Thio's Background App Notifier is a lightweight Windows utility designed to alert users about new auto-starting background services and scheduled tasks that are not typically visible through standard Windows notifications. This tool helps you stay informed about programs that may run silently in the background without your knowledge.
Key Features:
Monitor Hidden Auto-Run Items: Detects new or modified Windows Services and Scheduled Tasks that launch at startup or daily, which are often overlooked by default Windows tools.
Silent Startup Check Option: Can be configured to scan for changes automatically at each Windows login, providing a notification only if new auto-starting items are detected.
Detailed Information On Demand: Double-click any entry in the list to view full details, including executable paths, service start types, task triggers, and detection history.
Portable and Installer Options: Available as a standalone .exe for portable use or via an installer that supports updates through winget.
Integration with Winget: Once installed using the .msi package, the tool can be updated seamlessly via winget commands, ensuring you always have the latest version.
Target Audience and Benefits:
Ideal for tech-savvy users, system administrators, and security enthusiasts who want to maintain awareness of background processes running on their systems. This utility provides a simple way to monitor potentially intrusive auto-starting services or tasks without requiring constant manual oversight. It helps you stay informed about what runs in the background, empowering you to manage your system more effectively.
README
Thio's Background App Notifier
A lightweight Windows tool that notifies you about new auto-starting background services and scheduled tasks, which Windows does not tell you about.
It does not run continuously, it's not a hypocrite. But you can set it to quietly run once at each Windows startup, and it will show a message box if any new auto running items are found since last check. If not, it just closes.
> [!NOTE]
> This is not meant for security purposes or detecting apps actively trying to hide, nor does it determine whether an app is "good" or "bad". It just makes you more aware than before.
For the latest release, look under Assets and grab either:
Installer: The .msi — installs per-user or for all users. This will also allow it to be updated via winget later.
Portable: The standalone Thio-Background-App-Notifier_*.exe -- just run it, no install needed.
What It Does (And Why?)
Many programs set themselves to launch at startup or daily without ever showing up in the normal Startup apps list. They register a Windows Service or a Scheduled Task instead, which run silently in the background and are easy to miss.
The first time you run it, it records a baseline of:
Scheduled tasks that run at login
Scheduled tasks that run daily
Windows Services set to start Automatically
After that, whenever you open it (or let it check at logon), it tells you what's new since you last looked and highlights it.
It is fully portable (just one exe), but there is an optional.msi installer, so you can keep it up to date via winget.
What It Does NOT Track (On Purpose)
It does not track "regular" startup apps, like ones that add themselves to your or the registry keys. Because:
Windows already notifies you about those via its built-in "Startup app notifications" setting.
Recommended you turn this ON:
Settings ▸ System ▸ Notifications ▸ Startup app notifications
This app focuses on the categories Windows doesn't warn you about, so the two complement each other.
However, this app can show you whether that Windows setting is currently On, and can even turn it on for you.
It's Not a Background Process
It only scans when you open it, and exits when you close it.
If you want automatic checks, there's an optional "Re-check on each Windows Startup" toggle.
It scans silently and only pops up a notification if something new actually appeared, otherwise you never see it.
How to Use
Run it once to set your baseline. The first launch just records everything currently set to auto-start — nothing is flagged as new yet.
Open it again whenever you want to check. It rescans and shows any auto-run Services or Scheduled Tasks that appeared since last time, highlighted in the list.
Double-click any row for full details (executable path, service start type, task triggers, when it was first detected, etc.).
Use "All Startup Services" or "All Startup Tasks" to browse everything currently set to run, not just the new stuff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does it run constantly in the background?
A: No. It only scans when you open it. The optional "Re-check at startup" does a single silent check at logon and then exits if there's nothing new.
Q: Why doesn't it list my normal startup programs?
A: Because Windows already warns you about "normal" startup apps via its built-in "Startup app notifications." This tool covers the categories Windows doesn't (background Services and Scheduled Tasks). There may be other categories added in the future, but these are the big ones.
Q: Why not just use Sysinternals Autoruns?
A: The point of this app is the notifications it gives. If you just want to see a complete list of all of them, Autoruns is still more complete.
Q: Does it need administrator rights?
A: Not for normal scanning or the detection log. Some items you lack permission to read are simply skipped.
Q: Does it change or remove any of my startup items?
A: No. It's read-only — it only reports what it finds. The only thing it writes is its own detection log and (optionally) its own startup shortcut.
Q: Will this detect malware?
A: Possibly, but it's mainly intended for legitimate software with annoying startup practices. There are lots of other ways malware can hide that this app wouldn't catch.
Building From Source
Expand for details
Requirements:
Visual Studio (with the .NET desktop workload)
.NET Framework 4.8 and 4.8.1 developer pack
Instructions:
Open src/New-Startup-App-Notifier.slnx in Visual Studio.
Select your build configuration (Debug or Release).
Build and run.
The installer is built with WiX; the installer definition lives in the Build/ folder.