BleepingComputer.com: system running in taskmanager, is it dangerous???

well i was looking through my processes in windows task manager and i came across this process called system. just looking at it seem suspicious to me so i looked it up online because i didn't want to stop it if it was vital to my computer so i looked it up and a lot of stuff i read said it was dangerous. but this is the confusing part: i went back to task manager to the processes and the description said that it was NT Kernel & System which really confused me then i click on it and went the properties so when i went there it said system32 properties and it was a file folder that was worth 2.32 gbs!!! which threw me off now I'm confused and don't know what to do if anybody can give me some info to weather or not its dangerous and can if someone can help with my computer overall will be great because i need help. i know hijackthis log is not used anymore so anyone that can assist me can tell what type of log to use so that the person can see what's wrong with my computer. if anyone can also help i also have two csrss running in task manager which i don't want to mess with because i don't want to mess up my computer and they're both in c:\windows\system32. thanks to anyone that can help me

This post has been edited by elise025: 04 March 2010 - 01:53 PM
Reason for edit: Editted topic title to correctly reflect topic content

No, it is not dangerous. Never end a process in your Task Manager unless you know exactly what it is.

Googling a lot of Windows processes results in a lot of websites like: "usually a integral part of Windows.....could be sign of infection....download our free diagnostics tool to check for viruses!!!" Pretty much all of them are like this.

They try to be informative, but also want you to install their, most likely, dangerous software. Don't believe everything you read.

System.exe is part of Windows and it runs on everybody's PC's. Don't worry about it.

Csrss.exe is another critical Windows component that should not be tampered with. Your system is not infected because of these files/processes.

If you are worried about malware, check the pinned topics in the AntiVirus, Firewall and Privacy Products and Protection Methods forum. There is a lot of great advice there.

And as always, if you have questions or problems, feel free to ask.

I would tend to disagree with keyboard here-a trojan or virus can mask itself as that file, this really needs looked at by a malware expert.

Check your Task Manager, patriot. Do you not have the same process running? (you might have to select "Show processes for all users") Everybody does. And of course, we should all keep a constant check on the cleanliness of our systems.

I never said it couldn't be malware. Any process that is running could potentially be malware (and those websites want you to believe that so you'll use their software). That's why you should always keep your software and operating system up to date, use 1 active protection anti-virus, multiple on-demand scanners, and a firewall.

Scan with Malwarebytes and put your mind at ease....

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The description says it all

Everyone can open his taskmanager and look for the SYSTEM process. End it, and your computer will most likely crash.

I agree with the_patriot09 that processes like "system.exe" (just an example) are bad, but this is not.

System32 is a very big folder. It contains about every file that windows need to succesfully start and run. I recommend NOT to change anything there, unless you know what you are doing.

EDIT ~

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This is not true, the process is named SYSTEM, not system.exe. A system.exe file running can indicate malware, however, thats not the case here.

This post has been edited by elise025: 04 March 2010 - 01:27 PM

I suggest before offering any help or advice, one thinks very wisely before giving an answer.

I agree with the statements made by the_patriot09 and elise025.

This post has been edited by MrBruce1959: 04 March 2010 - 05:44 PM

elise025, on Mar 4 2010, 01:39 AM, said:

I beg your pardon. I incorrectly assigned a .exe extension to this. You are correct. It is simply "System". Sorry for the misunderstanding.

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Although I completely agree with that statement, I can assure you I am quite sure that what I was stating in my last post is accurate.


As suggested by the_patriot09

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which is exactly what I have done, see my last post for the conclusion.....

elise025, on Mar 4 2010, 02:04 PM, said:

Sorry about that I copied and pasted the wrong name in my post above, i re-edited it above but it should have said this.

"I suggest before offering any help or advice, one thinks very wisely before giving an answer".

"I agree with the statements made by the_patriot09 and elise025".

Unfortunately I pasted the authors name by mistake which was "computergenzius11"

So to clarify elise025 your response was very correct indeed and I agree 100% Sorry for the mix-up

This post has been edited by MrBruce1959: 04 March 2010 - 05:57 PM

No problem MrBruce1959

elise025, on Mar 5 2010, 03:05 AM, said:

Thanks for understanding. I need eye glasses I guess