Process Hacker Tutorials

Learn how to use Process Hacker effectively with our comprehensive step-by-step guides. From basic usage to advanced techniques.

Beginner Friendly Step-by-Step Real Examples Video Guides

Whether you're a beginner or an advanced user, our tutorials will help you master Process Hacker. Learn how to monitor processes, detect malware, troubleshoot system issues, and optimize performance with detailed, easy-to-follow guides.

Available Tutorials

Comprehensive guides covering all aspects of Process Hacker usage

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Beginner

Getting Started

Learn the basics of Process Hacker, including installation, first launch, and understanding the interface. Perfect for new users.

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🔍
Intermediate

Monitoring Processes

Discover how to monitor running processes, view resource usage, and identify resource-intensive applications. Master the art of process analysis.

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🛡️
Security

Detecting Malware

Step-by-step guide to identifying suspicious processes and detecting malware using Process Hacker. Essential security techniques.

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🌐
Network

Network Monitoring

Learn how to monitor network connections, identify which processes are using your network, and close suspicious connections.

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⚙️
Advanced

Service Management

Master service management: create, edit, start, stop, and control Windows services. Go beyond services.msc.

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📊
Performance

System Graphs

Understand how to use system graphs and statistics to identify resource hogs and optimize performance. Visualize system activity.

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Getting Started with Process Hacker

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started with Process Hacker. Perfect for beginners and new users.

Step 1: Download and Install

Before you can use Process Hacker, you need to download and install it on your system. The installation process is straightforward and takes just a few minutes.

  1. Download Process Hacker: Visit our Download page and choose between the installer or portable version. For most users, the installer is recommended.
  2. Run as administrator: Right-click the downloaded installer and select "Run as administrator" to ensure proper installation with all features enabled.
  3. Follow the wizard: The installation wizard will guide you through the process. Accept the license agreement (GPL v3) and choose your installation directory.
  4. Launch Process Hacker: After installation, you can launch Process Hacker from the Start menu, desktop shortcut, or by searching for "Process Hacker" in Windows search.

💡 Pro Tip: If you prefer not to install software, use the portable version which can run directly from a USB drive or any folder.

Step 2: Understanding the Interface

When you first launch Process Hacker, you'll be greeted by a comprehensive interface designed for efficient system monitoring. Understanding each component will help you use Process Hacker effectively.

📋 Process List

The main window shows all running processes with their Process ID (PID), CPU usage percentage, memory usage in MB, disk I/O, network activity, and more. This is your primary view for system monitoring.

🔧 Toolbar

Quick access to common actions like terminating processes, refreshing the process list, searching, and accessing different views (Network, Services, etc.).

📊 Status Bar

Located at the bottom, displays system-wide CPU and memory usage, total number of processes, and other system statistics at a glance.

📈 Graphs

Access real-time graphs showing system resource usage over time. View CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network activity with visual representations.

💡 Tip: Right-click on column headers to customize which columns are displayed. You can also drag columns to reorder them according to your preferences.

Step 3: Basic Operations

Now that you understand the interface, let's learn the essential operations you'll use daily with Process Hacker.

1

View Process Details

Double-click any process in the list to open its properties window. Here you can see detailed information including threads, modules, handles, environment variables, and more. This is essential for understanding what a process does.

2

Terminate Process

Right-click a process and select "Terminate" to end it. Use "Terminate Tree" to end the process and all its child processes. Some processes may require administrator privileges to terminate.

3

Search Processes

Press Ctrl+F or click the search icon in the toolbar to open the search dialog. You can search by process name, PID, or other criteria. This is extremely useful when you have many processes running.

4

Refresh Process List

Press F5 or click the refresh button to update the process list. Process Hacker can also auto-refresh at intervals you configure in Options → Refresh.

Monitoring Processes

Viewing Process Information

Process Hacker displays comprehensive information about each process:

  • Process Name: The executable name
  • PID: Process ID (unique identifier)
  • CPU: Current CPU usage percentage
  • Memory: Memory usage in MB
  • I/O: Disk I/O operations
  • Network: Network activity

Identifying Resource Hogs

  1. Click on the "CPU" column header to sort by CPU usage
  2. Look for processes with high CPU usage (above 50%)
  3. Check the "Memory" column for processes using excessive RAM
  4. Use the system graphs to visualize resource usage over time

Filtering and Searching

Use Process Hacker's filtering capabilities:

  • Press Ctrl+F to open the search dialog
  • Type a process name to filter the list
  • Use the column headers to sort by different criteria
  • Right-click column headers to show/hide columns

Managing Windows Services

Accessing Services

  1. Open Process Hacker
  2. Go to View → Services (or press Ctrl+Shift+S)
  3. The Services tab will display all Windows services

Service Operations

You can perform various operations on services:

  • Start Service: Right-click → Start
  • Stop Service: Right-click → Stop
  • Restart Service: Right-click → Restart
  • Edit Service: Right-click → Properties to modify service settings
  • Change Startup Type: Set service to Automatic, Manual, or Disabled

Creating New Services

Process Hacker allows you to create new Windows services:

  1. Go to Services tab
  2. Click "Create Service" button
  3. Fill in service details (name, display name, executable path)
  4. Set startup type and other options
  5. Click OK to create the service

Using System Graphs

Accessing Graphs

Process Hacker provides real-time graphs for system monitoring:

  • Go to View → System Information (or press Ctrl+I)
  • Click on the "Graphs" tab
  • You'll see graphs for CPU, Memory, Disk I/O, and Network

Understanding the Graphs

  • CPU Graph: Shows overall CPU usage and per-core usage
  • Memory Graph: Displays physical and virtual memory usage
  • Disk I/O Graph: Shows read/write operations and throughput
  • Network Graph: Displays network activity and bandwidth usage

Using Graphs for Troubleshooting

Graphs help identify performance issues:

  1. Monitor CPU graph for sustained high usage
  2. Check memory graph for memory leaks or excessive usage
  3. Watch disk I/O graph for disk-intensive operations
  4. Use network graph to identify bandwidth-heavy processes
  5. Correlate graph spikes with process activity

Related Tutorials

Detecting Malware

Learn how to identify and remove malware using Process Hacker.

Troubleshooting CPU Usage

Step-by-step guide to resolving high CPU usage issues.

Finding Hidden Processes

Discover how to detect and analyze hidden processes.