Threat Database Trojans Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate

Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate

By CagedTech in Trojans

Threat Scorecard

Threat Level: 90 % (High)
Infected Computers: 31
First Seen: November 14, 2014
Last Seen: February 21, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

If you are having trouble involving the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate, the following information may be useful in removing this and similar threats. Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate is a process that is used to host services on your operating system. Dllhost.exe is a Microsoft Windows executable file which is required to load DLLs used by your operating system to run normally on your computer. This is a file that is located in the Windows directory, changing its specific location depending on the version of Windows in your computer.

How the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may be Used by Computer Threats

Since Dllhost.exe is a very common system process, many threat infections use a process named Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate to hide from detection. If your task manager is displaying multiple versions of the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate not located in the default location for this Windows file, it is likely that there are threats installed on your computer. PC security researchers often receive reports of computer users complaining that their Task Manager displays multiple instances of Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate, which may drain the affected computer's memory and resources. A common way of confirming that the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate being displayed is threatening and not a legitimate Windows Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate processes is by tracking its source and location. This may show which programs are masking their operations as Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate memory processes on your computer. It is important to note that Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate is a popular way of hiding threats because Windows may allow multiple processes using this name to run. A typical example of threats that uses the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate technique to hide its operations is the infamous Conficker worm. Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate is not the only memory process that has these characteristics. Other threats may mask its activities by using a similar memory process.

Understanding Threats Linked to Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate

Since the Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate infection is quite generic, threats associated with Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may vary widely. In most cases, infections involving Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may be installed by copying their files to Windows system folders or by changing the Windows Registry in order to run automatically when Windows starts up. Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may attempt to establish contact with a remote server. This contact may occur for the following reasons:

  • Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may attempt to announce the new infection to its author.
  • Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate may try to be in touch with a remote host to receive configuration files or other data in order to attack your computer.
  • Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate also may be associated with backdoor Trojans or similar types of threats that allow criminals to control or enter your computer from another location.

Differentiating Legitimate and Threatening Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate Processes

The Windows Task Manager may display multiple Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate processes, some of which may be legitimate and some threatening. This may make it difficult to tell them apart. The simplest way to determine whether one of these processes is legitimate is by accessing the Windows Task Manager and then selecting the suspicious process. Once you have selected it, use a right click to access the menu and choose 'Open File Location'. Legitimate Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate processes should lead to a file located in the Windows/System32 folder (or the equivalent folder depending on your Windows version). Files in any other location are usually threatening. This is because legitimate programs may have no reason to impersonate a Dllhost.exe *32 COM Surrogate on your computer unless they are trying to trick you in some way. A program doing this may be threatening, or it may be attempting to hide its presence on your computer.

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