After using Google Chrome for like about 10 minutes today, Symantec AV displayed a pop-up in the notification area with the text 'softwarereportertool.exe is safe'. I was not consciously downloading anything from the internet at the time and decided to take a look at the details of the notification. It turns out that Google Chrome had. The Software reporter tool is run to check for any harmful software on the computer and if any such software is found in it, then the Chrome Cleanup tool removes the software. It is the Chrome cleanup tool which was earlier called the Software Remover tool. Sometimes it is. Generally speaking, the Software Reporter Tool is useful, and its existence shouldn’t bother you. The exception is when the component consumes too many resources, interfering with the normal operation of other programs. When the Software Reporter Tool loads the memory or processor on the computer, then you can disable or even delete it.
If you come across a strange process or program called “Software Reporter Tool.exe” in Task Manager that is causing a lot of CPU / disk usage and you are thinking about what it is doing on the computer, this article will help you a lot.
In this post you will learn the benefits of Software Reporter tools. How do you install it on your system? Is it Safe or Highly Suspicious? What is it doing on your computer? What are the pros and cons of implementing this executable in the background? And how do I disable or remove it from my computer?
Chrome has been known to consume resources across all platforms, drain battery and therefore impact performance. To fix this problem, we even wrote an in-depth guide on how to speed up Chrome on a computer.
But what if I tell you that there is a hidden tool called the Chrome Software Reporter Tool which increases CPU uncharacteristically? Google claims it’s designed to protect users from malware and malicious extensions.
However, many users report that this continues to run in the background and greatly affects performance. So if you are wondering what the Chrome Software Reporter Tool is for and what it actually is for, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we describe the issue in detail and offer two easy ways to disable Chrome Tools Reporting Tool permanently.
What is a software reporter tool exe causing high CPU usage?
If you see a strange process or application called “Software_Reporter_Tool.exe” running in Task Manager which is causing high CPU / disk usage and you are wondering what is doing
What is This software reporter tool?
The Software Reporter Tool is a secret process in Google Chrome that tracks your Chrome installation and notifies you when an add-on interferes with the normal operation of the browser.
This tool is not connected to the internet but is mainly used by users to identify potentially annoying programs. A 54 KB executable file called tool.exe reporter software is available.
If you’re facing widespread CPU usage at this stage, or you keep getting notifications that the Google Chrome App Reporter tool has stopped working. You may want to turn it off or delete it.
Unless a user is purposely looking for a software reporting tool, they are not fully aware of its existence. So the thing is, what’s the role of this Chrome add-on?
In fact, the Chrome Software Reporter tool is an executable file that runs once a week and reports scanned data to Chrome. The device will check the computer for accuracy for any unofficial software applications that might be interfering with the Chrome browser. The tool also reports unexpected ads on Chrome or crashes in events like website crashes.
Google Chrome users have two major problems with the Software Reporter Tool
- During scanning, the software reporting tool puts a lot of CPU load on the system. The reason is, the scanning process takes at least 20 minutes. This is something that interferes with other computer activities.
- Since this reporting tool notifies Google of the scan results, many users dislike it for data protection reasons.
Where can you find the Reporter Tool software on a Windows 10/7 computer?
Many users have found this executable software reporter tool exe running on their computer systems. In most cases the computer will have 3 or more instances of this executable.
The following screenshot shows 3 examples of Software_Reporter_Tool.exe running on our Windows 10 computer:
The executable file is named Software_Reporter_Tool.exe and its actual name or description is “Software Reporting Tool“.
Many people have complained that this executable causes high CPU usage on their system. Sometimes up to 60% of CPU resources are used. You can see in the screenshot above that it is taking up 25% of the CPU resources on our system.
So, What is Executable Software_Reporter_Tool.exe?
If you right-click the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe entry in the Task Manager and select the “Open file location” option, the following folders will open on your computer:
C: Usersyour_usernameAppDataLocalGoogleChromeuser dataSwReporter version number
The version number folder is “35.180.200” on our computer. The software reporter tool exe executable file is located in this folder.
How safe is it to use?
You may have doubts about your privacy as a customer. If you are unsure about your online privacy, you can test the validity of the tool by simply scrolling to the .exe file. You may find that parts of Google that describe files as Chrome Cleanup Tool are digitally signed. Hence, this tool is completely safe.
It should be noted that the reporting method does not include network contacts. The tool’s only task is to report Chrome for apps that don’t normally work with the Chrome browser.
This reporting tool does not violate the use of confidentiality. On the other hand, if you have removed the Chrome Reporter Tool from your computer. The threat of unwanted applications is increasing. You can use third-party antivirus software or antivirus tools such as Malwarebytes or Avast.
Here’s how we got around this problem and fixed the high CPU usage caused by the Chrome Software Reporter Tool.
Why are Software Reporting Tools causing high CPU usage?
Today, most of us have switched from Windows 7 and XP to Windows 10. This is because it is less vulnerable than its predecessors and works very smoothly with almost any configuration. But he’s not immune to all problems yet.
Windows 10 also has issues with the Reporter Tool software associated with high CPU usage, which makes it slow to use. Many of you may have noticed via Task Manager that the Software Reporting Tool (software_reporter_tool.exe) is running in the background. During this time, your computer will be very slow.
In the image above, you can see eight software_reporter_tool.exe files running. Well, this is what can be executed. You can find the correct name in the google Software Reporter Tool
And as you can see in the figure, this task consumes a lot of CPU memory. And sometimes it can take up as much as 70% of your CPU memory depending on the performance. Since many people are unfamiliar with this executable, they think of it as malware and try to use an antivirus to solve this problem. The opposite happened.
Why disable software reporter tools?
Based on the above, Google’s Software Reporter Tool is a very useful tool for Chrome users. But why would Windows users want to disable the Software Reporter Tool? Isn’t it safe? Is it malware or a normal process? I know you need to worry now, but the Software Reporting Tool is very safe to use.
This tool is completely secure because there is no network communication. The only task of this tool is to notify Chrome about any software that may not work properly with the Chrome browser. While this tool helps to remove obstacles that can affect the browsing experience, a major concern for many users is the large amount of CPU consumed while running in the background.
The tool can run for about 20 minutes, which can slow down other activity on your system. During the scan, some users might experience major problems with the Software Reporting Tool processor.
If the CPU usage is high in this process or you get a message that the Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool stops working frequently, you may need to disable or remove it. In the next section, you will learn how to disable the Software Reporting Tool step by step.
Step by step Instructions to disable the Software Reporter Tool Chrome
You can delete, uninstall, or delete entire folder contents, or rename the executable yourself to disable the Software Reporter Tool. In any case, this is just a temporary solution as Google will reinstall the Google Software Reporter Tool on the framework when you update your internet browser.
So it is better to disable the Software Reporting Tool by removing the permissions so that no user can access the folder. Here are the detailed steps.
Method 1
Step 1. Right-click the SwReporter folder and select Properties from the menu. You can discover the folder in the system by following this way.
C:UsersusernameAppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser dataSwReporter
Step 2: Find the Security tab and select the Advanced tab.
Step 3: Select the option Deactivate Inheritance.
Step 4: In the pop-up window, select Remove all inherited permissions from this object. All inherited permissions are then removed.
Step 5: Finally, select Apply and click OK.
If you are using Windows 7 it may be a little different. After clicking the Advanced button on the Security tab, a Change Permissions … button appears instead of the Disable Inheritance option. Then click on it.
In the new window, uncheck the Enable inherited permissions in parent of this object checkbox and select Delete in the pop-up dialog box. The Software Reporter Tool will at that point be impaired in Windows 7.
After the above steps, no other user will have access to the Software Reporter tool and no updates will be applied to it.
If the Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool processor is having a big problem and you want to disable it, you can follow the steps in this post to disable the Windows 10 Software Reporting Tool by removing permissions.
Method 2: Remove the Software Reporter tool by deleting the executable
Type “Ctrl + R” and a Run window will open and copy and paste the following:
%localappdata%GoogleChromeuser dataSwReporter
The folder will appear on your computer. Our version number folder is “83.238.200” as shown below. It may be different on your computer.
You are now clicking on the folder. You will find an executable file from the Software Reporter tool.
To ensure that your data is protected and the browser continues to function normally. You should simply erase the executable file. First you need to find the tools folder as mentioned in the steps above and delete it.
It won’t interfere with your browsing. This becomes a necessity for users as CPU usage increases. The important thing to know is that you need to keep an eye on Chrome updates. This is not a permanent solution as Chrome is constantly being updated. The tool will be installed again.
Method 3: Disable the Software Reporting Tool by deleting its contents
You can temporarily stop the software from running on your computer. Follow the steps below.
1. Open the notepad on the laptop.
2. Presently click on the “Open” choice in the menu bar
3. A box will appear. Put this in the box and then search
% localappdata%GoogleChromeuser dataSwReporter83.238.200
4. Select software_reporter_tool.exe from the list and click “Open”.
5. At that point click “CTRL + A” and erase all content.
6. Save this file.
Deletion of all folder contents is temporary. Google Chrome will update and the tool will be reinstalled on your computer.
Method 4: Remove Google Access Permission Tool
Using a temporary method won’t be of any benefit in the long run. The best option is to remove User and Google permissions. This prevents users or Google from starting or accessing this tool. This process can cause the tool to stop working. All Google updates are not affected in any way. To use this method, do the following:
1. Go to Run and skip this code
% localappdata%GoogleChromeuser data
2. There is a folder called SwReporter.
3. Click on that. Go to Properties.
4. Now select the Security tab
5. A page will open, select Advanced.
6. Now click “Deactivate Inheritance“. You can decide to eliminate all inheritable consents from this item.
7. Click Apply and then click Yes in the security window.
8. Select Ok and Ok again
Method 4: Disable scan tool on Windows network
You can also disable the tool via registry or group policy. This is the easier method for you if you are a system administrator. You can disable the tool from the connected computer. You can disable this tool via the Group Policy Editor as described in the following steps:
- First, download a Google policy template.
- After downloading, extract the files to another folder.
- Now you need to copy Google.admx and Chrome.admx.
Then put it in the C: Windows PolicyDefinitionsfolder. - Now copy Google.adml and Chrome.adml. You can find it in the en-us folder.
Then copy it to C:WindowsPolicyDefinitionsen-us - Now open the group policy editor
- You can open it from the run window and enter “gpedit.msc“.
- Then there are the new Google guidelines: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Google -> Google Chrome
- You have now disabled this in Google Chrome “Enable Chrome cleanup on Windows“.
Now neither user nor Google have access to launch software tools.
Difference Between Software Reporting Tool, Chrome Cleanup Tool, and Software Removal Tool
The Software Reporting Tool, Chrome Cleanup Tool, and software Removal Tool are basically the same.
There isn’t much difference between these three tools. Google Chrome launches a Software Reporting Tool to scan your computer for malware. When a malicious application is found, Chrome will ask the user to run the Chrome Cleanup Tool (also known as a software removal tool) to remove it.
In fact, Google Chrome has a very useful feature that allows users to find malicious software and remove it from their computer system. All you have to do is scan your computer using this feature. Malware is automatically detected and removed from your computer.
What are the pros and cons of Software_Reporter_Tool.exe software reporter tool on my computer?
Here are the pros and cons of running Software_Reporter_Tool.exe on your computer:
Pros of Software_Reporter_Tool.exe:
- It can remove malware and malware from your computer.
- It can remove useless Google Chrome extensions and add-ons that were installed automatically by third-party software without your knowledge.
Cons of Software_Reporter_Tool.exe
- Sometimes it consumes too much RAM and causes high CPU capacity and disk usage problems. This can slow down your computer.
- Sometimes it crashes and you get the error message “Google Chrome Software Reporting Tool has stopped working” in Windows.
- Sometimes it may detect and remove some apps and extensions / add-ons from Google Chrome which are classified as dangerous.
- However, apps and extensions are actually safe and useful and were intentionally installed by you.
- It will scan your Windows device and can report the results (malware / extension metadata) to Google which may not be of interest to privacy concerns.
Conclusion
If you often find third-party apps annoying Chrome, then you don’t need the google software reporter tool high disk. Downsides, high disk CPU usage, or the impact on data protection may be enough to impact functionality.
Personally, we prefer to use the first method as it is permanent and doesn’t interfere with system operation. You can return to changes at any time. If not, run Chrome update again and the Software Reporting tool will download and reinstall.
We also prefer to leave the software reporter tool high disk turned on if I’m not having problems. That’s all for the Chrome Software Reporter tool. You can learn about this tool in the first part and then disable it in the second.
We suggest two ways to keep it from running in the background permanently. As I said above, these tools are available for several reasons and are there to protect your web experience. If this doesn’t affect performance I suggest you let it work.
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What is Software Reporter Tool?
I bet that everyone who had done some business online had come across Google chrome. It’s an irresistible part of the internet. Nearly 65% of people use Google Chrome as their primary browser followed by Safari which stands at 15% in market share. It’s one place for web Browsing, but it’s not just an application to get a mind-blowing browsing experience. It has many unique features which led it to become one of the most trusted applications in the internet world. Google Chrome operates through a number of programs and the Chrome Software Reporter Tool is one of them. The Chrome software reporter tool is a very important part of the Chrome Browser. And it comes with the Google Chrome package so one doesn’t need to install it separately. This executable file is called the software_reporter_tool.exe.
Chrome Software Reporter Tool is the part of Google Chrome Cleanup Tool. It monitors the Google Chrome installations and reports if any other component is interfering with the process. These kinds of programs are also used by other browsers to monitor any possible threat the installations might face. It helps eliminate this risk by identifying conflicting software programs.
If you are not a computer savvy then there is a chance that you may have never come across this tool. Well, it’s not your fault this tool doesn’t cross your eyes easily unless you intend to see it. You can find this 54 kb executable file by going to this following path through your RUN dialog box:
%localappdata%GoogleChromeUser DataSwReporter
The above Image shows the opened location of the file, and the number 80.230.200 refers to its version. The Software Reporter Tool runs once a week and sends the gathered data to Chrome. The main aim behind the operations of Software Reporter Tool is to find any conflicting software that might interfere with the Chrome application and ruin your browser experience. It also reports Chrome about unwanted advertisements and browser crashes. By these reports, Google Chrome decides whether it’s time to run the Chrome Cleanup tool or not. And if the problem is huge then Chrome prompts the user to run this feature.
Why Software Reporter Tool Cause High CPU Usage?
Nowadays, most of us have shifted towards the Windows 10 operating system from Windows 7 and XP. This is because it’s less vulnerable than its precursors and works very smoothly with almost any configuration. But it still isn’t immune to all the problems. Windows 10 also face Software Reporter Tool High CPU Usage related issues which, makes it slow to use. Many of you might have noticed through the task manager that the Software Reporter Tool (software_reporter_tool.exe) is running in the background. During which your computer becomes very slow.
From the above image you can see that there are eight software_reporter_tool.exe files running. Well this is the executable file you can find the real name from the description which is Software Reporter Tool.
And as you can see from the picture this task has consumed an enormous amount of CPU memory. And sometimes it can even consume more than 70% of your CPU memory depending on the work. As many people are unaware of this executable they think of this as an malware and try to solve this issue with an antivirus but it is completely the opposite.
Difference Between Software Reporter Tool, Chrome Cleanup Tool or Software Removal Tool:
The Software Reporter Tool and Chrome Cleanup Tool are very much similar. One finds harmful apps and extensions which could prevent Chrome from doing its work and another removes those apps to prevent them from doing so. It is a very useful way to get rid of any harmful software and malware without adding any additional level of security. Previously one had to separately download the Google Chrome Cleanup Tool to implement this method but, now Google has integrated it into the Chrome system. So, if you ever feel that your browser is having some issue then you can simply use this built-in tool to solve that problem. Just follow these steps to manually activate this tool:
Step 1. Open the Google Chrome Settings and go to the Advanced option.
Step 2. Then scroll down and go to the Reset and clean up section.
Step 3. Now click on the Clean up computer option.
Step 4. On the next page you will find an option named Find harmful software just click on the ‘Find’ button.
It will find all the harmful software programs from your computer and will remove them all. You can also uncheck the box below saying Report details to Google if you don’t wish to send the reports to Google.
Following Are The Pros and Cons of Software Reporter Tool:
Pros of Software Reporter Tool:
- It detects and removes the useless extensions and add-ons which usually get installed by the third party software.
- It helps eliminate the harmful software and Malware which can cause problems in your browsing experience.
Cons of Software Reporter Tool:
- While working it can consume a good amount of your Random Access Memory which in term causes High Disk Usage issues. And ultimately it slows down your computer.
- In many times it detects and removes some programmes and add-ons which it takes as harmful which in reality are completely safe. And sometimes it can also remove some of your programma and add-ons which you have installed intentionally for working purposes.
- Sometimes it stops working and you get an error message that ‘Google Chrome software Reporter Tool has stopped working’ which is a problem.
- Another problem is that it completely scans your computer and sends the scanned reports to Google which in term violates some of the privacy issues.
Why Disable Software Reporter Tool:
I think from the above discussion we have completely cleared the pros and cons of the Software Reporter Tool. It has some advantages which could surely enhance your browser experience. But as it is clear from the above discussion it has some really big problems. In times the Software Reporter Tool can run for more than 20 minutes continuously which could hugely slow down your computer.
So if you encounter High CPU Usage so often and get the error message ‘Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool stopped working’ then you should consider deleting or disabling this program. Now our next part will show you how you can disable the Software Reporter Tool step by step.
How To Disable or Remove Software Reporter Tool:
Software Reporter Tool High Cpu
Method 1:
Disable Software Reporter Tool using Windows Registry editor (Tip-1)
Software_reporter_tool.exe What Is
You can easily stop the Software Reporter Tool from running by using the Windows Registry Editor. In this process we will use the official Google Chrome policies to counter the Chrome Software Reporter Tool from running in the background.
Step 1. Launch Run dialog box by pressing “WIN+R” key combination then open the Registry Editor by typing “regedit” and then just press Enter.
Step 2. Then go to this following Key path:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPolicies
Step 3. Now under the Policies key, create a new key and set its name as Google
Step 4. Then under this Google key, create another key named Chrome
So, the final key path will look like this:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesGoogleChrome
Step 5. Now select the Chrome key from the right panel, then right click on it and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value option. Then change the new DWORD name as ChromeCleanupEnabled
Now create a second DWORD and set its name as ChromeCleanupReportingEnabled
Remember keep both of the DWORDs value to 0
The command ChromeCleanupEnabled will prevent the Software Reporter Tool from scanning the computer.
And the Command ChromeCleanupReportingEnabled will exempt the Software Reporter Tool from sending any scan results to Google.
Now in future if you decide to restart the services of Software Reporter Tool then just delete the DWORDs created in step 5.
Method 2:
Disable Software Reporter Tool using Windows Registry editor (Tip-2)
There is another way in Windows Registry Editor by which you can easily Disallow the Software Reporter Tool from running in the background. Here we will use the DisallowRun Key to execute this method. Just follow the following steps to do so.
Step 1. Launch Run dialog box by pressing “WIN+R” key combination then open the Registry Editor by typing “regedit” and then just press Enter.
Step 2. Then go to this following Key path:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPolicies
Step 3. Now under the Policies key, create a new key and set its name as Explorer
Step 4. Then under this Explorer key, create another key named DisallowRun
So, the final key path will look like this:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesGoogleChromeExplorerDisallowRun
Step 5. Now select the DisallowRun key from the right panel, then right click on it and select New > String value option. Then change the new String name as 1
Step 6. Now Double-Click on this string 1 and and and change its value to Software_Reporter_Tool.exe
Now you are all set this procedure will prevent the Chrome Software reporter tool from running in the background.
Note: In future if you decide to enable the Software Reporter Tool just delete the String 1 mentioned in step 5.
Method 3:
Disable Software Reporter Tool using Windows Registry editor (Tip-3)
Now Windows Registry Editor has another option to Disable the Software Reporter Tool. Here we will use Image File Execution Options to complete this task.
Step 1. Launch Run dialog box by pressing “WIN+R” key combination then open the Registry Editor by typing “regedit” and then just press Enter.
Step 2. Then go to this following Key path:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Options
Step 3. Now under the Image File Execution Options key, create a new key and set its name as Software_Reporter_Tool.exe
Step 4. Then under this Explorer key, create a new String and set its name to Debugger
Step 5. Now Double Click on this Debugger String and change its value with any suitable program’s path value that you would like to run in place of Software Reporter Tool.
Like, if you would like to run Microsoft excel instead of Software Reporter Tool then just change the value of Debugger to excel.exe.
Note: Now in the future if you decide to re-enable the Software Reporter Tool then just delete the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe key.
Method 4:
Use Google Chrome Settings To Disable Software Reporter Tool:
This step will be very helpful for those people who don’t have proper knowledge about Windows Registry Editor. This method will help you to prevent the Software Reporter Tool from running in the background and sending the scanned reports to Google.
Step 1. Open Google Chrome and and go to the Main Menu (Click on the 3 dots icon at the top right to do that)
Software_reporter_tool Virus
Step 2. Then click on the Settings option from there.
Step 3. From there go to the Advanced option appearing at the bottom.
Step 4. Here at the System section you will find an option saying Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed just turn it OFF.
Step 5. Now under System section there is a Reset and clean up section, and under this section you will find the Clean up Computer option Click on it.
On this Cleanup page you will see an option saying “Report details to google about harmful software” just uncheck this box.
This process will prevent the Software Reporter Tool from running in the background and sending the scanned results to Google.
Method 5:
Replace The Software Reporter Tool Executable File:
You can also replace the software_reporter_tool.exe file with some other executable file.
And to do this open the folder containing software_reporter_tool.exe file. You can do this by doing the following steps:
Press the WIN+R keys together to open the RUN dialog box then type the following text in there and press Enter:
%localappdata%GoogleChromeUser DataSwReporter
It will open the SwReporter folder and just open that version number folder and you will find the software_reporter_tool.exe file.
In this folder you can copy any other exe file for example excel.exe or outlook.exe. And after copying the file delete the existing software_reporter_tool.exe file and copied excel.exe or outlook.exe file to software_reporter_tool.exe.
By doing this now whenever software_reporter_tool.exe will try to execute Excel or Outlook will launch which will prevent the Software Reporter Tool from running.
Method 6:
Deleting The Software_Reporter_Tool.exe File:
If you don’t want to replace the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe executive file with some other file and would like to simply delete it then just follow the below steps:
Step 1. Open the folder containing the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe file by performing the above mentioned steps.
Step 2. Now select the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe file and press the delete button from your keyboard.
But remember that it will not be a permanent solution because, when Google Chrome will update to a newer version it will automatically create a new Software_Reporter_Tool.exe file in this folder.
Method 7:
Remove Software Reporter Tool Folder Permissions:
This is the absolute solution to block or disable the Software Reporter Tool from running in the background. We will do this by simply removing all the permissions from the folder containing Software_Reporter_Tool.exe file. This way Google Chrome will not be able to access this file which means the newer versions of google Chrome will also fail to find this Folder.
You can do this by performing the following steps:
Step 1. Open the folder containing the Software Reporter Tool executable file by performing the above mentioned steps.
Step 2. After opening the folder right Click on the SwReporter folder and click on the Properties option which will open the folder properties.
Step 3. Now go to the security as mentioned in the above image and click on Advanced option.
Step 4. Now you will get the Advanced security settings window, just click on the Disable inheritance option mentioned below:
Now a Block Inheritance dialog box will appear asking whether you would like to Convert inherited permissions or would like to Remove all inherited permissions. You have to choose the Remove all inherited permissions from this object option.
Just click on the Apply button and this will remove all the assigned permissions from this folder. Then confirm the dialog boxes which will appear next. And now you are all set the Software Reporter Tool will be unable to run on your computer now.
Note: In future, if you decide to grant permission to it then you can do that by this similar way, but this time just enable the permission section.