If you are going through Task Manager on a Windows 10, you are going to see fontdrvhost.exe running in the background. By the way, what is it? Is it a valid file or a virus? Why is it running? Let us find out that information here.
What Is Fontdrvhost.Exe And Why Is It Running?
In Windows 10, Fontdrvhost.exe is a file responsible to manage Font’s activities. For your information, it stands for Font Driver Host and the .exe extension which indicates its executable nature. Microsoft has launched the latest version of fontdrvhost.exe known as 10.0.10240.16384. Its popularity shows that it is an extremely secure file compared to its previous one. The review says that it is only 5% dangerous.
Fontdrvhost.exe is an important part of the Windows 10 OS as it manages the font drivers on the device’s user account. This process runs on all Windows operating systems with administrative privileges as it is launched as Administrator once Windows 10 loads. Therefore, Windows 10 considers fontdrvhost.exe as the host for special font drivers. You will be able to find it running on the Task Manager exactly under Usermode Font Driver Host. Since it is a root process, the location of fontdrvhost.exe is in the C:\Windows\System32\ folder. Because of this, the fontdrvhost.exe process should not be killed, otherwise it is going to affect the normal operation of Windows.
More information on fontdrvhost.exe file:
- File description: Usermode Font Driver Host
- Type: Application
- File Version: 10.0.17672.1000
- Size: 768 KB
- Original filename: Fontdryhost.exe
- Copyright: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
- Language: English (United States)
Is Fontdrvhost.Exe Safe?
In fact, this legitimate fontdrvhost.exe file is signed and verified by Microsoft. So, it should be a safe file. Usually, knowing whether the file is signed by a reputable vendor can signify it is genuine or if there is anything suspicious about it, even though you may not know exactly what it does. Please keep in mind that Windows runs thousands of processes and executables at all times, so knowing all about each of those files is practically impossible.
Is Fontdrvhost.exe a Virus?
Technically, Fontdrvhost.exe is a legitimate Windows process which you should not be wary of. It is common to discover the fontdrvhost.exe running in the background as soon as the operating system is loaded. But, if you see two examples of fFntdrvhost.exe running in the Task Manager, then something is wrong somewhere. One of those processes is certainly fake and could be a virus or malware.
If you want to know whether the fontdrvhost.exe process running on your computer is malicious, simply you are able to follow these instructions below:
- At the first step, you have to press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously.
- When the Task Manager loads, you are able to click on More details.
- Please scroll down to find the Usermode Font Driver Host entry.
- The next step that you have to do is to right-click on the process and then select Properties.
- Afterwards, click on the General tab. Then, check out the Location section. Or you are able to right-click on the process and click Open File Location.
- If the folder location is not the C:\Windows\System32\ folder, we are able to assume that there is a malicious process.
Another method to check the originality of the process is by looking at the file signature. To do that, you need to go to the Details tab and you should view that the process is signed by Microsoft. If not, then it is most probably fake.
Can Fontdrvhost.Exe Be Removed?
The legitimate Fontdrvhost.exe file should never be deleted or removed since it is a core Windows process. You will probably get the errors when running applications on Windows, particularly those programs which rely heavily on the fontdrvhost.exe process, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, messaging apps, email clients, and others. But, if you determine that the fontdrvhost.exe process on your computer is malicious, so you are able to remove it as soon as possible. Now, you may be wondering how the fontdrvhost.exe process became malicious. The answer is simple. Malware operates by imitating legitimate processes and programs running on the device. It can be a virus, a spyware, an adware, or a worm, depending on how the process behaves.
Also, you should watch out for the signs of malware infection, such as:
- Sluggish performance.
- Too many ads popping up.
- Malicious apps installed on your device.
- Mysterious changes to your choice browser.
- Files were suddenly removed or appeared.
If you notice those symptoms and you suspect the Fontdrvhost.exe process to be malicious, you should fix it immediately from your computer.
How to Remove the Fontdrvhost.exe Virus From Your Computer
If you really believe the Fontdrvhost.exe process that is running on your computer to be malware, the first thing you have to do is stop the process completely.
- Please right-click anywhere in the Taskbar and select the Task Manager. Or you are able to hit CTRL + ALT + DEL, then select the Task Manager from the menu.
- Now, you have to look for the Usermode Font Driver Host process and right-click on it, then choose End Task. This should kill the process completely.
- If you are having trouble ending this process, you will need to boot into Safe Mode first and do the troubleshooting from there.
After the process has been killed, the next step that you have to do is to run a reliable anti-malware program to scan your system for the main threat. When the malware has been detected, please follow the instructions given by the security software to completely remove or delete the malware. You need to completely get rid of the infected files to avoid them from coming back and re-infecting your computer. After all these, simply you are able to restart your computer and see if the Fontdrvhost.exe malware has been deleted from your device.
AUTHOR BIO
On my daily job, I am a software engineer, programmer & computer technician. My passion is assembling PC hardware, studying Operating System and all things related to computers technology. I also love to make short films for YouTube as a producer. More at about me…
Leave a Reply