The genuine w3wp.exe file is a software component of Internet Information Services by Microsoft Corporation. If "w3wp.exe" is present on a system and is located in "C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv", then it is the "worker process" within Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) web server. In any other location, including "\System32" or any other subfolder of it, "w3wp.exe" is probably disguised malware. IIS is one of the world's three most popular web servers (besides Apache HTTP Server and Nginx) for hosting web sites and handling requests received via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and other protocols. One or more "worker processes" can run at the same time under the Windows Process Activation Service (WAS) within IIS, each representing an "application pool." The concept can be compared to the way Windows uses one or more concurrent instances of "svchost.exe" under Task Manager to represent a variety of different Windows services. Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975 by Paul Allen and Bill Gates, is headquartered in Redmond, WA, USA.
w3wp stands for IIS WorldWide Web Worker Process
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 w3wp.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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Description: The original w3wp.exe is an important part of Windows and rarely causes problems. The w3wp.exe file is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows\System32 or sometimes in a subfolder of C:\Windows (usually C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\).
Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 24,064 bytes (31% of all occurrences), 19,968 bytes and 4 more variants.
W3wp.exe is a Windows system file. The program has no visible window. W3wp.exe is a Microsoft signed file.
Therefore the technical security rating is 2% dangerous, but you should also take into account the user reviews.
Important: Some malware camouflages itself as w3wp.exe, particularly when located in the C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System32 folder. Therefore, you should check the w3wp.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
Es bueno Alicia Luévano
This is used by IIS to launch .net application pool processes Bryan
W3wp.exe is used to run server-side executables. Without this, server side process will not run. You should see one of these w3wp.exe instances for each appliation pool you have defined in IIS 6.0 or higher. EdFromOhio (further information)
It's well documented as an IIS application pool file manager none
Sometimes, if the CPU utilization goes high, for example, 70% or 80%, restart the IIS service and the WWW service. that will bring down the CPU utilization. Vijay
Teil des IIS wbR
Normally uneccessary unless running a IIS. A bad W3WP starts itself, can be found and disabled in taskmanager. Was found on a non-updated/non-patched XP X64 sp1 edge honeypot. 8hours ago it wasn't running, since then I have recieved 3 phonecalls from "VirtualPCDoctor.com". The first was fielded by my assistant. They hung up. The second, I handled and informed them that I run a PC maintenance firm. They hung up. The third time they phoned I informed them that the only PC that I had connected to the internet was my edge honneypot, (used to identify and collect malware). He hung up. LLayr
w3wp.exe normally lives in the windows\system32\inetsrv directory mickeyding (further information)
W3WP.exe - It is used to allow specific web based apps, ie TLC etc, to connect to Oracle databases via a session that oracle manages. It then allows data to be passed in both directions allowing users to view data and input data via a web client browser interface. M Netley
It's server side spyware, trash used to spy and access Russ
to stop this exe just restart IIS server Rizwan Khan
It is part of the IIS so is needed if you have IIS installed on your computer. It is not harmful and should not be removed if you have IIS installed and running. StarFire
Summary: Average user rating of w3wp.exe:
based on 30 votes with 14 user comments.
16 users think w3wp.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application.
8 users think it's probably harmless.
2 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous.
One user suspects danger.
3 users think w3wp.exe is dangerous and recommend removing it.
3 users don't grade w3wp.exe ("not sure about it").
Best practices for resolving w3wp issues
A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with w3wp. 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 w3wp.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
Alicia Luévano
Bryan
EdFromOhio (further information)
none
Vijay
wbR
LLayr
mickeyding (further information)
M Netley
Russ
kwadrat (further information)
Rizwan Khan
StarFire
ildegardo elizondo (further information)
Summary: Average user rating of w3wp.exe: based on 30 votes with 14 user comments. 16 users think w3wp.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 8 users think it's probably harmless. 2 users think it's neither essential nor dangerous. One user suspects danger. 3 users think w3wp.exe is dangerous and recommend removing it. 3 users don't grade w3wp.exe ("not sure about it").