Antimalware Service Executable is part of the Microsoft Defender program that plays an important role in the protection of your Windows computer against malware and virus.
A common issue that most Windows users face is when the antimalware service executable uses a lot of memory or CPU that it causes the computer to slow down.
If your Task Manager is showing that a process named Antimalware Service Executable or MsMPEng.exe has a high memory usage or CPU usage, then you don’t need to worry as it’s not harmful.
In this aritcle, we explain what the Antimalware Service Executable process is and how to fix the high CPU or memory usage.
Table of Contents
What is Antimalware Service Executable (MsMPEng.exe)?
Antimalware Service Executable or msmpeng.exe is a Windows Security process spawned by Microsoft Defender that is responsible for scanning programs and files on your computer in realtime to get rid of any harmful malware and viruses.
The process runs in the background and handles several tasks including realtime protection, updating antivirus definitions, deleting or quarantining infected files, and more.
Is Antimalware Service Executable Harmful?
No, the Antimalware Service Executable is a Windows Security process that doesn’t pose any threat to your computer. In fact, it’s a key component of Microsoft Defender and is responsible for protecting your computer against threats and viruses.
Why is Antimalware Service Executable running high memory?
The Antimalware Service Executable process is a background task that regularly scans files and programs on your computer to delete or quarantine those that may be harmful.
If Task Manager is showing a high CPU or memory usage for Antimalware Service Executable, there’s nothing you have to worry about. The process is simply doing its work in the background and the high CPU or message usage is because it’s performing heavy tasks. As soon as it’s done, it will stop consuming your computer’s CPU or memory.
How to stop Antimalware Service Executable from using too much CPU or memory
The main culprit that causes Antimalware Service Executable to have a high CPU or memory usage is realtime protection. When this feature is enabled, the process has to regularly scan files and programs in the background to delete malware before they harm your computer.
There are also other ways to fix the issue which we’ll discuss below.
1. Turn off real-time protection in Microsoft Defender
As mentioned earlier, the Antimalware Service Executable high memory usage is mainly due to real-time protection which scans your computer regularly and deletes harmful files and programs as soon as they come onto your computer.
Since the process has to run in the background continuously, it will lead to high disk usage. Here’s how to disable it on your Windows computer.
1. Open the Windows search, type in “Windows security”, and open it.
2. Click on Virus & threat protection.
3. Under “Virus & threat protection settings”, click on Manage settings.
4. Turn off Real-time protection.
5. A prompt appears to confirm the change. Click on Yes.
2. Exclude the Windows Defender folder from being scanned
When Windows Defender is scanning files, it will scan its own folders as well which as many files and programs. This will slow down the scan duration as well as consume a lot of CPU as there are many files in the Windows Defender folder.
To prevent this from happening, you have to exclude the Windows Defender folder.
1. Open the Windows search, type in “Windows security”, and open it.
2. Click on Virus & threat protection.
3. Click Manage settings.
4. Click on Add or remove exclusions under “Exclusions”.
5. Select Add an exclusion > Folder.
6. Browse and select the Windows Defender folder which is located in C:\Program Files\Windows Defender.
The folder will now appear in the list of exclusions. The next time your computer is getting scanned, Microsoft Defender will skip its own folder.
3. Change the Windows Defender schedule configuration
There are certain settings in Windows Defender that cause the Antimalware Service Executable high CPU usage. Changing those settings will help reduce disk usage and prevent your computer from hanging or freezing.
1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialogue.
2. Enter taskschd.msc.
3. From the sidebar, expand Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows and click on Windows Defender.
4. Right-click on Windows Defender Scheduled Scan and select Properties.
5. Uncheck the Run with highest privileges option.
6. Go to the Conditions tab and uncheck all the options.
7. Press the OK button and close Task Scheduler.
4. Disable Microsoft Defender
While this is not recommended, if your still having issues with Antimalware Service Executable running high memory or slowing down your computer, then you could try disabling Microsoft Defender permanently.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialogue.
2. Type regedit and press OK.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows Defender.
4. Double click on DisableAntiSpyware and enter 0 as the Value data.
- If you can’t find “DisableAntiSpyware”, the right-click on an empty space in the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it as “DisableAntiSpyware” and set the value to 0.
