If the scan managed to identify and eliminate the virus infection, restart your computer, then move down to the next section.
If you’re unsure of how to do this, follow this step-by-step article here. This type of scan will remove the vast majority of viruses that are designed to avoid detection by camouflaging as executables with enhanced privileges. If you already a premium subscription for a security scanner, you should use it to scan your system.īut if you’re looking for a free alternative, we recommend deploying a deep scan with Malwarebytes. Keep in mind that when dealing with a security threat of this kind, not all AV suites are being actively updated to keep up with the latest cloaking attempts. If the investigations above have raised suspicions that you’re dealing with some type of virus infection, it’s highly recommended that you deploy a security scanner capable of identifying and dealing with viruses that are designed to cloak themselves as system-protected processes. However, if the scan revealed a virus infection, follow the instructions below for instructions on dealing with the virus infection. If the analysis didn’t reveal any inconsistencies, skip the next section and move directly to ‘Should I remove wkufind.exe?’ If you decide on using VirusTotal, access this link ( here), upload the file and wait for the analysis to complete. The easiest way to do this is to rely on a service like VirusTotal or similar. In this case, you should analyze the suspicious process against a virus database that will help you determine if the file is indeed a malware in disguise.
If the revealed location is different than C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared and you didn’t install the Windows Picture (formerly called Microsoft Works) in a custom location, then there’s a high chance that the file you’re dealing with is malicious. Once you manage to locate the wkufind.exe process, right-click on it and click on Open File Location from the newly appeared context menu. Once you get there, select the Processes tab from the horizontal menu at the top, then scroll down and look at each Background process to locate wkufind.exe. To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open up Task Manager. In this case, you should look into the location of the suspicious process.
If you previously tried to install Windows Picture (formerly called Microsoft Works), then it’s very likely that the executable you’re dealing with is genuine.īut if you don’t have the equivalent software installed, there’s no reason why you should see the wkufind.exe process active on your computer (unless is a remnant file).
If you plan on doing this, you should start by looking for evidence that the parent application is installed.
In order to ensure that you’re not dealing with a malicious process, we encourage you to perform a series of investigations that will allow you to determine if the executable that you’re dealing with is genuine or not. The vast majority of malware that gets developed nowadays are camouflaging themselves as trusted processes in order to avoid detection. But keep in mind that some viruses will randomly choose this name and create registry and HDD locations in various locations under this name in order to avoid detection.
Is wkufind.exe Safe?Īs we’ve specified above, the genuine wkufind.exe doesn’t pose any security risk and is not labeled as a dangerous process by security researchers. Then, it was rebranded Digital Image before being discontinued in 2006 a short time after Vista was released. Keep in mind that the parent application of this process was initially called Microsoft Works. But since all updates for it are now unsupported, you should no longer have any use for it.
When installed, it serves as a Windows startup program and will automatically find, download and install updates for the Picture app from Microsoft servers. One of the most common tasks that it performs is to trigger auto-dialing when Internet access requires it.
This legitimate Windows Picture process resides by default in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared.