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Process Explorer VS KillSwitch

Compare Process Explorer VS KillSwitch and see what are their differences

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Process Explorer logo 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…

KillSwitch logo KillSwitch

KillSwitch is an advanced system monitoring tool that is apart of
  • Process Explorer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
  • KillSwitch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-01

Process Explorer features and specs

  • Detailed System Information
    Process Explorer provides in-depth information about system processes, including detailed CPU and memory usage stats.
  • Hierarchical View
    It shows processes in a tree structure, making it easy to understand parent-child relationships between processes.
  • Advanced Diagnostic Capabilities
    The tool offers advanced features like DLL and handle viewing, allowing detailed investigation of system issues.
  • Real-Time Monitoring
    It allows real-time monitoring of system performance, including CPU, GPU, and I/O activity, which is critical for diagnosing performance bottlenecks.
  • Integration with VirusTotal
    Process Explorer can integrate with VirusTotal to check the safety of running processes, adding an extra layer of security.
  • Free to Use
    Process Explorer is part of the Sysinternals suite, which is freely available for use, making it accessible for both individual users and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of Process Explorer

  • Complexity
    The extensive features and detailed information can be overwhelming for novice users who may find the interface complex to navigate.
  • Resource Intensive
    While generally lightweight, the comprehensive monitoring features can consume a noticeable amount of system resources, which might affect performance on older or less powerful systems.
  • Windows Only
    Process Explorer is designed specifically for Windows operating systems, limiting its use for those who work in cross-platform environments.
  • No Built-In Reporting
    The tool does not offer built-in reporting capabilities, requiring users to manually capture and document information.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its advanced features and detailed information, new users might face a steep learning curve before being able to fully utilize all its capabilities.
  • Limited Documentation
    While there are some resources available, the documentation can be sparse, making it difficult for users to find solutions to specific problems.

KillSwitch features and specs

  • Real-time Monitoring
    KillSwitch provides real-time monitoring of active processes and network connections, allowing users to quickly identify suspicious activities.
  • Detailed Process Information
    The tool offers detailed information about each running process, including their origin, which helps in identifying potentially dangerous software.
  • Comprehensive Threat Detection
    KillSwitch is part of Comodo Cleaning Essentials, which includes a comprehensive threat database to detect rootkits and other advanced threats.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The interface is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible for users of varying technical expertise.
  • Portable Tool
    As a portable tool, KillSwitch does not need installation, allowing users to run it directly from a USB drive.

Possible disadvantages of KillSwitch

  • Limited to Windows
    KillSwitch is designed to work on Windows operating systems, limiting use for users with other operating systems like macOS or Linux.
  • Dependency on Comodo's Database
    The effectiveness of its threat detection relies heavily on Comodo’s database being up-to-date.
  • Potential for False Positives
    As with many security tools, there's a risk of false positives, where legitimate processes may be mistakenly flagged as threats.
  • Requires Technical Knowledge
    While the interface is user-friendly, understanding the implications of certain actions, like terminating processes, requires technical knowledge.
  • Limited Additional Features
    Compared to full-fledged security suites, KillSwitch offers limited additional features outside of process and network monitoring.

Analysis of Process Explorer

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Process Explorer is generally regarded as a good and reliable tool by both system administrators and other IT professionals. It is frequently recommended for its depth of features, ease of use, and the detailed process information it provides.

Why this product is good

  • Process Explorer is considered a valuable tool because it offers comprehensive insights into system processes, threads, and resource usage. It provides detailed information about which files and directories individual processes have open, the DLLs they have loaded, and more. Its ability to offer real-time data and powerful searching capabilities makes it invaluable for troubleshooting and performance monitoring.

Recommended for

  • System administrators
  • IT professionals
  • Software developers
  • Anyone interested in detailed system diagnostics
  • Users troubleshooting application issues

Process Explorer videos

+ Add

Sysinternals Process Explorer Review + download link and method

More videos:

  • Review - Scan for Malware Using Process Explorer and Virus Total
  • Review - What Is?: Process Explorer?

KillSwitch videos

+ Add

The NEW KILLSWITCH for Steam Deck | Revised Model Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Process Explorer and KillSwitch)

Process Explorer

KillSwitch

Monitoring Tools
87 87%
Monitoring Tools
13% 13
Command Line Tools
87 87%
Command Line Tools
13% 13
Performance Monitoring
91 91%
Performance Monitoring
9% 9
OS & Utilities
0 0%
OS & Utilities
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Process Explorer and KillSwitch. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Process Explorer seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 289 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.

Process Explorer mentions (289)

  • Stats – macOS system monitor in your menu bar
    Unclear what you mean by programmable, but https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer is the bee's knees and you can set an option to have it take over taskmon.exe, launch on login, and put as many of the widgets in the taskbar as you fancy. I love it I've heard about running them directly from SMB but have never been the kind of person to try out such a stunt... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: What tools do you recommend for working on Windows?
    Always put all your portable programs in the "A:\MyPC\Programs\" folder. Always put all your documents in the "A:\MyPC\Documents\" folder. Put driver files and runtime libraries in the "A:\MyPC\Install\" folder. For all three, feel free to create subfolders as needed, either per topic, per group, or however your brain envisions data trees. You can find plenty of portable windows software in the links provided... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Hidden dependencies in Linux binaries.
    On windows, this is Dependency Walker versus ProcExp. Similar eye-goggling results. https://www.dependencywalker.com/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Windows Explorer and Desktop Window Manager high RAM usage
    If you run Process Explorer (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer) and enable process tree view, you can see what processes are running under explorer.exe. That should give you a better idea of what's consuming that memory if you're genuinely concerned about this. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Roblox doesn't launch for months on PC
    If you have any suspicious processes running onto your computer, close them IMMEDIATELY. I suggest using Process Explorer, as it has a Virustotal which submits all Executables to virustotal under 70+ antiviruses. If any of the processes have 3+ detections, Close them down as anticheats will detect it and stop you from running Roblox. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

KillSwitch mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of KillSwitch yet. Tracking of KillSwitch recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Process Explorer and KillSwitch, you can also consider the following products

Process Monitor - Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.

Kiwi application monitor - Kiwi application monitor is a small program which lets you monitor your applications/processes, Windows and User activity.

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.

Battle Encoder Shirase - Software that controls per-process CPU usage: an “active” software CPU cooler.

Autoruns - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login.

Processes - https://www.oneperiodic.com/products/processes/

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