Is your computer running slow or suffering system glitches? If so, it may need maintenance. If you want to stop seeing the “Program” entry in the list of Startup items in Task Manager, you have to delete the entry (that corresponds to it) from the Windows registry.

How to get rid of the “Program” entry or invalid characters entry from the Startup programs list on Windows 10 Some unauthorized operations might have been executed (most likely without your knowledge) to replace genuine apps with those strange items. However, for the applications whose names consist of invalid characters or rarely used symbols, there is a good chance that a rogue or malicious program worked to place those items there.

Now, you surely understand where those Program entries come from or why they appear in your list of Startup applications. Well, since the program’s executable file is gone (and Windows cannot find it), your system is forced to display the title “Program” (in place of the application’s real name). Even poorly-coded installers manage to do the business with them. Executable files for programs are hardly ever left behind after the uninstallation operations have reached completion. Now, you must understand that Windows is programmed to load up Startup apps through their executable files, but since you uninstalled the application in view, its executable file is likely to have been deleted. The program’s entries were supposed to have been deleted, but some of them ended up remaining in their default locations – especially the entries that define the program as a Startup app. You probably uninstalled the app, but its uninstaller (or uninstallation wizard) failed to perform the required data-removal tasks correctly. The strange or abnormal program entry you saw once belonged to a regular application on your computer. Why are there invalid items or weird programs in the list of Startup programs on my system? Some users even reported seeing rectangles (and similar shape images) or weird objects as their application icon.

Or you might have seen other strange entries in the Startup program list – especially those that contain invalid or rarely used characters. About Outbyte, uninstall instructions, EULA, Privacy Policy.

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