DSentry.exe process is a background task you can spectate in your Task Manager. That process belongs to the system application from Dell, and present in each computer manufactured by that company with the pre-installed Windows. There were several reports about the cases when viruses took that name for disguise. In this post, you will see why your computer needs that process. As a bonus, you will see how to understand if it is malware related.
What is the purpose of the DSentry.exe process?
DSentry.exe is a part of a large anti-spyware tool DVDsentry, developed by Dell Technologies. The main purpose of this program is to provide the protection against spyware, stealers, keyloggers and different other viruses. Since it is designed specially for the systems manufactured by Dell, this protection is on a programmatically low level. That means that such a security tool is launched together with the drivers, and likely cannot be bypassed by malware. The specificity of that security tool is that it stops only those viruses that try to spy on you through the DVD player vulnerabilities.
Besides the malware interruptions, this program also prevents the attempts of various programs distributed on disks to collect the data about your PC and send it to the remote server. Various applications may access your personal information without the permission. DVDSentry closes that security breach, and then offers you to decide if you want to grant access to that app. Some people think that applications of some sort are completely useless bloatware, but in my opinion it is a useful staff.
It is quite hard to understand the exact purpose of DSentry.exe, because Dell does not uncover the details about that product. It seems that this decision is done to prevent reverse engineering attempts from malware creators. But you may be sure that it is 100% legit, if you use Dell laptop or desktop, of course. That tool is shipped as pre-installed with your computer, if you choose to buy it with pre-installed Windows. However, if you installed the Windows manually, or reinstalled it for some reasons, or your PC is manufactured not by Dell, and you see this process running – that’s a reason to raise suspicion.
Can I stop the DSentry.exe?
This process does not belong to the system ones, so disabling it will not lead to failures. You can easily stop it, but I cannot imagine the situation when such a decision will bring any significant effect. Moreover, you will leave without such a specific security tool, that may be very useful in some cases. To stop it, you need to forbid the DVDSentry (the whole application) to start with your system. For this reason, open your Task Manager and go to the Start-Up tab. In that tab find the DVDSentry app, click it once and then click on “Disable” button in the right bottom corner.
The majority of programs which work in the background are designed to create no problems to their users. Sometimes, applications can consume a lot of resources while working in the background, but that is not true for the DSentry.exe. Mindless disabling of the services is often a way to break something important. You can stop this service if you don’t use the DVD drive, but that will not make your system faster.
How can I understand that DSentry.exe is a virus?
As I have mentioned, if your computer is not produced by Dell Technologies, and you see the DSentry.exe process in the Task Manager, it is likely a virus. Dell does not offer the other PC manufacturers to use their anti-spyware suite. Same policy it provides for the users who want to install the DVDSentry on their computers: want to use it – by a Dell product. Proprietary of that software allows to exclude all possible origins of that tool. In such cases you need to perform the anti-malware scan. Possibly, the coin miner virus can use that name as a disguise.
Another way to check the benevolence of this app is to check the file location of the executable file of that process. If it is located in System/Windows32, that process is legit. Any other locations mean that this process just mimics the DSentry.exe, and can be malevolent. In that case, you also need the antivirus software to solve the problem. My choice for that case is GridinSoft Anti-Malware1.
Remove the viruses with GridinSoft Anti-Malware
- Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by pressing the button above. Install it to proceed the malware removal. Right after the installation program will offer you to start the Standard scan.
- Standard scan takes 3-6 minutes. It checks the disk where the system keeps its files. The majority of viruses place their files on that disk.
- After the scan is over, you can choose the action for each detected malicious item. For all dangerous viruses the default action is “Delete”. Press “Apply” to remove the viruses from your computer.
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