December 15, 2025

Best Practices for System Monitoring with Process Hacker

To get the most out of Process Hacker, follow these best practices for system monitoring, optimization, and security. These tips will help you use Process Hacker more effectively and maintain better system health.

1. Run as Administrator

Always run Process Hacker with administrator privileges. This ensures you can see all processes, terminate protected processes, and access advanced features like network monitoring and service management.

2. Optimize Refresh Settings

Adjust the refresh interval based on your needs:

  • For real-time monitoring: 1 second
  • For general use: 2-3 seconds
  • For low resource usage: 5+ seconds

3. Customize Columns

Show only the columns you need to reduce resource usage and improve readability. Right-click column headers to customize the display.

4. Use Filters

Use Process Hacker's filtering capabilities to focus on specific processes. Press Ctrl+F to search and filter the process list.

5. Regular Monitoring

Establish a baseline of normal system activity. Regular monitoring helps you quickly identify deviations that may indicate problems.

6. Keep Updated

Keep Process Hacker updated to the latest version for bug fixes, security improvements, and new features.

7. Use System Graphs

Regularly check system graphs to identify trends and patterns in resource usage. This helps with proactive problem detection.

Conclusion

Following these best practices will help you use Process Hacker more effectively and maintain better system health and security.