What does processes mean on task manager

amit_1

What does processes mean on task manager. On my pc it says processess 63 and on my laptop 58 are they meant to be like this or lower. Both PC and laptop have same software. I think Aol takes alot of it and Mcafee. Any one can explain what it means?

londonman81

As far as I know processes means the number of application that are using part of your CPU.

The amount of CPU they are using of shown as a percentage which varies every few seconds.

Can someone provide more detail please?

Joe_Bloggs

That seems a lot of processes. I have only 33 running and I'm running Firefox and XVid encoding via Gordian Knot, have Zone Alarm and AVG running.
J_B.

amit_1

thats what i was thinking 66 is a lot and 55 on my laptop is it because of AOL and Mcafee, microsoft spy wear, Adware.

highlighter

Amit if you have Microsoft antispyware (just noticed you have) you can check what each of the processes are. Go into Advanced tools -> system explorers -> running processes. At least these will tell you what they are and you can go from there...

culpepper

you can always type the name of the process into ask jeeves (ive done this loads of times when I was suspicious of a process) there is nearly always someone somewhere who has asked the exact same question. Usually my suspicions are unfounded but a couple of times ive found things I would rather not be running and discovered how to stop them this way.Do make sure the name is exactly the same as in the running processes list though.

Rex_Mundi

You can check out what each of the processes do HERE . It will tell you what they are and recommends what you can do with them.

greyster

Hackers can disguise their spyware to look like normal processes by giving them technical sounding names. Infact clever hackers can make processes disappear, reappear and even rename themselves. That said I wouldn't waste your time checking your process list manually and get protection software to do it for you.

Get firewall protection to prevent attacks in the first place - Norton Internet Security, Mcafee, Zone Alarm ......

Get Virus Protection, to check your files don't contain code that will start bad processes. Norton Antivirus, NOD32, Mcafee .....

Get Adware Protection. Although this season's Virus Protection software is beginning to cover adware protection a lot more. I recommend Lavasoft Ad-ware Personal (which is free).

There is no such thing as being 100% safe unless you disconnect yourself from the internet.

greyster

Also note that are always more processes than applications running on your PC. Some applications need to run lots of "processes" in order to carry out their service. Thats why manually checking them can be a pain.

djohn2002uk

I've got 62 running and find no probs.

blinky

Only 65 at the moment as I'm about to shut down.....