What is Updater.exe Process Running in Task Manager in Windows 10/11

If you noticed a strange process Updater.exe running in Task Manager in Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system or if your firewall software displayed a warning alert about Updater.exe process trying to connect to Internet and you want to find out whether the process is safe or suspicious, this article will help you.

Updater.exe (32 bit) or GoogleUpdater (x86) Process Running in Task Manager

When the user opens Task Manager using Taskbar context menu or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together, a new suspicious executable with the name Updater.exe (32 bit) is listed on Processes tab as shown in following screenshot:

As you can see in the above screenshot, two instances of the same Updater.exe executable are running in background in our Windows device. Sometimes the process name is displayed as GoogleUpdater (x86) (32 bit) in Task Manager.

Similarly, if the user navigates to the Details tab in Task Manager, the same Updater.exe process is shown with SYSTEM username as shown in following screenshot:

Again two instances of Updater.exe process can be seen running in Task Manager. The process shows an icon of the default setup package or installer used by Windows OS.

Firewall Shows Warning about Updater.exe Trying to Connect to Internet

If you use a security program or standalone firewall software, it might display an alert notification about the Updater.exe process trying to connect to Internet or blocked from accessing the Internet.

Following screenshot shows our firewall tool blocked Updater.exe from connecting to Internet:

The firewall alert notification box contains following information:

• Program executable: Updater.exe (x86)
• Program name: GoogleUpdater (x86)
• Signed: Yes (Google LLC)

The alert box clearly shows that the Updater.exe executable is digitally signed by Google LLC.

Updater.exe Process is Safe! It’s a New Google Chrome Updater Tool

You don’t need to worry about the Updater.exe process running in your Windows device. It’s a new name for the built-in updater tool which comes bundled with Google Chrome web browser. If you have installed Google Chrome browser in your computer, you’ll see Updater.exe process running in Task Manager. This process helps Google Chrome web browser to automatically upgrade to the latest version available.

In past, Google Chrome used GoogleUpdate.exe executable to check for new versions and download/install them automatically in user’s device. We posted an exclusive tutorial about it in year 2008 at following link:

How to Disable or Remove GoogleUpdate.exe Process in Chrome

Now starting with Google Chrome 123.0 version, Google has replaced or renamed the classic GoogleUpdate.exe executable with new Updater.exe. If you use Chrome 123.0, 124.0, 125.0 or later version, it’ll use the new Updater.exe process to check for new Chrome versions and install them automatically.

We posted about this change a few months back in following article:

Chrome 124 Replaces GoogleUpdate.exe with New Updater.exe Tool

The new Updater.exe file can be found under following folder path:

So Updater.exe process is genuine and absolutely safe and you should stop worrying about it.

How to Disable or Remove Updater.exe Process in Windows 10 and 11

If you don’t want to allow Updater.exe process to run in background and want to disable or remove it from your Windows device, you can do it using a simple method given below.

Actually Google Chrome creates a scheduled task in Windows operating system to regularly execute or launch Updater.exe process in user’s device. We can delete the task to prevent or restrict the Updater.exe process from running in our device.

Please note that if you block Updater.exe from running in your device, it’ll also disable automatic update feature in Google Chrome web browser and you’ll need to manually download and install newer versions of Chrome.

Following steps will assist you in getting rid of Updater.exe process running in background in your Windows 10/11 device:

STEP 1: Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box, type taskschd.msc and press Enter. It’ll open Task Scheduler.

STEP 2: Now in left-side pane, navigate to “Task Scheduler Library\GoogleSystem\GoogleUpdater” section and in right-side pane, look for following task:

For example, following task is listed on our Windows 11 device for the latest Google Chrome 124.0.6367.156 version:

You might see one or more similar tasks listed on Task Scheduler.

If you select the task and check the Actions tab, you’ll see Updater.exe process is mentioned as the default program to run. It contains additional --wake --system parameter or argument.

STEP 3: Right-click on the above mentioned task and select Disable or Delete option.

That’s it. Now Google Chrome will no longer execute the task and you’ll not see Updater.exe process running in Task Manager.

PS: Advanced users can also use following direct command syntax to disable the Google Updater task using command-line tools such as Command Prompt or PowerShell:

Also Check:

Changes to Launcher.exe and Opera_AutoUpdate.exe in Opera Web Browser

How to Disable or Remove MicrosoftEdgeUpdate.exe Process Running in Task Manager?

[Tip] How to Disable or Block Auto-Update Feature (Opera_AutoUpdate.exe) in Opera

[Tip] Disable Automatic Background Updates Feature in Mozilla Firefox