How to remove an activation error

The free file information forum can help you determine if activation.exe is a virus, trojan, spyware, or adware that you can remove, or a file belonging to a Windows system or an application you can trust.

Click to Run a Free Scan for activation.exe related errors

Activation.exe file information

The process known as Microsoft Money Startup or Activation Manager belongs to software Microsoft Money (version 2002) or Activation Manager by Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) or Tages SAS.

Description: The file activation.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files". Known file sizes on Windows 7/XP are 241,714 bytes (71% of all occurrences) or 245,810 bytes.
The program has a visible window. You can uninstall this program in the control panel. The process starts when Windows starts (see Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run). File activation.exe is not a Windows system file. activation.exe seems to be a compressed file. Therefore the technical security rating is 6% dangerous, however also read the users reviews.
If you are having problems with activation.exe, you may also uninstall the program using the Control Panel ⇒ Add/Remove programs ⇒ Microsoft Money 2002 or Microsoft Money.

Recommended: Identify activation.exe related errors

If activation.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Documents and Settings", the security rating is 0% dangerous. The file size is 740,112 bytes. The program has a visible window. File activation.exe is a Verisign signed file. It is certified by a trustworthy company. Activation.exe is not a Windows system file. activation.exe seems to be a compressed file.

External information from Paul Collins:
There are different files with the same name:

"Activation" is not required to run at start up. Part of Microsoft Money
"MoneyStartUp10.0" is not required to run at start up. Part of MS Money 2002. Available via Start → Programs

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as activation.exe, particularly when located in the c:\windows or c:\windows\system32 folder. Therefore, you should check the activation.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

Score

User Comments

When I start up the computer activation.exe not found appears on the screen. I find this disturbing. How can I prevent this from occurring in the future
Lloyd Goodridge

Used by many different vendors, eg it is on my Sony Vaio and the publisher is Sony. Before allowing it, check more details for publisher and decide whether it should be running on your system
Hugo Minney

activation.exe is part of Microsoft's Activation module for their Windows XP and Microsoft Office XP/2002 products.
Stephen

Automatic activation of a MS Windows XP installation through a MS Server domain controller which can maintain a list of all product keys and distribute them amongst user pc's. This gives a systems administrator a simple method of maintaining licenses and removes the need to activate each client after each new installation, as this is done automatically the next time the client is run after the installation, at around the same time a private user would enter a key manually.
R. ten Napel (further information)

Summary: Average user rating of activation.exe: based on 7 votes with 4 reviews.

3 users think activation.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 2 users think it's probably harmless. 2 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. 1 user doesn't grade activation.exe ("not sure about it").

Activation scanner

Security Task Manager shows all running Windows tasks including embedded hidden functions (e.g. keyboard or browser monitoring, autostart entry). A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware, keylogger or a Trojan.

MalwareBytes detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, malware and tracking threats from your hard disk. Ideal supplement to Security Task Manager.

SpeedUpMyPC scans, cleans, repairs and optimizes your computer.

Other processes