Pcscnsrv.exe is a process that belongs to Trend Micro Internet Security, more popularly known as PC-cillin 2007. This process is a real time spyware scanner.
Many users have experienced issues with PC-cillin 2007. This has confused many users who have upgraded to PC-cillin 2007 from the 2005 or 2006 versions. The earlier versions were praised for their highly efficient performance.
User complaints center mostly on the extreme jump in CPU consumption. Many report that their CPU consumption jumped to as much as 100% when the pcscnsrv.exe is running, causing PC performance to slow down significantly.
These users also had Spybot installed on their systems. Apparently, the issue stems from an incompatibility between Spybot?s immunization feature and Trend Micro?s pcscnsrv process.
Many solutions have been suggested to fix this issue. Here are some of these solutions.
Solution 1
Uninstall PC-cillin 2007.
Reboot your computer.
Now install the 2006 version of PC-cillin. However, instead of using the 2006 license key, use the license key for PC-cillin 2007.
This is a stopgap measure that was offered when Trend Micro had not issued any updates or patches yet.
Solution 2
This is the solution that Trend Micro has offered to their clients who are experiencing issues with Spybot and PC-cillin 2007.
Open Spybot.
Go to the Immunize section on the left.
Click the undo button. You will get a message saying that? All bad products are now allowed again.
Close Spybot and all other open windows.
Double click My Computer.
Double click on your local disk.
Go to C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Internet Security 2007 folder.
Look for usrwl.dat.
Delete usrwl.dat.
Restart your computer.
Solution 3
Another way to stop the action of pcscnsrv.exe is to kill or end the program.
Boot up your PC.
Bring up your Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del simultaneously. You may also use Ctrl+Shift+Esc if you prefer.
Click on Processes.
Locate and highlight pcscnsrv.exe.
End the process.
This solution may result in an increase in available memory and CPU. However, pcscnsrv.exe will come back every time you reboot.
Solution 4
This solution will require you to edit your registry. Before attempting this solution or before attempting any registry edit, create a backup of your registry first. Editing the registry poses some risks. Any change you make is permanent unless you have a backup in place.
Click on Start and go to Run.
Enter regedit.
Navigate to HKEYUSERS:S-1-5-18 : SOFTWARE : MICROSOFT : WINDOWS : CURRENTVERSION : INTERNETSETTINGS : ZONEMAP : DOMAINS
All blocked websites are listed here. Delete these.
Exit the registry.
Now locate usrwl.dat.
Delete usrwl.dat.
Reboot your PC.
Solution 5
If none of the suggested methods above have worked for you, perhaps the better option for you is to uninstall both PC-cillin and Spybot. You can install STOPzilla Antivirus and Spyware Cease as your antivirus and anti-spyware programs respectively. Both these programs will protect your computer and your information without compromising your system?s performance.