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A few times a day, I get this weird invisible window that pops up

invisible window

It goes away when I exit it out or click into it, but it keeps showing up. Any clues as to what program this might be and/or how to solve it? This is a zoomed-in picture of the icon

icon

EDIT: I found the little sucker. Task manager screenshot

joshua
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    That icon is the default icon one gets when creating a C# app with visual studio, so it won't be real helpful in identifying the cause. – kicken Mar 04 '20 at 06:44
  • It surely isn't a service. Services don't have windows. – Señor CMasMas Mar 04 '20 at 15:53
  • Also.. there is no such thing as a "UAC service".. As @kicken is pointing out.. when there is a window with no title and a default c# icon.. how can one say with any assurance what it was?.. well it is a PITA but try [this](https://superuser.com/questions/1052541/how-can-i-get-a-history-of-running-processes) to figure it out. – Señor CMasMas Mar 04 '20 at 16:04
  • @chough Please share a screenshot of your task manager when that window is open. It shows the process in task manager as UAC service in the processes tab. – Valay_17 Mar 04 '20 at 16:11
  • I misspoke earlier. The UAC service is what facilitates the privileged escalation every time you see a "do you want this thingy to run?" popup. The UAC service ***IS NOT THE THING*** that is being run. That is what I meant. – Señor CMasMas Mar 04 '20 at 16:16
  • @Valay_17 Thanks so much! I'll uninstall and reinstall Skyfonts to see if that fixes it. – joshua Mar 04 '20 at 21:10
  • Actually you cannot fix it as it is bound to come back as @SeñorCMasMas said earlier, it is a service that facilitates the privileged escalation. Since it is something related to fonts, it means that it will require administrator rights to perform changes to windows. The only thing that you could do is take away the administration rights from skyfonts or use another application for changing fonts or download the font that you like the most and not use any application for the same. – Valay_17 Mar 05 '20 at 03:31
  • Or if you still wish to use the skyfonts application, you can create another virtual desktop and place that window in that desktop so that it doesn’t come in between alt+tab screen where you need to tab twice because that window comes in between the last two things that you used(happens with me a lot). – Valay_17 Mar 05 '20 at 03:34
  • @Valay_17 You're right, it's back even though I uninstalled and reinstalled. I suppose that's the best option now, thanks! – joshua Mar 06 '20 at 05:06

1 Answers1

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General overview

The icon is the default icon when a #C application is created with Visual Studio.

It is an UAC service which is something that facilitates the escalation of privileges provided to the application.

Such services aren’t supposed to have any windows but due to some bugs at the developing end, they are visible to the users and are quite annoying.

OP’s case

The icon mentioned by the OP is a special kind of service which has some software related bugs which lead to the window being visible whereas it should be hidden.

You cannot prevent it from coming back as it is working in coordination with the Skyfonts application which is a fonts application which means it will require partially administrative rights to change the fonts of windows.

Possible solutions

This particular issue can be solved by using another fonts application that doesn’t require administrative rights or downloading the font that you like the most and not use any application for the same.

Solution for services that originate from driver update applications or games

This is a necessary service and hence nothing can be done to prevent it, also do not try to interrupt these services while they are working.

The only option to prevent it from constantly appearing in between while Alt + Tab ing is to create a virtual desktop and drag and drop the window to that desktop so that it doesn’t interfere while cycling through the open windows.

Warning

Make sure to check which applications these services originate from, if they are from applications that you do not recognize, please take proper action as they can be malicious too. Eg: Malware or virus.

Note: It is not related to Skyfonts specifically and there maybe many another applications that may result in the same window appearing.

Other services that I am aware of which have such windows appearing are Lenovo driver update services (please add more if you are aware of them).

Creating a general solution for anyone who faces this issue, there are many people who search for this on the web but can’t find a general solution so trying to make one. Help me make it better. Also trying this new method for the first time please comment if it can be improved.

Valay_17
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