The conhost.exe (Console Windows Host) file is provided by Microsoft and is usually legitimate and completely safe. It can be seen on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.
Windows Conhost.exe Process Information
Conhost.exe needs to be running in order for Command Prompt to communicate with File Explorer. One of its tasks is to provide the ability to drag and drop files/folders directly into Command Prompt. Even third-party programs can use conhost.exe if they need access to the command line.
In most cases, it is perfectly safe and does not need to be removed or scanned for viruses. In fact, it is normal for this process to run multiple times at once (you often see multiple instances of conhost.exe in Task Manager).
However, there are situations where a virus can pose as the conhost EXE file. A sign that it is malicious or fake is if it uses a lot of memory.
