The Windows Task Manager... In English!

You use the Ctrl+Alt+Del "Task Manager" to see what’s running on your PC, to close crashed programs and processes, and to check performance.

You probably avoid a few processes whose names mean nothing to you, but they’re essential to Windows. svchost.exe sure likes to appear all the time and multiple times at that. What’s taskmgr.exe? Oh yeah, it’s the window you’re looking at right now. ctfmon? Is he related to Pokemon? navapsvc.exe? Navy? Napa Valley? Navel? NOTA (none of the above)?

This is not a comprehensive list. But it has the standard processes as well as process names from popular applications. If you want to know about a process, the best place to go is… ProcessLibrary.com. Just like adware and spyware, there are bad processes that come to life thanks to the bad guys like Trojans and viruses. The site has a list of the top five security threats, so watch out for those processes!

Here goes...

acrotray.exe

Acrobat Assistant that is used when printing documents to a PDF. The process should not be removed while converting documents to PDF.

ADService.exe

Active Disk Service is a component of the Iomega zip drive.

AppServices.exe

Also for the Iomega zip drive.

ccEvtMrg.exe

Associated with Symantec’s Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

ccSetMgr.exe

Also associated with Symantec’s Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

csrss.exe

System process that is the main executable for the Microsoft Client / Server Runtim Server Subsystem. It should not be shut down.

ctfmon.exe

Non-essential system process. If you’re using only English as the language, then it is not needed. However, it’s recommended to leave it alone.

explorer.exe

This must always be running in the background. It’s a user interface process that runs the windows graphical shell for the desktop, task bar, and Start menu.

iexplore.exe

Internet Explorer browser..

lsass.exe

Local Security Authority Service is a Windows security-related system process for handling local security and login policies.

Navapsvc.exe, nvsrvc32.exe, and navapw32.exe

These are Symantec’s North AnvtiVirus processes. They or whatever virus program you use should run all the time.

realsched.exe

RealNetworks Scheduler is not an essential process. It checks for updates for RealNetworks products. It can be safely disabled.

rundll32.exe

A system process that executes DLLs and loads their libraries.

savscan.exe

Nortons AntiVirus process. Keep it.

services.exe

An essential process that manages the starting and stopping of services including the those in boot up and shut down. Do not terminate it.

smss.exe

Session Manager SubSystem is a system process that is a central part of the Windows operating system. If you try to kill it, it will be difficult… hence, the importance of leaving it be.

spoolsv.exe

Microsoft printer spooler service handles local printer processes. It’s a system file.

svchost.exe x 6

You may have more than six appearances of this process or less. It’s there multiple times to handle processes executed from DLLs. Leave it there.

System

This is a file that stores information related to local hardware settings in the registry under ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE’. Kill it and kiss your PC’s stability bye bye.

System Idle Process

Calculates the amount of CPU currently in use by applications. This won’t go away no matter how hard you try. Don’t try it, OK?

taskmgr.exe

Appears when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del.

wdfmgr.exe

Windows Driver Foundation Manager is part of Windows media player 10 and newer. Better not to stop the process.

winlogon.exe

Handles the login and logout processes. It’s essential.

winword.exe

The great Carnac says, “You’re running Microsoft Word.”

Don’t panic if you see something you have on the “bad guy” list.

svchost.exe is important, but some are good guys and some are bad guys. Do your research before deleting anything. For instance, I have admin.exe, which has been reported as a bad guy. However, it is the admin process for one of my programs. When I closed the program, admin.exe also went away.

Check out a good real-time spyware tool, such as Spyware IT, to keep your machine thoroughly protected.

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Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. Meryl has written for The Dallas Morning News, AbsoluteWrite, O'Reilly, New Riders, and others. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.