What is Agent.exe?

The genuine Agent.exe file is a software component of InstallShield Update Service by Flexera Software.
"Agent.exe" is a widely used name. It is often Flexera Software's InstallShield Update Service Agent. Many software publishers use Flexera's InstallShield tool to create installations for their applications which can include the Agent to contact their own servers and install updates. The Agent is a Windows background service starting at boot time. If they offer no way to opt-out, consumers can download Flexera's Software Manager that adjusts settings in the Agent for any application using it. As the Agent will restart itself if stopped in Task Manager, and it can be installed by multiple applications, uninstalling it is difficult. An uninstall for the Software Manager is also provided. InstallShield was first offered to developers in 1990 by The Stirling Group which was acquired by Macrovision (now Rovi) in 2004, whose Software Division became Acresso, (now Flexera), headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA, in a 2008 sale to private investors.

Agent stands for InstallShield Update Service Agent

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 Agent.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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Agent.exe file information

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

The process known as Battle.net Update Agent or Blizzard Update Agent or EaseUS Todo Backup Agent Application or FLEXnet Connect Agent or Acresso Software Manager Agent or Macrovision Software Manager Agent or Immunet (version 3.0 Agent) or InstallShield Update Service Agent or Windows Agent or Rohos Agent or Macrovision FLEXnet Connect Agent or Macrovision Update Service Agent or Flexera® Software Manager

belongs to software Battle.net or EaseUS Todo Backup Free or Blizzard App or EaseUS Todo Backup Home (version 9.2 Trial, 12.0 Trial, 2023 Trial, 2022 Trial, 10.6 Trial, 8.3 Trial, 11.5 Trial) or Software Manager or Flexera Software or Battle.net Update Agent or Nuance PaperPort (version 12) or Dragon NaturallySpeaking (version 12, 13) or EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation (version 7.0 Trial, 8.2 Trial) or Developer In A Box or InstallShield Update Service or Windows Agent or EaseUS Todo Backup or Acresso Software or Immunet or World of Warcraft or Rohos Disk®, Rohos Logon Key

by Blizzard Entertainment (blizzard.com) or CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co. or Flexera Software or Macrovision (www.macrovision.com) or DeveloperInABox or Acresso or Developerinabox or Sourcefire or N-able Technologies (www.n-able.com) or Tesline-Service SRL.

Description: Agent.exe is not essential for Windows and will often cause problems. Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files (x86)"—common is C:\Program Files (x86)\EaseUS\Todo Backup\bin\. Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 40,080 bytes (3% of all occurrences), 5,193,888 bytes and 251 more variants.
The process is a background process, and the service name is EaseUS Agent. The service provides service to backup files and image disks.
It is not a Windows core file. The program is not visible. The Agent.exe file is certified by a trustworthy company. The software uses ports to connect to or from a LAN or the Internet. Agent.exe is able to monitor applications. Therefore the technical security rating is 66% dangerous; however you should also read the user reviews.

Uninstalling this variant: You may want to completely remove Roxio Media Manager or Rohos Mini Drive (Control Panel ⇒ Uninstall a Program), ask for help from Support ^[1][2] or check the vendor’s website for a newer version ^[1][2].

Recommended: Identify Agent.exe related errors

If Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files\Common Files", the security rating is 38% dangerous. The file size is 618,496 bytes (17% of all occurrences), 512,000 bytes and 13 more variants. The Agent.exe file is not a Windows core file. The program has no visible window.
If Agent.exe is located in the C:\Windows folder, the security rating is 71% dangerous. The file size is 155,648 bytes (77% of all occurrences), 143,360 bytes and 5 more variants. There is no file information. The program has no visible window. It is not a Windows core file. The file is an unknown file in the Windows folder.
If Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of the user's profile folder, the security rating is 46% dangerous. The file size is 1,152,288 bytes (13% of all occurrences), 6,002,880 bytes and 16 more variants.
If Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows\System32, the security rating is 56% dangerous. The file size is 7,983,496 bytes (50% of all occurrences) or 53,248 bytes.
If Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\, the security rating is 40% dangerous. The file size is 584,928 bytes.
If Agent.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows, the security rating is 72% dangerous. The file size is 90,112 bytes.

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

"Agent" is not required to run at start up. Cyberlink Power VCR II 3.0 is a TV tuner recording utility. If you want to schedule recordings you'll need this, otherwise can be disabled. Available via Start -> Programs
"LookNMeet" is not required to run at start up. LooknMeet dating service

Important: Some malware also uses the file name Agent.exe, for example Dexon (PUA) or Generic PUA FF (PUA) (detected by Sophos), and Gen:Variant.Application.RemoteAdmin.Dexon.1 or Gen:Variant.MSILPerseus.214451 (detected by BitDefender). Therefore, you should check the Agent.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

Agent.exe seems to be a disabled Adobe Service for me. It supported the run of some weird unofficial Adobe Tasks.
Gerc0

It's from the known Blizzard company so it's rather safe, it's a bit intrusive however since it won't shutdown with the launcher and remain in the background
Nancok

Agent.exe eats up internet and slows down download, for example if you are recieving 500 kbs then you will send 15 kbs.
Random

Agent.exe will harm or interfere with your computing experience and there is no way around it, no way to fix it, other than by not installing it or if you have installed it by possibly renaming it to BAD_agent.exe. To find all instances of agent.exe open a cmd window change to the root ( ie: c:\ ) and then enter the following command to search for all instances of it. dir /s agent.exe /p This will give you a list of where agent resides on your hard drive. Try picking them off (renaming them) one by one. The most likely instance will be in a subset of "documents and settings" directory. On my machine it totally locks up internet traffic and in order to get the machine back I have to end the process using task manager.
Bill Michael

Flexnet connect installed by intuit freezes ps2mouse and p2skeyboard in task manager end process or agent. Exe and look for the process software Manager then disable from startup in misconfig.
Stephen

Easus Todo Backup. These companies should start naming their files after their companies or products so they won't be confused with other companys' software.
JD

It's an Immunet 3.0 Agent

Caused my other computer to seize up and now it is working on my current computer. I think it was installed with Roxio Creator DVD Edition version 7. Since I can't figure out how to stop it from starting on its own I will attempt to rename the agent.exe to bad_agent.exe and see if that helps. Agent.exe is a problem and it has done this to me twice. I am not sure if it was installed with Roxio or Dragon Naturally speaking, I will need to research this.
Bill Michael

More comments can be found here:
(further information)

Summary: Average user rating of Agent.exe: based on 96 votes with 9 user comments. 25 users think Agent.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 11 users think it's probably harmless. 27 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. 22 users suspect danger. 11 users think Agent.exe is dangerous and recommend removing it. 15 users don't grade Agent.exe ("not sure about it").

Best practices for resolving Agent issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with Agent. 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 Agent.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

runtimebroker.exe nvxdsync.exe acrotray.exe Agent.exe service.exe uns.exe iefdm2.dll wshelper.exe iemonitor.exe ochelper.dll logioptionsmgr.exe [all]

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