Msmpeng.exe Process
Microsoft Security Essentials is the official owner of this process and it creates a hell lot of problem if not taken care of in proper manner. The msmpeng.exe generally does not bother much from the starting but if the updates are not properly availed and the one care software fails to get the daily dose of the virus definition, it might create havoc to the user.
What is msmpeng.exe?
Msmpeng.exe is the anti malware executable process of the main stream Microsoft essentials antivirus. It msmpeng is creating problems for your system read the under mentioned help topics and troubleshooting tips.
Msmpeng.exe process consumes CPU
Windows defender and windows live one care are real time protection enabled programs. They regularly keep a vigilance of the system for every task executed and every event triggered. The modern day antivirus uses real time threat sense to provide a higher level of protection from dormant offline files and every other task that could generate a threat exposure. This enables the use of regular scanning of every individual tasks and event and hence requires more memory usage and CPU usage.
This does not mean that all antivirus should hang and keeps on eating up the whole amount of CPU. Do they? No they don’t. So what is the problem with this process? The answer lies inside the code of the software and the logic implemented. Though we did not get the code (Since it’s a Microsoft Product) we did manage to find a fix for this an is mentioned below.
Msmpeng.exe working under windows Xp and Vista
It has been found that this file creates more problems in vista and seven rather than in Xp. The RAM utilization is more here and is less for xp. The worst performance can be seen with Vista with 1GB ram. The system clogs and hangs for 3-4 sec for every task triggered. Say you are opening a folder it will take 2-3 seconds to open after you have double clicked the folder.
Also if you have executable files and bulk programs inside one folder it will take much time to open such a folder every time you try to open it.
Fix for Msmpeng.exe process causing high CPU usage
The very first solution would be to upgrade the version of the Microsoft Security Essentials. It had a well known bug with older versions which have been rectified in the later versions. Also it is advisable to have the proper updates installed every week if you are an offline user. The worst part about using Microsoft products is that they are all interdependent and utilizes each others process. So if you have an antivirus version older than the Updates in your system it will create problems and vice-versa.
Other tips for overcoming this problem are listed below:
- If you are sure about the content of your folder and the path which requires more time to open or halts in between should be excluded from the real time scan. By doing so you are asking your Anti-spyware to exclude that path completely. So if you have mistakenly provided the same as a download path for any executable path from the internet, the program if malicious will create problems in your system and your antivirus can do nothing about it. So think wisely before excluding some folders from real time scanning.
- Check for scheduled scans listed in the Security essentials Options. If it is marked everyday at a fixed time change it to manual. Just uncheck the checkbox provided in the right hand side of the settings panel.
- You can also select which type of files and extensions to scan and check. Say you have may .rar or .zip files and you don not want your antivirus to scan such files every time you open the container folder. These settings can be changed with applying specific extensions and excluding them from the settings panel and the Exclude file type’s tabs.
- Uninstall this antivirus and get the all powerful kaspersky, Eset Nod or AVG. Just grow up guys. There is a whole new world beyond Microsoft.
N.B: Microsoft Security Essentials is not a bad Antivirus but it is very buggy and creates a lot of problems in comparison to the other antivirus in its class. So it is advisable to have a better hardware configuration with a good amount of RAM else move on to any other programs such as AVG or AVAST which are free and less irritating.
