Windows Task Manager in English

You use Ctrl+Alt+Del to see what's running on your PC, to close crashed programs and processes, and to check performance. You probably avoid a few processes whose names mean nothing to you, but they're essential to Windows. svchost.exe sure likes to appear all the time and multiple times at that. What's taskmgr.exe? Oh yeah, it's the window you're looking at right now. ctfmon? Is he related to Pokemon? navapsvc.exe? Navy? Napa Valley? Navel? NOTA (none of the above).

This is not a comprehensive list as that would take days. It has the standard processes as well as process names from popular applications. If you want to know about a process, the best place to go is... ProcessLibrary.com. Just like adware and spyware, there are bad processes that come to life thanks to the bad guys like Trojans and viruses. The site has a list of the top five security threats, so watch out for those processes.

Also, beware the bad guys like to use legitimate names of processes. For example, rundll.exe is a system process that should not be terminated. However, recent reports have stated, "It can also be the LOXOSCAM virus depending on Operating System and file path; this is always a virus on Windows XP and 2000 operating systems however."

You can download software that provide more information about the process. Task Manager, as you know, says nothing except the name of the process and how much CPU it's using. One example is Process Explorer, a standalone application that also has the option of replacing the built in Task Manager for windows. It shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

acrotray.exe

Acrobat Assistant that is used when printing documents to a PDF. The process should not be removed while converting documents to PDF.

ADService.exe
Active Disk Service is a component of the Iomega zip drive.

AppServices.exe
Also for the Iomega zip drive.

ccEvtMrg.exe
Associated with Symantec's Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

ccSetMgr.exe
Also associated with Symantec's Internet Security Suite. Keep it and protect your PC.

csrss.exe
System process that is the main executable for the Microsoft Client / Server Runtim Server Subsystem. It should not be shut down.

ctfmon.exe
Non-essential system process. If you're using only English as the language, then it is not needed. However, it's recommended to leave it alone.

explorer.exe
This must always be running in the background. It's a user interface process that runs the windows graphical shell for the desktop, task bar, and Start menu.

iexplore.exe
Internet Explorer browser. But why are you using it unless it's for a site that doesn't work in any other browser? Use Firefox instead.

lsass.exe
Local Security Authority Service is a Windows security-related system process for handling local security and login policies.

Navapsvc.exe, nvsrvc32.exe, and navapw32.exe
These are Symantec's North AnvtiVirus processes. They or whatever virus program you use should run all the time.

realsched.exe
RealNetworks Scheduler is not an essential process. It checks for updates for RealNetworks products. It can be safely disabled.

rundll32.exe
A system process that executes DLLs and loads their libraries.

savscan.exe
Nortons AntiVirus process. Keep it.

services.exe
An essential process that manages the starting and stopping of services including the those in boot up and shut down. Do not terminate it.

smss.exe
Session Manager SubSystem is a system process that is a central part of the Windows operating system. If you try to kill it, it will be difficult... hence, the importance of leaving it be.

spoolsv.exe
Microsoft printer spooler service handles local printer processes. It's a system file.

svchost.exe x 6
You may have more than six appearances of this process or less. It's there multiple times to handle processes executed from DLLs. Leave it there.

System
This is a file that stores information related to local hardware settings in the registry under 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'. Kill it and kiss your PC's stability bye bye.

System Idele Process
Calculates the amount of CPU currently in use by applications. This won't go away no matter how hard you try. Don't try it, OK?

taskmgr.exe

Appears when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del.

wdfmgr.exe
Windows Driver Foundation Manager is part of Windows media player 10 and newer. Better not to stop the process.

winlogon.exe
Handles the login and logout processes. It's essential.

winword.exe
The great Carnac says, "You're running Microsoft Word."

Don't panic if you see something you have on the "bad guy" list. svchost.exe is important, but some are good guys and some are bad guys. Do your research before deleting anything. For instance, I have admin.exe, which has been reported as a bad guy. However, it is the admin process for one of my programs. When I closed the program, admin.exe also went away.

Windows 8 Overview

Windows 8 is the next generation of OS from the Microsoft corporation for desktops, laptops, and tablets. Windows 8 adds a lot to the tablet world while still keeping its roots for desktop and laptop systems.

The biggest difference you will notice is that windows 8 has a brand spanking new start menu. Tiles are used for all your programs making it easier for tablets and touch screen laptops and desktops alike. The tiles are a nice upgrade to the new interface. For one, they update you with information on the fly. For example, the email tile will give you a summery for your newest emails right on the tile! You are able to rearrange all the tiles to easily access programs that are more often used.

Another great inclusion to Windows 8 is the Windows Store. You can now buy applications on the fly right from your computer. Better yet a lot of applications are free and the ones that are not free are generally inexpensive.

The user interface has changed quite a bit and may take a few hours to become accustomed. For example, windows 8 programs will not show up on the task bar. Windows 8 programs are tablet ready and all windows 8 applications run in their very own window in full screen. 

As such, to switch between windows 8 applications, tap the right corner of the screen and select which program you would like to use. if you are opening a standard application, the desktop will popup and the application will run in a familiar windows fashion.

Although there are a lot of great upgrades big and small there are still a few things to be desired. For example, if you have a lot of programs you may have a difficult time locating one out of the applications line-up as every single program shows at the same time. 

Also if you do not have a touch screen but instead have a multi-touch pad, many applications will not support two touch scrolling making it difficult to get around. For all you techies out there, you will be disappointed to know that Microsoft has become more vague in there descriptions. 

For example, Many times during installation you will gets status updates like "Doing some stuff please wait". Of course we know you're doing stuff, I want to know exactly what you are doing!

All in all I think it is a worthwhile purchase. However I would not recommend the upgrade version as it may or may not work very well. I personally tried to upgrade my laptop with years' worth of programs and files.

Everything eventually installed but half the time it would not boot and when it would boot half the tiles would not even work. I recommend doing a backup and reinstalling fresh. Good luck and I hope you have a great experience with the new version of Windows.