Is svchost.exe a Virus !!

R

rohanvg26

Right off the assembly line
I Just Read The December Issue of FastTrack , In a Chapter it was Mentioned that Windows Exeuction file called "svchost.exe" .. I Just Checked My PC if it was there by Opening Task Manager and then Processes Tab .. There Were Many svchost.exe running ... I Tried Closing it by clicking End Process and Then Everything was Closed and Only I Could See My Desktop Wallpaper .. Is It Really a VIRUS ??? Is it Harmful ??? What do I Need to Do ???

I Have a Windows 7 64-Bit OS and Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 3.00 Ghz ...
RAM :- 6 GB

Thanks In Advance ... :)
 
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
rohanvg26 said:
I Just Read The December Issue of FastTrack , In a Chapter it was Mentioned that Windows Exeuction file called "svchost.exe" .. I Just Checked My PC if it was there by Opening Task Manager and then Processes Tab .. There Were Many svchost.exe running ... I Tried Closing it by clicking End Process and Then Everything was Closed and Only I Could See My Desktop Wallpaper .. Is It Really a VIRUS ??? Is it Harmful ??? What do I Need to Do ???

I Have a Windows 7 64-Bit OS and Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 3.00 Ghz ...
RAM :- 6 GB

Thanks In Advance ... :)
Click to expand...

Like you mentioned its a Windows Execution File and not a Virus
 
Vyom

Vyom

The Power of x480
Staff member
Admin
Svchost.exe is part of the Windows OS, which helps to execute .dll files at runtime.

One svchost.exe process could be running multiple services. Which you can see by right clicking one svchost.exe process in task manager and selecting "Goto Services". Here you can disable the service which you don't need.

Of course, chances are you could turn off an essential service making your system unstable.
So better leave as it is. :p

More info in this excellent article:
What is svchost.exe And Why Is It Running? - How-To Geek
 
K

Kingryan007

Right off the assembly line
There IS actually a certain worm that identifies as svchost in the task manager.
It is labelled as a host process for windows services in the properties page.
It replicates by creating an exe file in every folder in any removable drive that happens to connect to the infected computer. The file size is around 1 Mb and simply deleting it wont help. It will simply reappear as soon as you leave the folder.
You need to download the sysinternals suite or a utility called process explorer, becuse the worm kills tskmgr.exe. Open it and browse to the end of the list and find the culprit. It is the one with a folder containing a mash up of images for an icon. Right click and click show process location. Delete THIS file. Go back to process explorer and kill the worm by right clicking on it. There , you just disinfected your computer. Any other svchost is harmless. Now you can also clean your removable drive. Also some top end antiviruses will detect this. Hope this helps.
 
Faun

Faun

Wahahaha~!
Staff member
lol...it can be used by virus but no, svchost is not a virus by default.
 
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