The genuine smartscreen.exe file is a software component of Microsoft Windows by Microsoft. Windows is an operating system. Microsoft SmartScreen is a cloud based antimalware and anti-phishing software. Smartscreen.exe is the file that installs the utility, and does not pose a threat to your PC.
Officially called Windows Defender SmartScreen, Windows SmartScreen, SmartScreen Filter, Windows SmartScreen is a cloud based antimalware and anti-phishing program that comes standard with several Microsoft products including Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Outlook.com and Windows 8. It is designed to protect users against attacks that utilize drive-by-downloads and social engineering to infect a system. The settings of Windows SmartScreen in Windows 10 OS have been placed into the Windows Defender Security Center.
Founded in 1975 by Paul Allen and Bill Gates, the Microsoft Corporation is an American technology giant that develops, sells and supports personal computers, computer hardware, computer software and services. The company has a footprint worldwide with its over 126,000 employees, and grabbed the top spot as the world's largest software maker by revenue and as most valuable brand in 2016.
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 smartscreen.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.
Description: The original smartscreen.exe from Microsoft is an important part of Windows, but often causes problems. Smartscreen.exe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 1,700,864 bytes (80% of all occurrences) or 1,918,464 bytes.
It is a Windows system file. It is a trustworthy file from Microsoft. The program has no visible window.
Therefore the technical security rating is 1% dangerous; but you should also compare this rating with the user reviews.
Is smartscreen.exe a virus? No, it is not. The true smartscreen.exe file is a safe Microsoft Windows system process, called "Windows Defender SmartScreen".
However, writers of malware programs, such as viruses, worms, and Trojans deliberately give their processes the same file name to escape detection. Viruses with the same file name are e.g. ML.Attribute.HighConfidence (detected by Symantec), and HEUR:Backdoor.MSIL.LightStone.gen or HEUR:Trojan-Spy.MSIL.Stealer.gen (detected by Kaspersky).
To ensure that no rogue smartscreen.exe is running on your PC, click here to run a Free Virus Scan.
How to recognize suspicious variants?
If smartscreen.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files", the security rating is 78% dangerous. The file size is 13,179,660 bytes (75% of all occurrences) or 4,188,673 bytes.
It is not a Windows system file. This process is launched automatically by the Windows Task Scheduler. There is no information about the author of the file. The program is not visible.
If smartscreen.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\, the security rating is 81% dangerous. The file size is 2,654,208 bytes (50% of all occurrences) or 401,920 bytes.
There is no information about the author of the file. It is not a Windows system file. The software listens for or sends data on open ports to a LAN or the Internet. The program has no visible window.
Smartscreen.exe is able to record keyboard and mouse inputs.
Important: Some malware disguises itself as smartscreen.exe, particularly when not located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Therefore, you should check the smartscreen.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
Nothing. Even this "Smartscreen.exe file information" page doesn't tell me anything. I shall delete it. Alan Sears
Built-in security application, protects from malware Anonymous
this file is a spyware from microsoft it spies on you captures your keystrokes and websites you've visited and also it stores all your personal credentials and banking details such as bank account number and passwords. This file must be removed and deleted at all costs. Tyrone Buchanan
I suggest ignoring Alan Sears' comment where he says he'll delete this file even though he doesn't think he has enough information about it. Also "Tyrone Buchanan's" comment, this file is NOT spyware from Microsoft storing your bank details and passwords etc. (I think this person's a troll trying to get people to make their system's unsafe by deleting security software files.) The opposite is true : smartscreen.exe is usually safe and actually helps FIGHT malware (see the information at the top of this web page : "Microsoft SmartScreen is a cloud based antimalware and anti-phishing software. Smartscreen.exe is the file that installs the utility, and does not pose a threat to your PC.") George Simms
Its a feature of windows defender
i need to know why smartscreen using port 80 if it is safe?? Mohamed
Summary: Average user rating of smartscreen.exe:
based on 10 votes with 7 user comments.
6 users think smartscreen.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application.
One user thinks it's probably harmless.
One user thinks it's neither essential nor dangerous.
One user suspects danger.
One user thinks smartscreen.exe is dangerous and recommends removing it.
2 users don't grade smartscreen.exe ("not sure about it").
Best practices for resolving smartscreen issues
A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with smartscreen. 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 smartscreen.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.
Score
User Comments
Alan Sears
Anonymous
Tyrone Buchanan
Name (further information)
George Simms
Mohamed
Summary: Average user rating of smartscreen.exe: based on 10 votes with 7 user comments. 6 users think smartscreen.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. One user thinks it's probably harmless. One user thinks it's neither essential nor dangerous. One user suspects danger. One user thinks smartscreen.exe is dangerous and recommends removing it. 2 users don't grade smartscreen.exe ("not sure about it").