What is a Surrogate? Why is it on My PC

If you’ve recently opened the Task Manager on your computer and come across a process called com surrogate” then this is the right article for you to better understand this process and why it’s running on your PC.

First of all, when I come across com surrogate I think it’s malware or virus that running in the background on my system. But after that I research it and find what is it and why is it on my PC.

In this article, we will explain to you all about this process (dllhost.exe) and clear some of the frequently asked questions related to it so let’s get started.

What is COM Surrogate?

COM means Component Object Model it’s an interface that Microsoft introduced back in 1993 with the help of this Windows users can create COM objects with the help of various programming languages such as C, Java, Python, PHP and many more.

More importantly, these COM objects are used to plugin into the other different applications to increase their productivity.

For instance, most of you already know that Windows File Manager used COM objects to create thumbnail images along with other files for generating the thumbnails.

In technical words, the COM object can easily able to handle the following things such as images, videos and all other files. This allows Windows File Manager to extend with other features and codes using the COM object.

But there is a cache with the COM object if it crashed then it will take down the entire host process and it is most common for the theme generating COM objects to crash and along with it the Windows Explorer goes down.

Well if you’re looking to fix this kind of issue then for this Microsoft developed a COM Surrogate process and with the help of this process.

The COM object runs outside of the original process without interfering with Windows Explorer or other processes. In case the COM object crashes it only takes down the COM Surrogate process with it.

The Windows Explorer also known as the File Explorer began the COM Surrogate process when it needed to create thumbnail images. So basically the COM process hosts the COM Surrogate crashes and the Windows File Explorer process won’t get affected by it.

What Does COM Object and COM Surrogate Host on Windows?

Well if you think you can get all the information from the Task Manager on your Windows then I can assure you that you cannot get any other information regarding COM Object and the COM Surrogate hosting.

If you wanted to see the entire process then in this case we recommend you to use Microsoft’s Process Explorer tool.  Just mouse over the “dllhost.exe” process in the Process Explorer to view the COM Object or the DDL files it was hosting.

is it a Virus?

Most Windows users think it’s a virus same as the other malware that runs in the background of the Operating System process that you can check using the Task Manager.

In past, there are lots of cases that show that harmful trojan and malware were hidden in the Windows operating system to mask themself as the COM Surrogate along with all other Windows process that runs in the background on your system.

To make sure it’s not the virus, follow the below-given steps by steps instructions.

  1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE buttons together and select the Task Manager.
  2. Now switch the tab to the Processes and choose “Open File Location”

By doing so you can easily able to locate the original source of the process that running in the background of your system. If the location of the process ended to the file called “dllhost” in the following path C:\Windows\System32 folder.

Then it, is not a virus, if the location leads to anywhere else then you needed to run a full scan on your computer using an Antivirus.

How Much CPU Usage Does COM Surrogate Use?

Most likely the COM Surrogate uses very little memory along with the CPU usage and there are only one or two processes run when the system is needed.

In case you find multiple dllhost.exe processes on the task manager or the process using much CPU usage of more than 1 or 2 percent. Then we recommend you to run and Full PC scan offline without an internet connection using reliable Antivirus such as Malwarebytes, Norton etc.

How To Disable It?

No, you cannot able to disable the COM Surrogate process because it’s an important process for Windows.

It’s a container process used to run the COM objects on the Windows operating system you cannot able to disable it because it comes as the default on windows.

Windows File Explorer regularly creates thumbnails when you open any folder similar other programs also use this process for different purposes.

Moreover, all the dllhost.exe processes on the system are started by any other program to perform any other task on the system.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

These are some of the frequently asked questions related to the What is COM Surrogate with complete information.

Is COM Surrogate a virus?

According to the sources, COM Surrogate is not a virus.

What happens if I end COM Surrogate?

COM Surrogate is a Windows 10 process that runs COM Objects, which are program extensions. The COM Surrogate will crash instead of the software that was running it if the COM object crashes.

What does COM Surrogate mean?

The Sacrificial process for a COM object that is run outside of the process that requested it is known as the COM Surrogate. When extracting thumbnails, for example, Explorer uses the COM Surrogate.

How do I get rid of COM Surrogate?

Examine for the COM Surrogate Virus. You can confirm if you have a COM Surrogate malware by looking at the location of the process file.
Use a top-tier antivirus to do a full system scan.
Remove the Virus from Your Computer.

Is it safe to delete com surrogate?

The COM Surrogate virus is one of the most prevalent malware infections on Windows systems; it’s quite hazardous, but removing it isn’t difficult. However, you should never attempt to manually remove the COM Surrogate malware.

Final Words

This is the end of this short guide hopefully it helped you to better understand what is the COM Surrogate process is and what its benefits on Windows.

In case you’ve any queries related to the guide or Windows feel free to ask us via the comment box. We try our best to resolve your issue as soon as possible with the help of your tech experts team.

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