The executable Agent can originate from a lot of different applications. Most of the time, the agent.exe will be traced back to InstallShield software. Many software publishers use the InstallShield technology to create installations for their applications which often include an agent.exe process used to contact their own servers and install updates.
However, agent.exe is an extremely popular executable name and is used by a large number of other software. Even though the application that uses agent.exe might be different, the purpose is most likely the same – to facilitate the connection between a certain application and an external server.
Here’s a shortlist of popular applications that deploy an agent.exe executable:
- Forte Agent
- Battle.net Update Agent
- Macrovision Software Manager
- EaseUs Todo Backup
- FLEXnet Connect
- Acresso Software Manager
- Immunet
- Rohos Disk
- Nuance PaperPort
- Cisco VPN Client
- Roxio
- Dragon Naturally Speaking
- Corel Draw
- Acronis
- Articulate
Note: Keep in mind that this is just a shortlist. There are a lot of other software that use the agent.exe process to update their applications.
What is agent.exe?
Depending on which software it belongs to, the Agent executable can have different purposes.
If the agent.exe executable is confirmed to be a process of InstallShield, then it’s responsible for monitoring InstallShield servers and determine if you have the latest version of a certain software installed.
This is why users regularly discover the agent.exe process in Task Manager while a certain game that uses InstallShield is opened. Most of the time this is perfectly normal since agent.exe is checking to see if the users have installed the latest version available. Keep in mind that you’ll likely discover the agent.exe process when playing Blizzard developed games like Starcraft, Diablo Overwatch, and Warcraft.
However, agent.exe can also be a process of the Forte Agent software. In this case, the executable is responsible for keeping your news feed & inbox up to date.
Potential security threat?
Some users have been reporting getting false positives regarding agent.exe from security suites like Avira and AVG. Although it’s very likely that your 3rd party antivirus has mistakenly flagged it because it was trying to reconfigure something on your hardware, the issue is definitely worth investigating.
Nowadays, most malware (regardless if it’s adware, spyware or trojan) will try to camouflage itself inside a file system folder in order to avoid security checks. Because of this, is important to check the location of agent.exe. To do this, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and locate agent.exe in the Processes tab. Then, right-click on agent.exe and choose Open File Location. If the revealed location is in C:\ Windows\ System32 or C:\ Windows, you’re likely dealing with a malicious executable that is masquerading as a system process.
Catatan: Lokasi default untuk InstallShield Update Service Agent ada di C: \ Program Files \ Common Files \ InstallShield \ UpdateService \ agent.exe. Namun, Anda mungkin juga menemukan agent.exe yang dapat dieksekusi di folder yang terkait dengan aplikasi yang menggunakannya.
Salah satu cara untuk mengonfirmasi atau melemahkan kecurigaan ini adalah dengan mengunggah file yang dapat dieksekusi ke VirusTotal untuk dianalisis. Cukup unggah agent.exe melalui tombol Pilih File dan tekan Pindai .
Jika pemindaian mengungkapkan potensi infeksi, Anda harus memindai sistem Anda dengan penghapus malware yang kuat. Jika Anda belum menginstalnya, kami merekomendasikan menggunakan Malwarebytes untuk menghapus malware dari sistem Anda. Jika Anda tidak terbiasa dengan perangkat lunak tersebut, ikuti artikel kami yang mendalam (di sini ) tentang penggunaan byte Malware.
Haruskah saya menghapus agent.exe?
Menghapus executable agent.exe tidak disarankan dalam semua jenis skenario. Jika Anda memperhatikan penggunaan CPU yang tinggi yang disebabkan oleh agent.exe , Anda harus menyelidiki aplikasi yang menggunakannya daripada menghapus file yang dapat dieksekusi secara manual.
Sangat mungkin Anda melihat konsumsi sumber daya yang tinggi oleh agent.exe karena proses tersebut saat ini menangani pembaruan. Jika Anda menemukan bahwa masalah ini terjadi secara konsisten, Anda harus menangani aplikasi yang dimaksud. Ada kemungkinan agent.exe bermasalah, dalam hal ini menginstal ulang aplikasi induk dapat menyelesaikan masalah.
Anda dapat memulai dengan membuka jendela Jalankan ( tombol Windows + R ) dan mengetik " appwiz.cpl " untuk membuka Program dan Fitur . Kemudian, gulir ke bawah melalui daftar aplikasi dan hapus instalan aplikasi yang menggunakan agent.exe . Setelah aplikasi dihapus, kunjungi situs web yang terkait dengan aplikasi tersebut dan unduh kemudian instal versi terbaru.