Antimalware Service Executable is a Windows process. Unless it has been modified by some other software, this process is 100% legitimate and reliable, we don’t have to worry if it is loaded into memory. This process is related to Windows Defender and the different security measures that Windows 10 and Windows 11 include as standard. Contrary to what many may think, it is not a fake antivirus installed on Windows, nor a virus posing as security software. This is a Windows legal process.
This process is loaded by executable “MsMpEng.exe” of the operating system. It stands for Microsoft Malware Protection Engine and because Windows Defender is built into the Windows kernel itself (unlike installing standalone security software), this process will always be loaded in memory, even when using a third-party antivirus. Its function is to scan downloaded files for spyware and quarantine or delete them if they are suspicious. It also scans our system for known trojans, harmful software, viruses and other similar programs.
Generally, this process does not consume resources on the PC while it is idle. It will only use CPU, RAM and disk when we launch a system scan for threats, but in case we have low hardware resources it can also be related to this process consuming too much CPU disk space. That is why, for different reasons, this process triggers its consumption of resources and makes the PC go slow.
Should we disable this process?
Taking into account that we are talking about a comprehensive process to protect our PC, perhaps we should first ask ourselves why we should consider disabling it. As long as this process does not present any problem, it is convenient to leave it as enabled. However, if the circumstance arises that it presents us with a problem through an abusive use of resources, we may consider disabling it.
In this case, we can choose to disable this process and even Windows Defender, because, although it is integrated, it is not mandatory to use it. However, before carrying it out, it is convenient that we install other antivirus software as an alternative, since Windows Defender is our only protection against malware. If we do not have a third-party antivirus installed, the Antimalware Service Executable service is automatically enabled to protect our PC as part of Windows Security.
Something that we must keep in mind is that when we install an alternative antivirus to Windows Defender on our computer, the Microsoft security solution is automatically deactivated. This means that we will depend solely and exclusively on that program that we have installed from an alternative protection company. Therefore, in the event that our new antivirus is not updated or simply does not work as expected, we will be exposed to multiple attacks that can come from Internet or any other means.
Hence the importance of being careful with the processes related to Microsoft antivirus or any other. If we close something we shouldn’t, the security software could be disabled and we could be exposed to all sorts of vulnerabilities.
Of course, in these lines at first we are assuming that we have Windows Defender as the default antivirus on our computer. But we should also know that despite the fact that this security software comes pre-installed in the Microsoft operating system, we can also disable it and use any other solution of this type. In fact, when we install another antivirus from a third-party developer while Windows Defender is active, it is automatically deactivated when it detects the installation.
From that moment we already use the external antivirus as default to protect our equipment against all types of malware. This means that if we see that the process we are talking about in these lines is consuming a good amount of RAM or CPU on our computer if we use another antivirus, in this case we should end said process.
common problems
The Antimalware Service Executable service is associated with Windows Defender and affects both Windows 10 and Windows 11 users. But despite its importance, this does not mean that it is completely reliable software. As usual with other solutions, here we can find some operating problems that we should keep in mind.
The main problems that we can find are the following, although we must bear in mind that they are not the only ones:
- High consumption of RAM, CPU and disk: this service can cause various problems with the computer’s RAM memory, high CPU and disk consumption, so, to try to solve it, we must try to disable Windows Defender and check if this solves the problem or try installing an antivirus from third parties.
- Slow down the PC: the antimalware service executable runs constantly causing our computer to slow down and preventing us from working normally.
- The antimalware executable can’t finish task: in the event that we can finish the task on the antimalware executable on our computer, it will be necessary to deactivate or eliminate Windows Defender to solve the problem. And it is that otherwise the antivirus will remain in operation, as well as its process, which can become a more serious problem.
Next, we are going to see how we can solve the main problems caused by the Antimalware Service Executable service on our PC.
Prevent MsMpEng.exe from consuming high CPU or RAM
If we use Windows Defender as the main antivirus, this process can trigger its consumption when it is analyzing the security of our PC. For example, when we download files from the Internet, unzip a file or when we connect an external hard drive to the PC or when we are carrying out a complete analysis of all the files on our equipment in search of a virus, malware or spyware if our equipment is presenting any kind of problems. As long as we are not generating file movement, it will not consume resources, unless a manual analysis is launched.
If for some reason this process is consuming too much RAM or too much CPUwe can carry out the following checks to make sure everything is correct.
With this, what we really want to tell you is that there may be other factors in the operating system itself that are negatively affecting the operation of this antivirus process. Therefore, before opting for another security solution, we should take into account the sections that we are going to describe in these same lines.
Check that there is no malware on the PC
One of the main reasons why the resource consumption of this process can be triggered is due to the presence of malware. It may happen, for example, that a virus has sneaked into the PC without being detected by the antivirus and is trying to do its thing on the PC. Because of this, Windows Defender is detecting suspicious activity and is working to find out what’s going on. And the use of resources increases exponentially.
We can try running a portable antivirus, or security software like Malwarebytes, to scan the PC in parallel with Windows Defender. In this way, if there is hidden malware, we will detect it, delete it and the Antimalware Service Executable process will consume what it always does again. And it is that one of the main objectives of the attackers on Windows-based computers is precisely the installed security solution. In this way, the malicious code sent will be able to deactivate it and take care of the rest of the software that we have stored on the computer and operating system.
Check the integrity of Windows files
It may happen that the problem is not in the antivirus itself, but in Windows. With the passage of time there are files that get damaged and cause the PC to malfunction. Every 6 months, with the new versions of Windows, the system is automatically reinstalled and usually fixes many of the problems of this type. However, it never hurts to run a full system check with the following CMD commands:
chkdsk C: /F /R
We can also execute the following commands to analyze and repair other aspects of the operating system:
sfc /scannow Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
After restarting the computer, Windows should work normally again, and none of the operating system functions should cause problems again.
Correctly configure Windows Defender features
This process may also be giving us problems due to having it misconfigured. This happens, for example, if it launches automatic scans while we are using the PC (instead of doing it when it is idle) or by scanning itself.
In the first case, what we must do is correctly configure the program task to launch automatic analysis. To do this, we will execute the “taskschd.msc” command in the Windows search engine, and we will go to the directory: Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Defender. Here we locate the task «Windows Defender Scheduled Scan«, and we check the conditions that we have configured in the triggers tab.
If we want, we can create a new trigger at a time when we are not using the PC.
We can also create a new exclusion within the Windows Defender configuration so that it ignores and does not analyze the Antimalware Service Executable process. This will avoid annoying delays that occur when trying to analyze itself.
Add the process to the exclusion list
Although it is rare, it can happen that the problem is caused because the antivirus itself, whether it is Windows Defender, or a third-party antivirus, is trying to analyze the process all the time due to its behavior, and that translates into an excessive increase in PC resources. To prevent this from happening, what we must do is add this process to the list of exclusions.
To do this, what we will do is open the Windows Defender settings (the process may vary if we use other antivirus), and enter the Protection against viruses and threats section > Manage settings > Exclusions. There, we will click on “Add exclusion”, and we will introduce the “MsMpEng.exe” process to the program.
We accept the changes and that’s it. From now on, the Antimalware Service Executable process will be whitelisted by the antivirus, so it shouldn’t spike its CPU consumption anymore.
Update Windows and drivers
Another way to fix this problem is to install all available operating system updates. It may happen that these problems are appearing due to a failure in the operating system, or in one of…
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