Baclground processes?

XP Pro, SP3, current updates, Thinkpad T60p

I just started seeing something I don't remember seeing before, altho I can't guarantee I really haven't.

With the cursor I am seeing the hour glass flashing on then very quickly off about once every second. If I've seen it before my memory is as bad as I think it is.

It makes me wonder if something new is running an invisible process in the background. I ran 3 major anti-malware programs and got nothing but 5 low risk cookies. SAS usually finds as many as a couple hundred cookies. But no sign of anything.

I don't know processes well enough to know if I'm seeing anything unusual in there. 3 or 4 are constantly changing values, but I don't remember being told that was unusual.

Suggestions? Clues? Magic words? Reassurances?

 

Well, I found it. I have turned off the Epson printer status monitor #3 half a dozen times, but this is the first time I saw it flashing the hour glass. Something about that makes me a tad suspicious about their methodology...

Thanks anyway.