Windows Task Manager is a very powerful tool. Thanks to it we can know all the programs that are loaded in memory and the processes that are running in real time. However, for users who want, or need, to know more about the processes that are running on the computer, this tool may come up short. Therefore, it is necessary to always have more complete task managers on hand that allow us to know in real time the state of our computer, as is the case with Process Hacker.
Process Hacker is a complete tool for Windows, totally free and open source, focused on replacing the Windows task manager for users who need to have much more control over PC processes.
As we can see, the main interface is much more complete and detailed than the interface of the Windows task manager itself. In addition, it is much easier to read, since each process has its threads correctly marked.
If we right click on any of the processes that we have open on the PC we will be able to see a list of actions that we can choose. Among them, we are going to be able to end any process, a whole tree of processes and even change priorities or look for more information about the process in question on the Internet.
Along with open processes, this program also allows us to control the services that are running on the PC. And of course we will also have control over them.
Special features of Process Hacker
One of the features of this program is the possibility of displaying graphics on the state of the hardware in real time. Using the keyboard shortcut Control + I we will be able to know at all times the use of memory, graphics and CPU of our PC. Thanks to this simple monitor we will be able to know if any component (for example, a CPU core) is working at full capacity, having a starting point when investigating, for example, a malfunction of Windows.
Another of its main features is the possibility of letting us know if a process is blocking a specific file or folder. Using the keyboard shortcut Control + F we will be able to see search for specific processes and DLLs so that, if any file is giving us problems to eliminate it, we can easily do it.
If our Internet is running slow, another of the Process Hacker functions that we can use is its network analyzer. Within the “Network“ tab of the main window we will be able to find all the processes that have an active Internet connection. Thus, if any of them should not be connected, we can forcefully end the process.
This program also allows us to know in real time the activity of our disk . A very important feature thanks to which we will be able to know the input / output priority of each process and know if something is making unauthorized use of the unit.
Other outstanding features of this program are:
- It allows to know in real time the use of WOW64 and .NET.
- It has a function to create, edit and control services.
- Very small, portable and 100% open source with GPLv3 license.
- KProcessHacker, a kernel-mode driver for accessing the Windows kernel.
A developer tool
The possibilities offered by this task manager for Windows are very great. And although the above are the main features of this program, of course they are not the only ones. Process Hacker is a program widely used by programmers since it allows us to dump the information from the memory of any process in real time.
Thanks to the “dump” option we can obtain a raw memory dump to analyze what exactly was happening in the memory of our PC. And, in addition, it has a “debug” tool that allows us to debug any process in real time.
And it also allows us to see all the information about any executable file so that we can easily know what it does or what libraries it has access to.
Dangerous use
In good hands, Process Hacker is a very powerful tool that allows us to have absolute control over everything that runs on our PC. However, in the wrong hands it can be a dangerous tool.
This software allows you to end any process that is running on our PC. Including security programs and antivirus. Therefore, there are groups of hackers who use this tool in the background to shut down or block antivirus processes.
Download Process Hacker
This program is completely free and open source. If we want to use it, we can download the latest version available from the following link . This program is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. And we can run it in Window 7, 8.1 and Windows 10. Also, if we have an older system, like XP or Vista, we can download the “Legacy” version that works in these old editions.
Finally, we can choose between an installable version, to always have the program at hand, or a portable version, much more comfortable and that we can always carry by hand on a USB.
Other alternatives to replace the Task Manager
In addition to Process Hacker, on the network we can also find other programs designed to replace the Windows task manager. Some of the most relevant are:
- Process Explorer : Free process explorer developed by Microsoft for those who need extra functionality. It allows us to control everything that runs on the PC, the DLLs that are used. And it also integrates with Virus Total to analyze if all the processes are safe or if some may have been created by malware.
- System Explorer : another alternative, somewhat simpler than the previous ones, which allows us to have control over everything that runs on our computer. Like Process Explorer, this program can check VirusTotal if any of the open processes are a virus, and it also gets a second opinion from File Database.