When we turn on our PC with Windows 10, at the same time a good number of programs and processes are launched. Of course, it should be mentioned that these run in the background and are very important for the proper functioning of the system and the PC, as is the case with the SMSS.exe process.
Therefore, in the event that we sometimes try to force the stop of any of these processes and programs, the system may experience an error. This is precisely the case that we will talk about in these same lines. Say that these processes sometimes consume more RAM and CPU than we would like at first. Well, in this particular case we are going to focus on SMSS.exe.
This is is one of those system processes that runs in the background and takes care of multiple tasks. Therefore, in these lines we are going to talk about certain crucial aspects that you should know about the SMSS.exe process in Windows 10 .
How do I find the SMSS.exe process
To begin with, we will tell you that SMSS.exe is an executable file that stands for Session Manager Subsystem . It is actually a basic component of Microsoft‘s own operating system and begins to run when the PC is turned on. It monitors different system processes and makes sure they run properly. At first we will tell you that this can be found in the Task Manager.
To see it, the first thing to do is to right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
Once it opens on the screen, we click on the Details tab and scroll down until we locate the SMSS.exe process running in the background.
What is the SMSS.exe process in Windows 10
We will tell you that Microsoft introduced SMSS.exe for the first time in Windows NT . Here his job was to handle the startup processes. But in Windows 10 it comes with some more advanced features as it can control dozens of processes such as creating virtual memory, starting winlogon.exe, etc.
But the main task of SMSS.exe starts when multiple programs are running at the same time on the system. Your job in this case includes running the different programs effectively without causing the system to crash.
Therefore, contrary to what many people think, SMSS.exe is not a virus, but rather a program built into Windows by Microsoft. Something that we must also take into account is that it consumes a certain amount of RAM and CPU of the computer. At the same time, it also helps the computer to start up correctly.
Therefore, as you can imagine, since Microsoft is the developer of this file, it does not harm the PC and should not cause performance problems . In the event that we find that the system is running slow due to SMSS.exe, it is possible that a malicious code has entered the system and disguised itself as the SMSS.exe file. And it is that it has been seen times in which cybercriminals name a virus or malicious code with the name of the legitimate files of the computer. Because of this, antivirus software sometimes considers them legitimate, but in reality they are malware.
How to check that it is not a virus
With everything and with this we have the possibility to verify the legitimacy of the SMSS.exe process in the system. For this we only have to check its location on the local hard drive and verify its digital signature. To do this, what we do is right-click on the SMSS.exe process as such and select Properties. Next we click on the Digital Signatures tab and select the signer that appears in the list and click on Details.
Here we have seen how to verify the digital signature of the SMSS.exe process, but we can also see how the location of the file can be verified. To do this, we click with the right mouse button on the process and now we have to select the option Open file location. This will open the file’s location on your computer’s hard drive. If everything is fine, the file path should look something like this:
C:/Windows/System32
Otherwise, in our case the process could be a malware or virus that pretends to be the system’s SMSS.exe process.
Another way to check the legitimacy of the SMSS.exe file is through the total consumption of RAM and CPU. With this, what we want to tell you is that if we see that it is consuming a lot of memory or CPU of the system, there may be a problem. In this case, it is best to follow the steps above to verify its legitimacy. At the same time, it would not hurt to do a complete scan of the computer with Windows Defender or any other antivirus.
Is it advisable to finish the process?
We have already told you that there are many processes that work in the background in Windows. Some are more important than others, there are those belonging to both programs and the Redmond operating system itself. Therefore, as we explained these same lines before, the SMSS.exe process is a system file. This actually means that it should not be deactivated at any time.
In the event that we decide to disable it, this action can cause a serious error in the operation of the system. We must understand that this element that we are talking about here is extremely important for Windows . Therefore, once we ensure that a legitimate version of the SMSS.exe process is running, we do not have to worry about anything related to security.
Therefore, we repeat, under no circumstances should we try to force the arrest or elimination of the process as such. This probably results in serious errors in the operating system, even blocking it completely. Therefore, in the event that we mistakenly close it and the PC crashes, to solve it we must try to restart it. Thus, most of the time a complete restart of the computer would solve all these problems.
