The windows task manager provides a good start when you try to discover what programs are running on your system .but its only a first step .For more detailed data you need another tool .Your best bet :Sysinternals Process explorer (Microsoft acquired Sysinternals last year)

Get the program .It needs no formal installation ,just unzip it and run the .exe file it will then list your PC’s active process ,much as Task Manager does ,but with better descriptions and organization.
Interpreting Process Explorer’s information is fairly straightforward ,but there are some tips to help you make most of the utility.
Consider adding the useful ‘Handles' column column to the view .Handles are a convenient way to measure a processes’s resource organization .Processs with high handles usage should be the first ones you kill when resources run low.Add the column by right clicking in the header area and clicking the Select Columns Option.Click the Process Performance tab and check the box next to Handle count.
Note that Handles can also be created for media based devices like CD-R drives ,which may cause errors on eject .If you can’t safely eject a disk or memory card ,use the Find Menu to search for the drive letter followed by a colon and kill that process directly .

Instead of outright killing a process ,you can suspend it .This can be useful in the case of a runaway program stuck in an endless loop.
Want to know what a program’s process identification is to better tell whether its friend or foe?Open the program ,then switch to Process Explorer.In the top right corner is a target icon .Click this icon and drag it onto the program you want to ID ; Process Explorer will highlight the process.