What’s ATH.exe (ATH.exe)? Is it safe or a virus?

ATH.exe is a program developed by Apple Inc. that appears to be associated with AppleMobileDeviceService.exe and Apple's iTunes software.

I found many Apple discussion forums about ATH.exe that said it was using too many resources, but exiting it seemed to solve the issue. Apparently, later Apple issued an iTunes update that solves the problem for Windows users.

Some Apple users claim ATH.exe is related to some type of network control, and some said disabling wireless sync in iTunes solved their issue. Therefore it looks like ATH is related to networking with Apple's iTunes. According to what I read, you should be able to disable it with no problems if it's giving you issues, and if you have no plans to use iTune's wireless sync technology.

Below are 4 simple steps you can take to see if the ATH.exe process is safe or malware.

Researched by Carl @ SpyShelter Labs

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More about ATH.exe on WINDOWS

Who makes ATH.exe (ATH.exe)?

We’ve found Apple Inc. should be the publisher of ATH.exe.

How do we know? Our SpyShelter cybersecurity labs focuses on monitoring different types of Windows PC executables and their behaviors for our popular SpyShelter Antispyware software. Learn more about us, and how our cybersecurity team studies Windows PC executables/processes.

What does it mean if someone is the publisher of a PC .exe (executable or process)?

The publisher of an executable is the entity responsible for its distribution and authenticity. Most processes/executables on your PC should be signed. The signature on the executable should have been verified through a third party whose job it is to make sure the entity is who it says it is. Find an unsigned executable? You should consider scanning any completely unsigned .exe on your PC.

Last updated: May 4, 2024

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