The file conhost.exe (Console Windows Host) is provided by Microsoft and is usually legitimate and completely safe. It can be seen working on Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.
Conhost.exe must be running for Command Prompt to interact with Windows Explorer. One of its features is to provide the ability to drag and drop files/folders directly into the Command Prompt. Even third party programs can use conhost.exe if they need command line access.
In most cases, conhost.exe is completely safe and does not need to be removed or scanned for viruses. It is even normal for this process to be running multiple times simultaneously (you will often see multiple instances of conhost.exe in Task Manager).
However, there are situations where a virus could be masquerading as the EXE file on the conhost. One sign that conhost.exe is malicious or fake is if it is consuming a lot of memory.
Windows Vista and Windows XP use crss.exe for a similar purpose.
Software that uses Conhost.exe
The conhost.exe process starts with every instance of Command Prompt and with any program that uses this command-line tool, even if you don’t see the program running (as if it were running in the background).
Here are some of the processes known to start conhost.exe:
- Dell’s “DFS.Common.Agent.exe”
- NVIDIA’s “Web Helper.exe”
- PlexScript’s “PlexScriptHost.exe”
- The Adobe Creative Cloud “node.exe”
Is Conhost.exe a virus?
Most of the time there is no reason to assume that conhost.exe is a virus or that it needs to be removed. However, there are a few things you can check if you’re not sure.
For starters, if you see conhost.exe running on Windows Vista or Windows XP, then it’s most likely a virus, or at least an unwanted program, because those versions of Windows don’t use this file. If you see conhost.exe on any of those versions of Windows, scroll to the bottom of this page to see what you need to do.
Another indicator that conhost.exe may be fake or malicious is if it is stored in the wrong folder. The actual conhost.exe file is run from a very specific folder and from that folder only . The easiest way to tell if the conhost.exe process is dangerous or not is to use Task Manager to do two things: a) check its description, and b) check the folder it’s running from.
- Open Task Manager. The easiest way to do this is by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard.
- Look for the conhost.exe process in the Details (or Processes in Windows 7) tab.
There can be multiple instances of conhost.exe, so it is important to follow the steps below for each one. The best way to gather all the conhost.exe processes is to sort the list by selecting the Name column ( Image Name in Windows 7).
Don’t see any tabs in Task Manager? Use the More Details link at the bottom of Task Manager to expand the program to full size.
- Inside the conhost.exe entry, look to the right under the “Description” column to make sure it says Console Windows Host .
The correct description here does not necessarily mean that the process is safe since a virus could use the same description. However, if you see any other description, the EXE file is most likely not the actual Windows Host Console process and should be treated as a threat.
- Right-click or tap-and-hold on the process and select Open File Location .
- The folder that opens will show you exactly where conhost.exe is stored.
The file conhost.exe (Console Windows Host) is provided by Microsoft and is usually legitimate and completely safe. It can be seen working on Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.
Conhost.exe must be running for Command Prompt to interact with Windows Explorer. One of its features is to provide the ability to drag and drop files/folders directly into the Command Prompt. Even third party programs can use conhost.exe if they need command line access.
In most cases, conhost.exe is completely safe and does not need to be removed or scanned for viruses. It is even normal for this process to be running multiple times simultaneously (you will often see multiple instances of conhost.exe in Task Manager).
However, there are situations where a virus could be masquerading as the EXE file on the conhost. One sign that conhost.exe is malicious or fake is if it is consuming a lot of memory.
Windows Vista and Windows XP use crss.exe for a similar purpose.
Software that uses Conhost.exe
The conhost.exe process starts with every instance of Command Prompt and with any program that uses this command-line tool, even if you don’t see the program running (as if it were running in the background).
Here are some of the processes known to start conhost.exe:
- Dell’s “DFS.Common.Agent.exe”
- NVIDIA’s “Web Helper.exe”
- PlexScript’s “PlexScriptHost.exe”
- The Adobe Creative Cloud “node.exe”
Is Conhost.exe a virus?
Most of the time there is no reason to assume that conhost.exe is a virus or that it needs to be removed. However, there are a few things you can check if you are not sure.
For starters, if you see conhost.exe running on Windows Vista or Windows XP, then it’s most likely a virus, or at least an unwanted program, because those versions of Windows don’t use this file. If you see conhost.exe on any of those versions of Windows, scroll to the bottom of this page to see what you need to do.
Another indicator that conhost.exe may be fake or malicious is if it is stored in the wrong folder. The actual conhost.exe file is run from a very specific folder and from that folder only . The easiest way to tell if the conhost.exe process is dangerous or not is to use Task Manager to do two things: a) check its description, and b) check the folder it’s running from.
-
- Open Task Manager. The easiest way to do this is by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard.
- Look for the conhost.exe process in the Details (or Processes in Windows 7) tab.
There can be multiple instances of conhost.exe, so it is important to follow the steps below for each one. The best way to gather all the conhost.exe processes is to sort the list by selecting the Name column ( Image Name in Windows 7).
Don’t see any tabs in Task Manager? Use the More Details link at the bottom of Task Manager to expand the program to full size.
The file conhost.exe (Console Windows Host) is provided by Microsoft and is usually legitimate and completely safe. It can be seen working on Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.
Conhost.exe must be running for Command Prompt to interact with Windows Explorer. One of its features is to provide the ability to drag and drop files/folders directly into the Command Prompt. Even third party programs can use conhost.exe if they need command line access.
In most cases, conhost.exe is completely safe and does not need to be removed or scanned for viruses. It is even normal for this process to be running multiple times simultaneously (you will often see multiple instances of conhost.exe in Task Manager).
However, there are situations where a virus could be masquerading as the EXE file on the conhost. One sign that conhost.exe is malicious or fake is if it is consuming a lot of memory.
Windows Vista and Windows XP use crss.exe for a similar purpose.
Software that uses Conhost.exe
The conhost.exe process starts with every instance of Command Prompt and with any program that uses this command-line tool, even if you don’t see the program running (as if it were running in the background).
Here are some of the processes known to start conhost.exe:
- Dell’s “DFS.Common.Agent.exe”
- NVIDIA’s “Web Helper.exe”
- PlexScript’s “PlexScriptHost.exe”
- The Adobe Creative Cloud “node.exe”
Is Conhost.exe a virus?
Most of the time there is no reason to assume that conhost.exe is a virus or that it needs to be removed. However, there are a few things you can check if you are not sure.
For starters, if you see conhost.exe running on Windows Vista or Windows XP, then it’s most likely a virus, or at least an unwanted program, because those versions of Windows don’t use this file. If you see conhost.exe on any of those versions of Windows, scroll to the bottom of this page to see what you need to do.
Another indicator that conhost.exe may be fake or malicious is if it is stored in the wrong folder. The actual conhost.exe file is run from a very specific folder and from that folder only . The easiest way to tell if the conhost.exe process is dangerous or not is to use Task Manager to do two things: a) check its description, and b) check the folder it’s running from.
- Open Task Manager. The easiest way to do this is by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on your keyboard.
- Look for the conhost.exe process in the Details (or Processes in Windows 7) tab.
There can be multiple instances of conhost.exe, so it is important to follow the steps below for each one. The best way to gather all the conhost.exe processes is to sort the list by selecting the Name column ( Image Name in Windows 7).
Don’t see any tabs in Task Manager? Use the More Details link at the bottom of Task Manager to expand the program to full size.