I have it on all my machines.

 

[stois2121]

Hi torchwood and ICIT2LOL, I also suspected that it might be due to a program I may have installed so I unistalled some programs I did not really need. The problem is that I don't actually know how long this might have been going on since I noticed it by chance and the device dissapears after a couple of seconds.

What is foist ware? Hw can I check that it does not have to do with anything regardiong add-ons? I checked chrome and there are no add-ons that I don't recognize.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

What is foist ware? Hw can I check that it does not have to do with anything regardiong add-ons?

\\It is just what torchwood said mate it is those little tick boxes you see when you are downloading a safe software - a good example is Adobe it asks you to install toolbars etc and if you do not untick them then they will install with Adobe.

But the same goes for a lot of safe software and some foist wares are positively annoying an example would be the Askbar - a horror to get rid of if you install it or stuff like it. Thta is why I suggested you install and run Unchecky it automatically unticks and disregards those requests to install more than you are wanting to install.

Another type of foistware is or rather foist like ware is the request to trial the full program of whatever you are using a a good example of that is Malwarebytes and if you do not untick the trial version during install it will let you use the full version for a month then nag you to buy the full version. Unfortunately Unchecky doesn't pick that up and a few others but the majority it will.

Now the only advice I can give you right now is to go through all programs and check to see if you really need it. If in doubt delete it and if it turns out o be one you really need reinstall it.
I would avoid all driver update, registry cleaners, and programs that promise to get your machine going better or faster. The only one that most of us use is CCleaner CCleaner - Free Download - Piriform < download form piriform and use it regularly. If you want help with how to run it just ask.

One tutorial I can thoroughly recommend and I use it as my bible is this http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html read it carefully and do things slowly and it might lose a bit of the bling like transparency (you don't have to of course) but you will notice a big difference in your machines performance.

 

[Barman58]

Best advice for installing Free software ...

Never use a download site, unless that is the only option,as these will invariably add things - always go to the developers site or a mirror site of the developers site.

Never choose the Express, or Quick install option, look for an Advanced option as this will show all the options - Location, Auto-load, Notifications etc, and any extra free items that are quite rightly known as PUPs Potentially Unwanted Programs, you are the one that then makes the decisions.

Some programs will not give the option to exclude these unwanted programs, I always decline to install them and give feedback to the developer as to why I didn't install. If enough people did this then perhaps the options would be more visible