Corel Update Helper Installed With Windows 10 Update

[kellycraven]

I picked up a Windows 10 Update on two different machines this week (12/22/2015). After the update, and magically, Corel Update Helper is showing up on the taskbar on both machines as blue balloon.

I did not install this app. Yes, I can turn off "Check new updates" but that is irrelevant if it doesn't prevent it from automatically running at boot-up

How and why was it installed without my OK? Was it indeed pushed out by the Microsoft Windows 10 Update?

How should it be uninstalled? There is no option for that in the app, and it doesn't show up in the installed apps list.

Why uninstall? Because it's using about 16% of the CPU at ALL TIMES (16% usage when total for the whole machine is 20%, mean 80% of the total is for just this helper). This is horrible performance and is enough reason to want to get rid of it ASAP, even if it is real. Performance this bad makes me think this is not infact a legit Corel app. Corel is better than this.

Searching finds some links that complain of this "malware" and there are third party apps that claim to be able to remove it. It seems to be clean nevertheless, just acting like malware or adware.

But...Is this a legitimate Corel app, or did I pick up some real malware or virus?

Does turning this off or uninstalling it (assuming it's real) turn off checking for updates in PaintShop Pro and VideoStudio Pro? Are then one and the same? I did not have any updates for them install recently, so I assume this is indeed a separate app.

[JoeB]

I don't have Windows 10 (still on 8.1) but try this. Open Task Manager and click on the Startup tab. Look for Corel Update Helper and if it is enabled right click on it and select Disable. That might help.

Another annoying feature some people mention is getting update messages. To solve this in PSP go to Help>Message Preferences and uncheck both of the boxes.

[Ken Berry]

I think it is a "legitimate" part of Corel programs, and wider than PSP or Video Studio. Apparently it has been reported in the CorelDRAW family of programs too. I confess I had not been aware of it before your post. I have not had any Windows 10 updates for several days, and have just checked again and my computers seem fully up to date. Moreover, a couple of days ago I installed SP1 for PSP X8, and I don't have any blue balloon showing on my PSP toolbar or anywhere else on screen that I can see.

But looking in Task Manager I see it is listed in StartUp, where at least it can be disabled, and also in Processes where it can be Ended immediately. I'm not sure yet if rebooting and restarting Corel programs will affect the Disabling, but wouldn't think it will do so. In other words, once Disabled, it should stay disabled and not start-up again automatically.

I also just tested PSP's Help > Check for Updates and it appears to still work when activated manually. I tend to use this method anyway, or rely on others reporting in these forums when updates are released, since in recent years I have found Corel's 'automatic' update notices very hit and miss, with some people getting messages advising of updates automatically, and (many?) others not being advised until much later or not at all. I wonder now if this has been because of the erratic functioning of this update "helper"???

[JoeB]

I'm not sure yet if rebooting and restarting Corel programs will affect the Disabling, but wouldn't think it will do so. In other words, once Disabled, it should stay disabled and not start-up again automatically.

Once disabled in the Startup tab of Task Manager and ended in Processes it is my experience that rebooting or restarting the program will not cause it to become enabled again, and it should not subsequently appear in Processes.

[kellycraven]

Yep. Disabling it in startup does prevent it from running after a reboot.

I still wonder how it was installed, since it didn't come in via a Corel Update.

Also, no word on how to uninstall it. (Even though the exe is in the same dir as PSP is it integral? Nothing tells me is is.)

Last, other users may not know how to disable it in startup. Given the horrible performance issues it causes Corel should make getting rid of it easy, or even nuke it themselves. It's not anywhere near the quality bar Corel had set for itself in the past. I say that about its CPU usage and its functionality as well.

[JoeB]

Yep. Disabling it in startup does prevent it from running after a reboot.

I still wonder how it was installed, since it didn't come in via a Corel Update.

It is part of the original install package and a similar utility is included in some other software, Adobe Acrobat and Reader for example. Ostensibly its purpose is to help users make sure they don't miss any updates, but it's intrusive and more of an issue than a help IMHO. I disable it for all programs that have something similar.

[kellycraven]

Yep. Disabling it in startup does prevent it from running after a reboot.

I still wonder how it was installed, since it didn't come in via a Corel Update.

It is part of the original install package and a similar utility is included in some other software, Adobe Acrobat and Reader for example. Ostensibly its purpose is to help users make sure they don't miss any updates, but it's intrusive and more of an issue than a help IMHO. I disable it for all programs that have something similar.

That may be true, but the app that is/was running at startup has not been putting an icon on the taskbar, nor taking major bits of resources. THAT is new as of a few weeks ago. Since I have not installed nor updated any Corel apps in many months, the taskbar app and background task must have piggybacked in on something clandestine like.

Forgive me, but an app that doesn't give us the opportunity to opt out, can't be uninstalled, magically get added to run at startup, and even uses large amounts of resources when checking for updates is off, is the very definition of malware, or at least adware.

If it was installed months ago why didn't it start running then? JEZ! This how timebombs in viruses work. Get installed and sit there ticking down the clock.

How does Corel respond?