Is com surrogate (dllhost.exe) and why it runs on my computer

The task manager is one of the most useful tools on our computer. Thanks to it we can see which processes are the most consuming and thus be able to take some measures. It is possible that some of you have seen all the processes that run more calmly and have come across one called COM Surrogate (dllhost.exe).

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What is COM Surrogate (dllhost.exe) and why it runs on my computer

Most likely, many of you are wondering what COM Surrogate (dllhost.exe) is and also why it is running on my computer. We will answer these questions below. Because we are going to tell you more about this process and the reason why it runs on the computer.

What is COM Surrogate (dllhost.exe)

The acronym COM stands for Compose Object Model. It is an interface that Microsoft introduced back in 1993 and allows developers to create COM objects using various programming languages. They are primarily objects that connect to and extend other applications.

A good example is the Windows file manager. It makes use of COM objects to create thumbnails of images and other files when you open a folder. The COM object is responsible for managing the image, video and other file processor to generate these thumbnails. This allows the file explorer to extend its support to new video codecs, among other things. So we can see the usefulness of these objects.

Although it can happen that a COM object falls or crashes. This causes the host process to stop completely. In fact, in the past it was common for this to happen and for the Windows Explorer process to crash entirely. To solve this problem Microsoft created the so-called COM Surrogate process.

This is a process that executes a COM object outside the original process that requires it. This way, if the COM object in question falls and does not work, the one that will fall will be the COM Surrogate, while the original will continue to work normally. Something that allows processes in the computer to run normally and reduces the frequency of crashes or interruptions in these processes.

So the COM Surrogate is a kind of support, which will be the one that sacrifices itself so that a process can continue normally at all times. The full name as you have seen previously is COM Surrogate (dllhost.exe). The reason for this is because the COM object is contains dll files.

Learn more about the processes of a COM object

In the task manager we can't see much more about this type of objects. But, Windows has a tool available thanks to which we can obtain more information about the processes and file types that the COM object supports. So we know more about it.

The tool in question is Process Explorer, which you can download here. By downloading the tool and executing it, we will be able to go and see the dllhost.exe process. When we click on it, we will see the COM object or host process in question. So it is an easy way to have a little more information about it.

Can it be disabled? It's a virus?

The answer to the first question is negative. It is not something that can be disabled, mainly because it is necessary for Windows itself. Since thanks to COM Surrogate, we know that various processes will work well at all times. So this is an important part for our computer. It is something that many tools use on the computer, such as the file manager or the file explorer. So it is important that it is working.

Regarding the second question, the answer is also negative. It is not a virus. It is a normal and necessary part of Windows. So it does not pose any threat to our computer at any time.

We hope this article has been helpful for you to learn more about COM Surrogate, its origin and the importance it has on our computer.

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