How to check programs running on my computer

Once again, as compared to Task Manager, the Services console provides more information about the services running on your machine. Some will be obvious from their name. Others, not so much. The only real advice I can offer here is to search for the names you find listed in Task Manager, Process Explorer, or the Services console. Most of the time, it is.

How you close apps running in the background depends on what kind of app or application they are. In short, yes: there are many apps that need to run in the background on your computer.

The alternatives are not to run them at all — in which case you might lose important, perhaps even basic, functionality — or to have some form of on-screen component that you can interact with so as to not be running in the background.

The latter would clutter your desktop with dozens of interfaces with little or no actual value. Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week. Download right-click, Save-As Duration: — 8.

Thanks Leo. System interrupts are hardware-related — specifically, device drivers interrupting the CPU because they have something that needs servicing. Have you tried uninstalling it? You should be able to uninstall it by clicking on App under settings and scrolling down to McAffee, clicking on it and clicking Uninstall. Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam.

All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication. Click the header multiple times to toggle between highest-to-lowest and lowest-to-highest sort order. Unfortunately, not all processes and services are displayed by the Windows Task Manager.

If you're concerned about hidden malicious software, run a utility such as HijackThis , process the log, and use our Windows process tool.

See the Task Manager definition for further information and related links. Microsoft Windows help and support. Check the description and the name to identify each process. You can get additional information by searching online for the process name.

Type the name of the program you are trying to find and it should appear on the returned results. Browse the folder to see the program that the process belongs to. If you cannot find any information about the program, use the file name to search online. There are sites that can give you information on whether the program is an adware, virus or a spyware.