If you are using your PC normally and suddenly notice that it starts to slow down excessively and the fans start making a lot of noise for no apparent reason, it is possible that the service Antimalware service executable be the culprit and it is hogging all of your PC’s resources. In this article, we’ll tell you why it happens and what you can do about it.
When the CPU is at 100% for a long time, everything we do on the PC starts to slow down excessively, to the point that many tasks can crash or even get stuck. It is, of course, quite annoying, but unfortunately it can be something very common, especially if you open a file downloaded from the Internet, and we will tell you why right away.
Antimalware Service Executable, what is it?
As the name suggests, it is an inbuilt Windows anti-malware tool that helps defend your PC against malware and other virus threats. In other words, it is part of the antivirus built into the operating system. It appears in task manager with the name of the process MsMpEng.exeand is a background process for the built-in antivirus tool of Windows Defender.
Generally it is a service that is always active and goes unnoticed, because like many other tools it is designed to work in the background without the user noticing, but it must be kept in mind. mind that it is also a service designed to protect us in real time from viruses and threats and, therefore, always analyzes all the changes we make to the PC to ensure that they are free of problems. And, as we mentioned earlier, this is especially important when we try to download a file or run something downloaded from the Internet.
During these automatically executed scans, the Antimalware Service Executable process uses more system resources, especially the CPU. This is common in all antiviruses on the market, and yet it is a process that should only take a few moments… the problem arises when this service leaves the CPU at 100% for a long time, causing the whole PC to run excessively slow.
What if your CPU goes to 100% because of it?
That this happens is perfectly normal, as you will understand, and it is inherent to the activation of Windows Defender in the system; therefore, the way to prevent this service from putting the CPU at 100% is to disable the built-in antivirus in Windows, which it is not recommended not at all because we would be left unprotected against viruses, malware and other threats. However, it is something you can do at specific times if needed. To do this, go to Start -> Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Windows Security and there click on the “Open Windows Security” button (you can also type “Windows Security” after clicking on Start to access it directly.
In the window that opens, click on “Antivirus and threat protection” and then click on “Manage settings” at the bottom. In the window that opens, you just need to disable “Real-time protection”, and the Antimalware service executable will stop “boosting” you for a while (then it will automatically turn on again when you restart your PC). Keep in mind, again, that this is not recommended, but if you are having serious performance issues because of this, this may be a temporary fix.
Normally, one of the best alternatives if you have some time to spare is to simply update Windows: install automatic updates, and you will most likely receive a Windows Defender virus definitions update that will cause the Stopping the Antimalware Service Executable process. consume so much CPU trying to scan your files for viruses and threats.
