Associates.exe is a Trojan.Lineage-BT. Associates.exe tries to terminate antiviral programs installed on a user computer. Associates.exe monitors user Internet activity and private information. It sends stolen data to a hacker site. Related files: %System%\Associates.exe More info: http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses... Removal: Kill Associates.exe process and remove Associates.exe from Windows startup using antivirus (also check How To Remove section)Startup Optimizer.