• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

gameux.dll trying to access secure MS IP address

Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
5,731 (1.13/day)
Location
West Midlands. UK.
System Name Ryzen Reynolds
Processor Ryzen 1600 - 4.0Ghz 1.415v - SMT disabled
Motherboard mATX Asrock AB350m AM4
Cooling Raijintek Leto Pro
Memory Vulcan T-Force 16GB DDR4 3000 16.18.18 @3200Mhz 14.17.17
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ 4GB RX 580 - 1450/2000 BIOS mod 8-)
Storage Seagate B'cuda 1TB/Sandisk 128GB SSD
Display(s) Acer ED242QR 75hz Freesync
Case Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair VS 550w
Mouse Zalman ZM-M401R
Keyboard Razor Lycosa
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores https://www.3dmark.com/spy/6220813
I have a shed lot of logs in comodo firewall that gameux.dll is trying to access IP 65.55.162.27 << looked up as an MS IP address , over port 443 (https) this is being blocked by comodo though in the firewall logs gameux.dll is trying port after port, seems to be in order aswell, basically this dll is trying to get to that secure MS IP address for some reason and is port scanning to get out.........

I can't find much info on this dll though it appears to be an MS one and the behaviour of it is worrying, why is it scanning all available ports to access that IP? if this was anyone but MS this would be considered virus/spyware behaviour. It's possibly harmless but still.

Anyone came across this?

Seems this dll corresponds to MS Games Explorer that was intro'd in Vista, doesn't explain why it is trying to send information to a secure MS IP address
 

Thatguy

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
666 (0.14/day)
I have a shed lot of logs in comodo firewall that gameux.dll is trying to access IP 65.55.162.27 << looked up as an MS IP address , over port 443 (https) this is being blocked by comodo though in the firewall logs gameux.dll is trying port after port, seems to be in order aswell, basically this dll is trying to get to that secure MS IP address for some reason and is port scanning to get out.........

I can't find much info on this dll though it appears to be an MS one and the behaviour of it is worrying, why is it scanning all available ports to access that IP? if this was anyone but MS this would be considered virus/spyware behaviour. It's possibly harmless but still.

Anyone came across this?

Seems this dll corresponds to MS Games Explorer that was intro'd in Vista, doesn't explain why it is trying to send information to a secure MS IP address

Why does the disk indexing service send out notifications to the microsoft server in redmond ?

news flash, microsoft knows all about what you do with your computer unless you defeat these spyware features.
 

Kreij

Senior Monkey Moderator
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
13,817 (2.21/day)
Location
Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA)
My guess would be that it's trying to connect to information that the game explorer wants.
What that information is could be ratings or other info to display to you in the GE.
It probably was written to try different port in the event that a specific port was busy or became unavailable.
Since you are blocking it, it is probably trying all the ports it has in it's list of valid ports.
 

Thatguy

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
666 (0.14/day)
My guess would be that it's trying to connect to information that the game explorer wants.
What that information is could be ratings or other info to display to you in the GE.
It probably was written to try different port in the event that a specific port was busy or became unavailable.
Since you are blocking it, it is probably trying all the ports it has in it's list of valid ports.

Umm, no.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
4,015 (0.80/day)
Location
UK
System Name PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC12DX, 3 x NZXT FN 140mm, 1x NZXT FV V2 120mm
Memory 32gb DDR4 3200mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS R9 290 DCII-OC 4GB
Storage corsair mp600 1TB
Display(s) LG 27MB85Z 27" 1440p
Case NZXT Source 340
Power Supply Thermaltake 675w
Mouse Logitech G500S
Keyboard Logitech G510S
Software Windows 8.1 64 bit

yes

game explorer connects to the internet for age ratings/ system requirements

you can turn it off by clicking the 'options' button above the game explorer
 

Thatguy

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
666 (0.14/day)
yes

game explorer connects to the internet for age ratings/ system requirements

you can turn it off by clicking the 'options' button above the game explorer

when someone can explain why disk indexer sends volume reports and registry info to microsoft. I will be all ears.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
7,180 (1.18/day)
I have a shed lot of logs in comodo firewall that gameux.dll is trying to access IP 65.55.162.27 << looked up as an MS IP address , over port 443 (https) this is being blocked by comodo though in the firewall logs gameux.dll is trying port after port, seems to be in order aswell, basically this dll is trying to get to that secure MS IP address for some reason and is port scanning to get out.........

I can't find much info on this dll though it appears to be an MS one and the behaviour of it is worrying, why is it scanning all available ports to access that IP? if this was anyone but MS this would be considered virus/spyware behaviour. It's possibly harmless but still.

Anyone came across this?

Seems this dll corresponds to MS Games Explorer that was intro'd in Vista, doesn't explain why it is trying to send information to a secure MS IP address

Microsoft updates, sometimes they add in information in the Game Explorer folder for the individual games; for example some of my games have little age ratings and some have no information. Its a long shot but either that or its hidden secret spyware.

EDIT: Okay lol seems like everyone else managed to post while i was typing, its like fastest to the finger in this forum.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
236 (0.05/day)
Location
Jersey Shore
System Name Everyday driver
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Motherboard Asrock 870 Extreme3
Cooling Xigmatek Prime SD1484
Memory 4x GSkill 4GB DDR3 1866
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 780ti
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 245BW 1920x1200
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair TX-850
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64 SP1
cheesy999 you are correct. I was searching on MS Technet and found this:

"I recently encontered this problem again, and have since gathered more data about the problem, and solution.

The problem indeed lies with the game explorer. It will start when you first start a game that is not in the game explorer, and has not been installed into it by the game's installer (which most games do now). The game explorer detects it and adds the game to the list. It then attempts to gather more information about the game (rating, box art, etc). However, if it is unable to, the DLL will block in an endless loop of retries to the server to gather this information each time a game from the list is being started. This results in the game seemingly not loading. This being unable to can be due to a firewall blocking the connection on your computer.

To solve this problem, I disabled my firewall. I immediately saw the boxart for all the games pop up, and the games in question subsequently loaded again."

You can read the thread here:

Starting Games

It seems that disabling the Games Explorer stops this behavior.

Personally I wouldn't disable my firewall.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
4,015 (0.80/day)
Location
UK
System Name PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC12DX, 3 x NZXT FN 140mm, 1x NZXT FV V2 120mm
Memory 32gb DDR4 3200mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS R9 290 DCII-OC 4GB
Storage corsair mp600 1TB
Display(s) LG 27MB85Z 27" 1440p
Case NZXT Source 340
Power Supply Thermaltake 675w
Mouse Logitech G500S
Keyboard Logitech G510S
Software Windows 8.1 64 bit
when someone can explain why disk indexer sends volume reports and registry info to microsoft. I will be all ears.

cause Microsoft want to know what files poeple have on their computer, besides, its not as if they can do anything by knowing what you named your word document
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
7,180 (1.18/day)
cause Microsoft want to know what files poeple have on their computer, besides, its not as if they can do anything by knowing what you named your word document

Legally if Microsoft found anything it wouldn't be able to act on it. If they where using spyware for non updating purposes its technically spying. I mean i doubt Microsoft would like me looking at there computer files.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
4,267 (0.70/day)
Location
Sanford, FL, USA
Processor Intel i5-6600
Motherboard ASRock H170M-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Geminii S524
Memory G.Skill DDR4-2133 16GB (8GB x 2)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte R9-380X 4GB
Storage Samsung 950 EVO 250GB (mSATA)
Display(s) LG 29UM69G-B 2560x1080 IPS
Case Lian Li PC-Q25
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Seasonic SS-460FL2
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G110
Software Windows 10 Pro
Perhaps more people would be conviced if you could explain how Disk Indexing and Games Explorer are related?
 

Kreij

Senior Monkey Moderator
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
13,817 (2.21/day)
Location
Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA)
when someone can explain why disk indexer sends volume reports and registry info to microsoft. I will be all ears.

A link to this information or a packet dump of the data sent, please.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
4,015 (0.80/day)
Location
UK
System Name PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC12DX, 3 x NZXT FN 140mm, 1x NZXT FV V2 120mm
Memory 32gb DDR4 3200mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS R9 290 DCII-OC 4GB
Storage corsair mp600 1TB
Display(s) LG 27MB85Z 27" 1440p
Case NZXT Source 340
Power Supply Thermaltake 675w
Mouse Logitech G500S
Keyboard Logitech G510S
Software Windows 8.1 64 bit
A link to this information or a packet dump of the data sent, please.

+1 to krejj, as a vista user where can i find this info

btw i think the comp needs a bump
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,255 (4.66/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse SteelSeries Sensei RAW
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
yes

game explorer connects to the internet for age ratings/ system requirements

you can turn it off by clicking the 'options' button above the game explorer
This. GameUX is Game Explorer (aka game browser in Vista/7).

I would verify though that gameux.dll is, in fact, made by Microsoft though and not some illicit spoof. The genuine file should be C:\Windows\System32 and C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on 64-bit machines. It is between 2.4 and 2.7 MiB, the versin number should be similar to the OS number (6.#.OS Build number), the copyright field should be Microsoft Corporation but doesn't have a year, and the product name should be Microsoft Windows Operating System.
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
5,731 (1.13/day)
Location
West Midlands. UK.
System Name Ryzen Reynolds
Processor Ryzen 1600 - 4.0Ghz 1.415v - SMT disabled
Motherboard mATX Asrock AB350m AM4
Cooling Raijintek Leto Pro
Memory Vulcan T-Force 16GB DDR4 3000 16.18.18 @3200Mhz 14.17.17
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ 4GB RX 580 - 1450/2000 BIOS mod 8-)
Storage Seagate B'cuda 1TB/Sandisk 128GB SSD
Display(s) Acer ED242QR 75hz Freesync
Case Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair VS 550w
Mouse Zalman ZM-M401R
Keyboard Razor Lycosa
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores https://www.3dmark.com/spy/6220813
I know what it is, i said that in my post, what I don't know is what data its collecting and the constant port scanning is behaviour of spyware, it could just be collecting data for updates etc. We shall see as I have now turned off all updates and asked it not to collect any data/art etc from the web about my games. So it has no reason now to want to gain access to that IP.
 

Kreij

Senior Monkey Moderator
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
13,817 (2.21/day)
Location
Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA)
I agree, NdM, let us know if it keeps trying to connect even though you have it shut off.

I can't find any information that gameux or the indexer is doing anythin insidious.
 

Thatguy

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
666 (0.14/day)
I agree, NdM, let us know if it keeps trying to connect even though you have it shut off.

I can't find any information that gameux or the indexer is doing anythin insidious.

Who said anything about insidious. Its just collecting registry and file system info and broadcasting it over the network. Who know what they do with it. I personally don't my personal information to be exsposed over the network. I also have no idea of what exactly is being broadcast becuase I don't have the ability to understand the output from the service.
 
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
5,167 (0.90/day)
System Name [Daily Driver]
Processor [Ryzen 7 5800X3D]
Motherboard [Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS]
Cooling [be quiet! Dark Rock Slim]
Memory [64GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600MHz (16GBx4)]
Video Card(s) [PNY RTX 3070Ti XLR8]
Storage [1TB SN850 NVMe, 4TB 990 Pro NVMe, 2TB 870 EVO SSD, 2TB SA510 SSD]
Display(s) [2x 27" HP X27q at 1440p]
Case [Fractal Meshify-C]
Audio Device(s) [Steelseries Arctis Pro]
Power Supply [CORSAIR RMx 1000]
Mouse [Logitech G Pro Wireless]
Keyboard [Logitech G512 Carbon (GX-Brown)]
Software [Windows 11 64-Bit]
Who said anything about insidious. Its just collecting registry and file system info and broadcasting it over the network. Who know what they do with it. I personally don't my personal information to be exsposed over the network. I also have no idea of what exactly is being broadcast becuase I don't have the ability to understand the output from the service.

Were still waiting for your proof... right now ur just being annoying
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Messages
773 (0.17/day)
Location
UT,US
System Name Asrock 2012
Processor AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz
Motherboard ASRock 970 PRO3 AM3
Cooling Corsair H70 for CPU
Memory 64GB DDR3 1333mhz 16GBx4
Video Card(s) NVIDIA 1080 with stock fan
Storage 1TB GIGABYTE SSD NVME PCIE 2.0 + Samsung SSD Evo 850 250GB with Ubuntu + Samsung SSD 860 500GB win7
Display(s) LG HDR 31.5"
Case Big Black Tower
Audio Device(s) Realtek
Power Supply CORSAIR RM850X
Mouse wired chinese gaming mouse
Keyboard Microsoft ergonomic keyboard
Software Windows 10 64bit
Benchmark Scores +
@NdMk2o1o I also use comodo, even a packet dump won't reveal its content since is encrypted. I also had comodo alert me this file wanted to send data to that ip I only have this problem with Winning Eleven 8
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
26,937 (3.72/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
I've seen several games that send your gaming progress to the manufacturer's servers (using HTTPS port 443, too)
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,255 (4.66/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse SteelSeries Sensei RAW
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
I'd say it's harmless.
 

OneMoar

There is Always Moar
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
8,740 (1.72/day)
Location
Rochester area
System Name RPC MK2.5
Processor Ryzen 5800x
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Pro V2
Cooling Enermax ETX-T50RGB
Memory CL16 BL2K16G36C16U4RL 3600 1:1 micron e-die
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE RTX 3070 Ti GAMING OC
Storage ADATA SX8200PRO NVME 512GB, Intel 545s 500GBSSD, ADATA SU800 SSD, 3TB Spinner
Display(s) LG Ultra Gear 32 1440p 165hz Dell 1440p 75hz
Case Phanteks P300 /w 300A front panel conversion
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus+ Platinum 750W
Mouse Kone burst Pro
Keyboard EVGA Z15
Software Windows 11 +startisallback
Nice threadnecro
 
Top