OS trying to access a potentially unsafe site????

echo2446 · May 13, 2026

I regularly use the ESET Online Scanner. It doesn't install adware, but the program itself frequently promotes the full ESET antivirus package.

It seems to be one of the more thorough options, along with the Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool.

cheaterslick · May 13, 2026

EB2XR6 said:
Maybe ESET has changed their policy, a very long time ago when I used ESET online Scanner, it installed some Adware.

Been using ESET for the last 15 years. There's no malware in it.

EB2XR6 · May 13, 2026

cheaterslick said:
Been using ESET for the last 15 years. There's no malware in it.

What version of ESET have you been using for the last 15 years? Free or Paid
Opinions on this topic differ, but I am of the opinion Adware and Malware are different.
I have not used ESET in a very long time so I have no idea what how it currently behaves or works.
I recommended Microsoft Safety Scanner because you just download, run the app and wait for the results.

OldManT60 · May 13, 2026

jumanji said:
That event had come and gone. Does Process Explorer show past history?

Hmmm.... I am not blaming Microsoft . Rather it is Malwarebytes that says the application that triggered the popup is "App: Microsoft Windows Operating System svchost.exe". I am only curious to know which third party service triggered the popup. I have not installed any new application and the applications I had installed on this PC have been there and running for years without any event. And yes, I accepted the warning and moved on but that does not answer my curiosity.
Learn more??? I will do that for sure if that popup appears again.

Thanks for the suggestion.. That propels me to try ESET online scanner which I had used once long back on my wife's PC.

As said earlier I am more inclined to use ESET online Scanner. Will do it when I am a little free.

Hi
I use spybot it innoculates the host file to block thousands of risky websites doesn't answer your question as to why access was triggered .. but might have prevented it in the first place .. I also use emisoft online scanner as part of my cleanup/scan regime

Slavic · May 13, 2026

jumanji said:
the popup is "App: Microsoft Windows Operating System svchost.exe".

Svchost is an internal component which starts all Windows services, this can be seen if you use Process Explorer. Any service, currently running or started with OS, can be a source of this Internet connection request. But more likely that is not a Microsoft service. You can use System Configuration (msconfig.exe) to see the list of all existing services and hide all Microsoft services (checkbox below the list). Now need to carefully check the remained.

You can disable all of them and restart OS. This may have some negative effects if you disable important OEM services used for video, sound and network. PC will lose some functionality. But it will allow to see whether this request occurs again. Then you can enable non-Microsoft services one-by-one, restart each time and see the result.

cheaterslick · May 13, 2026

EB2XR6 said:
What version of ESET have you been using for the last 15 years? Free or Paid

Paid. Nothing is ever 'free'. In fact, I wasn't even aware ESET had a 'free version' until now.

I'd never use a 'free' anti-virus no matter who makes it, anyway.

Besides, the best example of adware out there is Edge. I don't use that, either.

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OS trying to access a potentially unsafe site????

echo2446

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cheaterslick

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EB2XR6

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OldManT60

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Slavic

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