What is Watchdog.exe?

The genuine Watchdog.exe file is a software component of Motorola Phone Tools by Motorola.
Motorola Phone Tools is a utility software for managing Motorola phones through a PC. Watchdog.exe runs a process that detects when a phone is connected to the computer using a USB port. This is not an essential Windows process and can be disabled if known to create problems. Motorola Phone Tools lets users transfer photos, videos, documents and contacts between the phone and PC, or from phone to phone. The program can be also used to create ringtones, download drivers, updates, and help troubleshoot Motorola phones. Motorola Phone Tools is available for the Windows platform. Motorola was an American telecommunications corporation that began in Chicago, Illinois as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928. In 1943, the company went public and the name was changed to Motorola in 1947. At this time, Motorola's primary business was manufacturing and selling televisions and radios. With Explorer 1, Motorola began providing radio equipment for NASA for decades including during the 1969 moon landing. In 2011, Motorola split into two separate companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions, after having lost $4.3 Billion from 2007 to 2009.

Watchdog stands for Motorola Phone Tools Watchdog

The .exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Executable files may in some cases harm your computer. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the Watchdog.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.

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Watchdog.exe file information

Windows Task Manager with Watchdog — Watchdog.exe process in Windows Task Manager

The process known as Bitdefender Agent WatchDog or Watchdog of PC App Store or WindowsService1 or NVMS1000 or Software WatchDog

belongs to software Bitdefender ConnectAgent or PC App Store or WindowsService1 or WatchDog Application or NVMS1000 or iVMS-4200(V3.1.0.7_E) or SAMSUNG LYNK REACH (version 4.0 SW-H) or RegRun Security Suite Platinum

by Bitdefender (www.bitdefender.com/) or Fast Corporation LTD or Greatis Software (www.greatis.com) or HIKVISION DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD or Acer (www.acer.com) or PrintMIB.

Description: Watchdog.exe is not essential for the Windows OS and causes relatively few problems. The file Watchdog.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files" (usually C:\Program Files\Bitdefender Agent\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\iVMS-4200 Site\iVMS-4200 Client\Server\). Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 45,056 bytes (17% of all occurrences), 462,288 bytes and 34 more variants.
It is a service, and the service name is WB13WatchDog.
It is not a Windows system file. The file is digitally signed. Watchdog.exe is able to monitor applications. Therefore the technical security rating is 25% dangerous; however you should also read the user reviews.

Uninstalling this variant: In case of any problems with Watchdog.exe, you can uninstall the software Bitdefender Agent or iVMS-4200 using the Uninstall a Program function of Windows Control Panel (Windows: Start, Settings, Control Panel, Uninstall a Program).

Recommended: Identify Watchdog.exe related errors

If Watchdog.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files\Common Files", the security rating is 47% dangerous. The file size is 77,824 bytes (20% of all occurrences), 53,760 bytes and 7 more variants. The file is not a Windows core file. The program is not visible.
If Watchdog.exe is located in a subfolder of the user's profile folder, the security rating is 71% dangerous. The file size is 13,179,660 bytes (33% of all occurrences), 23,040 bytes, 293,720 bytes or 294,232 bytes. The program has no visible window. The file is not a Windows core file. The program is loaded during the Windows boot process (see Registry key: TaskScheduler, Run, MACHINE\Run, User Shell Folders). Watchdog.exe is a file with no information about its developer. Watchdog.exe is able to monitor applications.
Uninstalling this variant: In case of any problems with Watchdog.exe, you can uninstall the software PC App Store using the Uninstall a Program function of Windows Control Panel (Windows: Start, Settings, Control Panel, Uninstall a Program).

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

"Regrun2" must run at start up. Greatis Software's RegRun 3 Security Suite which amongst other things replaces MSCONFIG. The WatchDog check for registry changes caused by trojan's, viruses, etc
"Watch Dog Program" is not required to run at start up. For Compaq PC's. Associated with Compaq's internet services. Not required if you don't use services provided by them and may not be required even if you do
"Watchdog" is not required to run at start up. Definitely part of the Mustek scanner drivers and software (for 600 III EP Plus and maybe others), launches from the Startup folder in the Start Menu, but not required as they give instructions on removing it on their webpage
"WatchDog": Part of Motorola "Mobile Phone Tools" v3 - in a "Mobiile Phone Tools" sub-directory of Program Files

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as Watchdog.exe, particularly when located in the C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System32 folder, for example Gen:Variant.Kazy.167675 (detected by F-Secure), and UDS:DangerousObject.Multi.Generic or Trojan-Downloader.MSIL.Agent.vic (detected by Kaspersky). Therefore, you should check the Watchdog.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

Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action special edition, i brought this game and now i cannot play it because of watchdog , i tried emailing watchdog exe, but no help, so i stuck with a video game i cannot play.
Susan Dugger

It's file from a PC game Elite:Dangerous. Not harmful.
Vytautas

Swagyolo magic generator
ChickenPotPie

Service Name: OpswareAgent Description: Opsware Server Automation System management component Path to executable: c:\program files\opsware\agent\pylibs\watchdog\watchdog.exe
Seth

Keylogger
Elliott

it's relater to giraffic video accelerator but not part of the main program. i assume it's some kind of spyware.
Mazzles

It seems to be a system configuration content which enables to predict driver related issues but sometimes harmful also
Anish

Opsware Agent; part of an Enterprise OS monitoring tool.
Remy

More comments can be found here:
(further information)

Summary: Average user rating of Watchdog.exe: based on 51 votes with 9 user comments. 29 users think Watchdog.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 5 users think it's probably harmless. 6 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. 5 users suspect danger. 6 users think Watchdog.exe is dangerous and recommend removing it. 5 users don't grade Watchdog.exe ("not sure about it").

Best practices for resolving Watchdog issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with Watchdog. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc /scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.

To get your computer running as fast as it did on day one, you can 8reset your PC. Your personal files will remain intact, but any programs you installed will need to be reinstalled.

To help you analyze the Watchdog.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. A good Bantivirus software detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.

Other processes

uihost.exe hpaudioswitch.exe scheduleeventaction.exe Watchdog.exe vkise.exe udt.exe avgrsa.exe iminent.webbooster.internetexplorer.dll mfresident.exe hidcerberus.srv.exe dmr_72.exe [all]

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