certtool.exe going haywire

[alexmoss]

For the past 4-6 weeks, every time I reboot, a process called certtool.exe ties up 99% of my processing, until I kill it manually via task manager. When I sleep the system and wake it up, there's no problem, but when I reboot, it's back.

I called IBM support and they told me definitively that it's a Windows system process, not an IBM process, and they can't help me. My web searching tells my precisely the opposite -- that it's a Thinkpad security file, and that I need it. Sigh.

I checked, certtool.exe is running from program files\ibm\security, not from other locations that my web searches say might indicate it's spyware masquerading under that same name. It's the right file size, I think it's the legitimate file, but I don't know how to verify for sure.

I searched this forum on "certtool.exe" and found dozens of hits that do not seem to address this. If you know of a direct thread, please advise.

I understand that this has something to do w/ IBM security, but I'm not sure if I need it. If yes, how do I uninstall and reinstall or otherwise troubleshoot it? If not needed, can I just uninstall w/ out hurting anything else?

FYI, my system is a T43, running WinXP Pro, McAfee Virus Scan (w/ current virus definitions, no problems otherwise), Zone Alarm Pro (w/ current anti-spyware -- shows no problems)...what else?

Thanks very much,
Alex

[alexmoss]

Dang, anyone have any ideas on this? It's been almost 2 weeks, and not a single reply.

My problem continues...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Alex

[GomJabbar]

Certtool.exe is not on my T42, but I do not run IBM Client Security Software. A Google search pulled up the following page.

http://www.fileresearchcenter.com/C/CER ... -3761.html

Summary : IBM Client Security Certification Tool

Description : IBM Client Security Certification Tool

Company : IBM Corporation
www.ibm.com

Threat Level :
Category : APPLICATION

Processes : CERTTOOL.EXE

I do not know which version of CSS you have. For version 5.4, the following is the procedure.

Uninstalling Client Security Software Be sure that you uninstall the various utilities (IBM Client Security Password Manager, IBM Client Security File and Folder Encryption (FFE) utility) that enhance Client Security functionality, such as the IBM before you uninstall IBM Client Security Software. Users must log on with administrator rights to uninstall Client Security Software.

Note: You must uninstall all IBM Client Security Software utilities and all UVM-aware sensor software before you uninstall IBM Client Security Software. The administrator password is required to uninstall Client Security Software.

To uninstall Client Security Software, complete the following procedure:

1. Close all Windows programs.

2. From the Windows desktop, click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

3. Click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

4. In the list of software that can be automatically removed, select IBM Client Security.

5. Click Add/Remove.

6. Select the Remove radio button.

7. Click Next to uninstall the software.

8. Click OK to confirm this action.

9. Type the administrator password in the provided interface and click OK.

10. Do one of the following:

* If you installed the IBM embedded Security Chip PKCS#11 module for Netscape, a message is displayed that asks you to start the process to disable the IBM embedded Security Chip PKCS#11 module. Click Yes to proceed.

A series of messages will be displayed. Click OK for each message until the IBM embedded Security Chip PKCS#11 module is removed.

* If you did not install the IBM embedded Security Chip PKCS#11 module for Netscape, a message is displayed that asks if you want to delete shared DLL files that were installed with Client Security Software. Click Yes to uninstall these files, or click No to leave the files installed. Leaving these files installed has no affect on the normal operation of your computer.

The message ″Would you like to remove this system’s information from the archive?″ is displayed. If you select No, you can restore the information when you reinstall the newer version of IBM Client Security Software.

11. Click Finished after the software is removed.

You must restart the computer after uninstalling Client Security Software.

When you uninstall Client Security Software, you remove all installed Client Security software components along with all user keys, digital certificates, registered fingerprints and stored passwords.

[alexmoss]

Thanks very much for the uninstall instructions.

I'm also trying to understand what this is doing for me, what I risk by not running it, I've never understood why it's there -- I believe that it came factory installed.... I'll try again via IBM, they were just utterly unhelpful last time I called, I was hoping for a few words of wisdom here on the forum.

But again, I very much appreciate having the uninstall process laid out here.
Alex