Solved Is Antimalware Service Executable supposed to run so hot?


NatS1011

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Windows 11
I am well aware of how important anti-malware services are, and I can accept they take a lot of resources when they have to get down and dirty, but mine seems to run over 1/4th my CPU power for hours non stop while perpetually writing to my HD and potentially downloading GB of data and has been for like 10 hours through two restarts now. Is this normal, or do I have something setup wrong somewhere or something? I guess I just reinstalled Windows, so is it maybe getting itself fully up to date with the latest security packages in the background or something? Are there really like 10+ GB of security updates from this service alone?

Screenshot (15).webp
 
Windows Build/Version
Version 24H2 (OS Build 26100.863)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell / Inspiron 7440 14 2-in-1
    CPU
    System > About won't say...
    Keyboard
    built in
    Mouse
    built in trackpad
The anti-malware service does not download gigabytes of data. Period. Now, it may be busy, particularly when there is a lot of activity, but it's a background process that should throttle back if needed to provide better performance to other tasks. But it has no reason whatsoever to be downloading large amounts of data itself.

That said, on every one of my systems, it's always out there doing something.

However, I have not paid attention to how busy that service is right after installing Windows, but give me a few minutes - I'm going to perform a clean install right now and see how busy it is afterwards.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
    Memory
    64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
    Cooling
    Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
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    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.

    Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Okay, did a clean install and kicked off Windows update and Microsoft Store updates. Antimalware is running, but not at the high CPU levels you are seeing. However, I see that you are on an old build of Windows 24H2 (vintage June 15, 2024). So Windows should have plenty of updates to install.

In my case, I directly installed the very latest build (26100.3476) so I have next to no updates to install.

My suggestion would be this: Don't panic! Let it get up to date with all the updates and then see if it settles down.

Maybe let us know how it is going tomorrow.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
    Memory
    64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
    Cooling
    Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.

    Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
@NatS1011

1742276316469.webp

Click on your start menu and type System Information
1742276376849.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3476
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-14700F
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12GB OC
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (Win 11 24H2)
    SK hynix P41 500GB NVMe (Win 11 23H2)
    SK hynix P41 2TB NVMe (x3)
    Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x Shift
    Case
    Antec Dark Phantom DP502 FLUX
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black + 7 Phantek T-30's
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 320
    Mouse
    Razer Basilisk V3
    Internet Speed
    350Mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Winows Security
    Other Info
    Windows 11 24H2 23100.3323 (VHDX)
    On System One (Dual Boot)
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3476
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-11700F
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Z590 Plus WiFi
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung F27T350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cougar MX330-G Window
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 EVO
    Internet Speed
    350Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
It's probably scanning the files, but why? Event viewer (filtered by source: Windows Defender) may give some information. Event ID 1000 is the start of a scan, and 1001 is the end of the (successful?) scan.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex Micro 5000
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-12500T
    Motherboard
    Dell 03V7GF
    Memory
    2 x 8GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 770
    Sound Card
    Intel Alder Lake-S PCH - cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech)
    Internet Speed
    500/1,000 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox ESR
    Antivirus
    Windows defender. One-time free scanners: ESET, Sophos
Thanks, I think you are right hsehestedt. I was just seeing the data on my metered network tick up constantly at an alarming rate, and atributed it (likely incorrectly) to whatever was writing the most constantly to the HD and using the CPU the most -- which was the process in question. As you point out, it was probably something else, likely Windows Updater and freinds, downloading GB of data while the antimalware service was going nuts scanning it all as it came in over countless hours over my tiny, slow, and metered network.

Now that I check it, almost a day after I started to notice the issue, its down to an 0.1 to 0.2% constant background CPU usage, which seems completely reasonable. Guess everything is finally downloaded and scanned.

Thanks for your insight.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell / Inspiron 7440 14 2-in-1
    CPU
    System > About won't say...
    Keyboard
    built in
    Mouse
    built in trackpad
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