Disk Activity and MsMpEng.exe Task
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- UraniumLounger
- Posts: 9295
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Disk Activity and MsMpEng.exe Task
I searched and discovered that this task has had lots of discussion on web forums. Some call it malware and others say that it is part of Windows Defender. Per Microsoft "Windows Defender is your first line of defense against spyware and other unwanted software. . . . " When I look at installed software, I see no reference to Windows Defender as a separately installed program; therefore I infer that is a component of the kernel or is bound up in MSE or another program.
Can anyone tell me what it really is and whether or not I should allow it to run? It seems to be a real resource hog, but that might just be the price one must pay for real time malware detection.
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Bob's yer Uncle
Dell Intel Core i5 Laptop, 3570K,1.60 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Windows 11 64-bit, LibreOffice,and other bits and bobs
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- Administrator
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- Status: Microsoft MVP
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Re: Disk Activity and MsMpEng.exe Task
MsMpEng.exe is the core executable of both Windows Defender and of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE).
Windows Defender is a built-in component of Windows 7. If you install another anti-virus program than MSE, it should be disabled, but if you install MSE, the built-in version will be replaced with that of MSE.
Windows Defender is a built-in component of Windows 7. If you install another anti-virus program than MSE, it should be disabled, but if you install MSE, the built-in version will be replaced with that of MSE.
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans
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- UraniumLounger
- Posts: 9295
- Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 01:27
- Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas
Re: Disk Activity and MsMpEng.exe Task
Perhaps I don't understand that explanation, Hans; but I do run MSE and no other AV. If MSE replaces it, why is it still showing up when I run Resource Monitor? Does MSE have a component that does what MsMpEng.exe does? If so, it seems to me that I have 2 competing programs running simultaneously and this one really has high disk activity and seems to run on the email port even when my email client is not running.
As you can tell, I'm still experiencing some issues. Occasionally, the system will hang for a moment or 2 and on others my Internet response times go in the toilet. The new router has improved connectivity a lot and I have a PCIE card network adapter that I will install one day next week, but I'm concerned that I'm seeing spikes in CPU usage and disk activity. To make matters worse, I cannot hang the onset of the problems on any recent events. The Windows Update kerfuffle of a few weeks back caused me to remove the bad update and the replacement was installed automatically.
As you can tell, I'm still experiencing some issues. Occasionally, the system will hang for a moment or 2 and on others my Internet response times go in the toilet. The new router has improved connectivity a lot and I have a PCIE card network adapter that I will install one day next week, but I'm concerned that I'm seeing spikes in CPU usage and disk activity. To make matters worse, I cannot hang the onset of the problems on any recent events. The Windows Update kerfuffle of a few weeks back caused me to remove the bad update and the replacement was installed automatically.
Bob's yer Uncle
Dell Intel Core i5 Laptop, 3570K,1.60 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Windows 11 64-bit, LibreOffice,and other bits and bobs
(1/2)(1+√5) |
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- Administrator
- Posts: 78545
- Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 00:14
- Status: Microsoft MVP
- Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands
Re: Disk Activity and MsMpEng.exe Task
From my previous reply: "MsMpEng.exe is the core executable of both Windows Defender and of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)."
So if MSE is your anti-virus program, you'll see MsMpEng.exe running in Task Manager and in Resource Monitor. That's nothing to worry about.
So if MSE is your anti-virus program, you'll see MsMpEng.exe running in Task Manager and in Resource Monitor. That's nothing to worry about.
Best wishes,
Hans
Hans