What is the "dwm.exe" ?

Our database contains 886 different files for filename dwm.exe . You can also check most distributed file variants with name dwm.exe. This files most often belongs to product Sistema operativo Microsoft® Windows®. and were most often developed by company Microsoft Corporation. This files most often have description Administrador de ventanas del escritorio. Agregate rating is 5(5) stars - based on 31 reviews.This is executable file. You can find it running in Task Manager as the process dwm.exe.

dwm.exe is in most cases the Desktop Windows Manager for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and higher which provides support for Windows Aero graphics interface and visual themes. Technical description how the Desktop Windows Manager works can be found at wikipedia's article Desktop Window Manager.

The Microsoft's description of this functionality can be found here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa969540(v=vs.85).aspx
"The desktop composition feature, introduced in Windows Vista, fundamentally changed the way applications display pixels on the screen. When desktop composition is enabled, individual windows no longer draw directly to the screen or primary display device as they did in previous versions of Windows. Instead, their drawing is redirected to off-screen surfaces in video memory, which are then rendered into a desktop image and presented on the display."

dwm.exe Process

File details of most used file with name "dwm.exe"

Product:
Sistema operativo Microsoft® Windows®
Company:
Microsoft Corporation
Description:
Administrador de ventanas del escritorio
Version:
6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
MD5:
f162d5f5e845b9dc352dd1bad8cef1bc
SHA1:
35bc294b7e1f062ef5cb5fa1bd3fc942a3e37ae2
SHA256:
8a7b7528db30ab123b060d8e41954d95913c07bb40cdae32e97f9edb0baf79c7
Size:
120320
Directory:
C:\Windows\System32
Operating System:
Windows 7
Occurence:
High oc2

Is the Process "dwm.exe" Safe or Threat ?

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95% of reviewed files are marked as Safe .
23% of reviewed files are marked as System file.
Latest new variant of the file with name "dwm.exe" was discovered 4251 days ago. Our database contains 46 variants of the file "dwm.exe" with final rating Safe and 64 variants with final rating Threat . Final ratings are based on file reviews, discovered date, users occurence and antivirus scan results.
Filename "dwm.exe" is used by Microsoft Windows System files. Many threats uses filenames of System Processes to camouflage itself. You should consider suspected any file which uses system filename and is not stored in system directory or has invalid file version information. Correct system file contains full file version information from Microsoft.

User Reviews of the "dwm.exe"

There are multiple files in compliance with actual filter settings. All reviews for this files will be displayed.

Reviews for all files with name "dwm.exe"

  • SAFErating from user Fedor for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user MIKLO for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe (Variant: 14377294)

    This is usually a safe file, but as always any file can be made into malware so use caution and scan your computer on a regular basis. Good luck and happy net surfing. MIKLO

  • SAFErating from user Bata for file %TEMP%\iswizard05\dwm.exe (Variant: 21870790)

    It's a Desktop Windows Manager. He control desktop graphics.

  • SAFErating from user tottili for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exeflag de

  • THREATrating from user Seguema for file %TEMP%\iswizard05\dwm.exeflag es

  • THREATrating from user win7 for file %TEMP%\iswizard05\dwm.exe

  • THREATrating from user a for file %TEMP%\iswizard05\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user S for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user MikeOne for file %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\dwm.exe (Variant: 19607609)

    dwm.exe is in most cases the Desktop Windows Manager for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and higher which provides support for Windows Aero graphics interface and visual themes. Technical description how the Desktop Windows Manager works can be found at wikipedia's article Desktop Window Manager. The Microsoft's description of this functionality can be found here : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa969540(v=vs.85).aspx

  • SAFErating from user vandamko for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user MikeOne for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe (Variant: 10123491)

    "The Desktop Window Manager is a Compositing window manager, each program has a buffer that it writes data to, the DWM then composites each program's buffer into a final image, compared to the stacking window manager in Windows XP and earlier (and Windows Vista and Windows 7 with Windows Aero disabled), which has each program writing to the same main buffer." - check more on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager

  • SAFErating from user MikeOne for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe (Variant: 10115403)

    "The Desktop Window Manager is a Compositing window manager, each program has a buffer that it writes data to, the DWM then composites each program's buffer into a final image, compared to the stacking window manager in Windows XP and earlier (and Windows Vista and Windows 7 with Windows Aero disabled), which has each program writing to the same main buffer." - check more on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager

  • SAFErating from user UPieper for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user Maccyroo for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe (Variant: 502113)

    This is "Desktop Windows Manager" and is part of the Windows operating system. It runs on Windows 7 and Vista as part of the "Aero" experience and provides functionality for creating transparency effects and taskbar thumbnails. Necessary if you are running an Aero theme.

  • SAFErating from user Moraxv for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe

  • SAFErating from user Max for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe (Variant: 179720)

    Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) is the compositing window manager that gives you all those pretty effects in Windows Vista: Transparent windows, live taskbar thumbnails (that you can resize now), and even the Flip3D switcher that you can disable and replace with Switcher.

  • SAFErating from user Admin for file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe