If you are a Windows user, you may notice that there is a ‘msedge.exe’ process running in the background of your system. This normally would not be a cause for concern, as this process is associated with the Microsoft Edge browser. The process may even be taking a significant amount of your system’s CPU or RAM resources depending on the browser load, the number of open tabs, as well as the number of videos, images, and other graphical elements each site may contain.
Unfortunately, numerous malware threats have been observed to disguise themselves as legitimate processes like ‘msedge.exe’ to mask their presence on affected computers. Should you suspect that this is the case with the ‘msedge.exe’ process, there are a couple of ways to verify your suspicions.
First, the legitimate ‘msedge.exe’ executable file should be located in the C Drive, in the Microsoft Edge Application folder. If it is in any other location, this may indicate foul play. You should also check to see whether there are multiple msedge.exe files on the system. Should you find msedge.exe files outside of the C Drive, this may indicate a problem.
Another sign that points to running a suspicious msedge.exe process is the file size. If the file size of the msedge.exe you have found is different from the one of the legitimate file, it may indicate that the file is not legitimate. Take note that the real msedge.exe file should be 2,964,368 bytes in size, or relatively close to this number.
How Do I Deal with an Illegitimate ‘msedge.exe’ Executable File?
If you suspect that your computer is harboring an illegitimate ‘msedge.exe’ executable file that is associated with malware, you may be at risk of being infected with ransomware, Trojans, backdoors, crypto-miners, and other threats. You should scan for and remove it along with any other unwanted software by using a reputable malware remediation tool. To prevent the installation of similar threats in the future, you should practice good web surfing habits like avoiding questionable freeware sites, torrent pages, and other websites that may host unreliable software.
