If you use Intel technology inside your computer in Microsoft Windows, it is very likely that you will recognize a small icon located at the bottom right of your desktop screen. It constitutes an instance of the file IAStorIcon.exe. Today at BigSoftware we will teach you what IAStorIcon.exe is and what its function is within our PC.
First of all, we must mention that IAStorIcon.exe is part of the Rapid Storage Technology (RST) software developed by the largest corporation in the manufacture of integrated circuits worldwide: Intel. The main purpose of this software is to monitor, record and improve the performance of the Intel hardware within your PC.. However, despite the above, this software It is not essential for the stable operation of our PC. That is why there is the possibility of ending its execution in case you notice an excessive consumption of resources by it or if you suspect that it has been compromised by a computer virus infection.
Is IAStorIcon.exe a virus?
The process of identifying a compromised IAStorIcon.exe is fairly straightforward. The keys are in a correct verification of the location of the file, as well as the verification that the name of the file is the corresponding one.
The following are IAStorIcon.exe errors that are commonly manifested when this software is compromised by a virus:
- IAStorIcon has stopped working.
- IAStorIcon.exe encountered a problem and needs to close.
- Access violation at address <> of module IAStorIcon.exe. Address reading <>.
- Cannot find IAStorIcon.exe.
WHERE IS IT STORED?
This is the first question we must ask ourselves. In this case, Intel installs it by default in the following location:
% ProgramFiles% Intel Intel (R) Rapid Storage Technology
For a correct verification, perform the following steps:
- First, open the Task Manager. Ctrl + Shift + Esc is the fastest way to do it.
- Locate IAStorIcon.exe in the tab Details.
- Then right-click on the file and select Open file location.
- In that folder there should be not only IAStorIcon.exe, but also several DLLs and other files with similar names such as IAStorIconLaunch.exe or IAStorUI.exe. If you see those files in that exact folder, you can be pretty sure that the file is not fake.
- Finally, repeat the above steps to all the IAStorIcon.exe files run in Task Manager. Actually, there should only be one, so if there are multiple, it’s extremely important to see where the files are being opened from so you can determine which one is the real one.
HOW IS THIS WRITTEN?
At first glance it may seem easy to identify a misspelled IAStorIcon.exe file, but the facts indicate that it is not. Sometimes an uppercase i and a lowercase L look identical, which is often exploited by malicious programs to trick you into believing that a file is something it is not. The oldest trick in the world.
Here are some examples of poorly written IAStorIcon.exe files, note the similarity between these:
- IAStorlcon.exe
- LAStorIcon.exe
- IAStoreIcon.exe
- lAStorlcon.exe
If necessary, you will need to copy the file name into a case-insensitive tool and convert everything to lowercase. This can be very useful to see if the file is genuine or not. The correct spelling, in lower case, is iastoricon.exe.
How to remove an IAStorIcon.exe virus
The first thing to do is immediately remove the fake IAStorIcon.exe files. Either you find the EXE file in a location other than the one provided by Intel or the name is misspelled, you will need to proceed to completely remove the file from your computer.
There are many ways to scan your computer for malware, but before taking this action, we must consider the options below, which could contribute significantly to saving time.
- First, try to delete the IAStorIcon EXE file manually. To do this, select it once and press Remove on your keyboard, or right-click to find the delete option. To make sure you find every instance of the file on your computer, use a file search tool like Everything which is very simple and quick to use. In case you get an error about IAStorIcon.exe being locked, try a file unlocker such as LockHunter to free it from its contents, and then try deleting the file again.
- You can also run an on-demand virus cleaner such as Malwarebytes or McAfee’s Stinger portable program to remove the IAStorIcon.exe virus.
- If you don’t want a lot of complications, use your regular antivirus program to search for IAStorIcon.exe threats. Whether the on-demand scanner found something or not, it is always better to have multiple engines to search for problems.
- Finally, remove the IAStorIcon.exe virus with a startup antivirus program if you think the above methods were not enough. These programs are useful because they run before Windows starts, which means they also run before IAStorIcon.exe starts, making it much more likely that they will remove a rogue virus.
Prevent IAStorIcon.exe from Starting with Windows
If you have IAStorIcon.exe running on your PC and it hasn’t been compromised by any malware, you may simply not want it running on your PC because it consumes some of your valuable hardware resources. If this is the case, you can disable it from starting with your operating system. To achieve this, you will need to edit the IAStorIcon.exe startup option.
There are multiple ways to decide which programs are running or not when Windows starts. However, all you have to do is use the Task Manager on the Start tab or through System Settings.