Background Host Virus

Posted: December 5, 2014

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Ranking:	12,337
Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	211

First Seen:	December 5, 2014
Last Seen:	February 14, 2025
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Background Host Virus is threatening software that subverts your backgroundtaskhost.exe file, a default Windows component, for various purposes. When being used legitimately, the Task Host shouldn't interfere with your PC's usual operations, but Trojans and other forms of a Background Host Virus may cause significant performance or resource allocation issues. Because a Background Host Virus may refer to more than one type of threat, removing a Background Host Virus should use general anti-malware solutions that are suitable for removing a broad range of threatening software.

The Host with the Most (Threat)

As a colloquial name for any unwanted program that abuses the Windows backgroundtaskhost.exe file, the Background Host Virus can be applied to backdoor Trojans, spyware or even some PUPs and adware. The Background Host Virus may exploit your PC's ability to maintain background memory processes indefinitely (and, in many cases, without any visible changes to your PC). As a result, the Background Host Virus may be part of a remote connection to a threatening server, a function for generating more Web traffic, or a function for generating Bitcoins, for example.

You may differentiate a Background Host Virus from ordinary uses of this Windows feature by its frequent overuse of system resources, such as occupying a large percentage of your CPU. The Resource Monitor and Windows Task Manager are two examples of utilities that can let you track this unwanted usage. Most victims of a Background Host Virus also report noticeable system slowdowns, software crashes and other performance problems.

The Background Host Virus bases itself on the subversion of a Windows component that's specific to Windows 8. However, malware researchers warn that other versions of Windows may be equally vulnerable to minor variants of the Background Host Virus, such as taskhost.exe-based threats.

Keeping Threats from Hosting a Party on Your PC

A Background Host Virus may be noticed through its symptoms, as noted previously, but these symptoms are not necessarily mandatory. In most cases, any declines in performance and other, blatant symptoms will vary with the actions performed by the responsible threat. With nearly endless possibilities for different attacks through a Background Host Virus, you always should scan your PC with anti-malware tools to determine the safety of any individual Task Host process.

In no case should you try to delete the files associated with a Background Host Virus manually, since doing so may damage your Windows operating system. In rare occasions, disinfecting your PC also may require that you repair Windows from its factory CD. However, malware experts find that most threats associated with Background Host Viruses can be removed by proper anti-malware tools, with no further issues.

Background Host Virus

Threat Metric

The Host with the Most (Threat)

Keeping Threats from Hosting a Party on Your PC

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