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Svchost.exe
Host Process for Windows Services
Description
Svchost.exe is used to load Dynamic Linked Library services. It is often used multiple times to load different services, and can even load a group of services in one pass.
Task Manager only shows the "Svchost" as a process, failing to show the actual processes it loaded. This often leads to confusion as to why so many duplicate services seem to be running. At a command prompt, enter:
tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"
to see the actual services that svchost has loaded.
Users can encounter crash events that list svchost.exe as the problem. It really means the DLL that svchost loaded is the problem, not Svchost itself. Svchost is considered a critical process within Windows and cannot be terminated with Task Manager.
Svchost.exe is a 32/64-bit executable for a graphics UI style application.
This directory holds the 32-bit system files on the 64-bit editions of Windows. WOW stands for Windows On Windows. When a 32-bit program runs, Windows will simulate this directory as being c:\windows\system32 for backwards compatibility.
The WinSxS directory holds Windows Side-by-Side DLLs. WinSxS allows multiple versions of the same DLL (code libraries) to exist on the same system. This ensures that every application will get the DLL version they were tested and designed for. The result is improved application and system stability. See details for full directory location.
There are no known security risks in using Svchost.exe assuming it has not been modified or replaced by virus or malware and it resides in the default directory. This file is installed as part of the Windows operating system.
The following
files are required when running this program. These may call other files, and there can be additional required files not in this list. Required files for non-Core OS programs above are not included.
* indicates a file that is not required in all versions. Click on filename for details.
Additional Analysis
The newest version of Svchost.exe requires a C++ library, and was likely written in Micorsoft Visual C++. It was likely built using Visual Studio 2008.
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