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Microsoft Spy++ VS Process Hacker

Compare Microsoft Spy++ VS Process Hacker and see what are their differences

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Microsoft Spy++ logo Microsoft Spy++

Spy++ (SPYXX.EXE) is a Win32-based utility that gives you a graphical view of the system’s...

Process Hacker logo Process Hacker

Process Hacker is a feature-packed tool for manipulating processes and services on your computer.
  • Microsoft Spy++ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-25
  • Process Hacker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01

Microsoft Spy++ features and specs

  • Comprehensive Window Analysis
    Spy++ provides detailed information about windows, processes, threads, and messages, allowing developers to have a deep understanding of how applications interact with the Windows operating environment.
  • Real-time Monitoring
    It enables real-time monitoring of messages sent to the application windows which is beneficial for debugging and understanding message flow.
  • Thread and Process Inspection
    Developers can inspect running threads and processes, giving insights into how applications are executing within the operating system.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The tool provides an intuitive interface for navigating through the hierarchical view of windows and messages, making it easier for users to operate.
  • Integration with Visual Studio
    Spy++ integrates well with Microsoft Visual Studio, making it accessible directly from the development environment.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Spy++

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, understanding and interpreting the data provided by Spy++ can be complex and may require a steep learning curve.
  • Limited to Windows API
    Spy++ is tailored for applications that use the Windows API and might not be useful for applications developed with different frameworks or technologies.
  • Outdated Interface
    The interface may seem outdated which can be less appealing and user-friendly compared to more modern tools.
  • Performance Overhead
    Monitoring windows and messages in real-time can add performance overhead to the system, affecting the responsiveness of the applications being analyzed.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Spy++ lacks some of the advanced features found in other modern debugging and monitoring tools, such as advanced profiling and deep-dive analytics.

Process Hacker features and specs

  • Open Source
    Process Hacker is an open source project, which means that its source code is freely available for anyone to inspect, modify, and distribute. This enhances transparency and community involvement.
  • Feature-Rich
    The software offers a comprehensive set of features, including process management, memory viewing/editing, and system monitoring. These features can be particularly useful for advanced users and IT professionals.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The application has a clean and intuitive interface that allows users to navigate through various functionalities with ease. This makes it accessible even to less experienced users.
  • Customization
    Users have the ability to customize various aspects of the application, such as the appearance and behavior of the interface. This allows for a more personalized user experience.
  • Performance Monitoring
    Process Hacker provides detailed performance metrics for processes, which can help in diagnosing bottlenecks and resource-heavy applications. This is valuable for system optimization.

Possible disadvantages of Process Hacker

  • Security Concerns
    Because it provides advanced system-level capabilities, there is a risk that it could be used for malicious activities if it falls into the wrong hands. Users need to exercise caution.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some users have reported compatibility issues with certain versions of Windows or specific hardware configurations. This can limit its effectiveness on those systems.
  • Resource Usage
    Running Process Hacker itself requires a fair amount of system resources, which may affect the performance of older or less powerful machines.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, the depth and breadth of features can be overwhelming to new users. A period of learning and acclimatization may be required.
  • Support
    As an open source project, Process Hacker relies heavily on community support. Users may find that official support options are limited compared to commercial software.

Microsoft Spy++ videos

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Process Hacker videos

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What is Process Hacker Explained

More videos:

  • Review - Detectando procesos con process hacker 2
  • Review - Using Process Hacker 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft Spy++ and Process Hacker)

Microsoft Spy++

Process Hacker

Monitoring Tools
23 23%
Monitoring Tools
77% 77
Command Line Tools
24 24%
Command Line Tools
76% 76
Performance Monitoring
32 32%
Performance Monitoring
68% 68
Log Management
100 100%
Log Management
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft Spy++ and Process Hacker

Microsoft Spy++ Reviews

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Process Hacker Reviews

8 Best WinPatrol Alternatives
Process Hacker is a free, open-source system monitoring, management, and security tool for PCs. The main service of this utility is like the Task Manager of Windows with some extra features. The tabbed interface shows a list of processes, a services list, a screen showing disk activity, and another that shows disk activity.
Source: www.comparitech.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Process Hacker seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 40 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft Spy++ mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Microsoft Spy++ yet. Tracking of Microsoft Spy++ recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Process Hacker mentions (40)

  • Show HN: Appstat – Process Monitor for Windows
    For advanced end users? Why would they ditch: https://systeminformer.sourceforge.io/ ? - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • System Informer
    System Informer is a versatile system management tool designed to seamlessly monitor and analyze system resources, troubleshoot software issues, and identify potential malware threats. Offers system activity overviews, intuitive graphs, real-time statistics, active network connection monitoring, detailed disk access information, intricate stack trace analysis, and much more. Evily2k describes it "like process... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Today I learned you can pause the Windows Task Manager moving apps around
    Or Process Hacker (https://processhacker.sourceforge.io/) which IMO is even better. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Windows Explorer memory leak (Windows 10)
    I can use Process Hacker and run "Reduce working set" on it, which makes explorer.exe instantly go down to ~100MB. However, it just starts leaking RAM again and it's a matter of hours until it grows back to several GB. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • FACEIT Anti-cheat - Secure boot requirement update!
    I can't have a task manager style tool installed? It's completely safe and does NOTHING in terms of cheating, no other game has ever flagged it as false positive. Is this AC so bad that it sees the word "h4Ck3R" and thinks it needs to be removed? What else is this thing needlessly scanning my computer for? Source: almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft Spy++ and Process Hacker, you can also consider the following products

WinSpy - Retrieve window information.

Process Explorer - The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you'l…

Window Detective - Window Detective is a programmer's tool used to "spy" on an application's windows...

TeraCopy - TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user with a lot of features.

Winspector Spy - Have you ever used Spy++ that comes with MSVC?

htop - htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.

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