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What’s boinctray.exe (BOINC System Tray for Windows)? Is it safe or a virus?

Boinctray.exe is a component of the BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) platform, developed by the University of California, Berkeley. It facilitates distributed computing by enabling users to donate their computer's idle processing power to scientific research projects. Specifically, the "BOINC System Tray for Windows" appears in the system tray and provides a convenient interface for managing BOINC tasks. It monitors and communicates the status of BOINC processes running on the computer, such as workload progress, connections to research projects, and resource usage. This process enhances user accessibility and ensures smooth operation within the BOINC framework.

Researched by Laura @ SpyShelter Labs

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More about boinctray.exe on WINDOWS

Who makes boinctray.exe (BOINC System Tray for Windows)?

We’ve found University of California, Berkeley should be the publisher of boinctray.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: March 19, 2025

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Our team at SpyShelter has been studying Windows PC executables for over 15 years, to help fight against spyware, malware, and other threats. SpyShelter has been featured in publications like The Register, PC Magazine, and many others. Now we’re working to share free, actionable, and easy to understand information about Windows executables (processes) with the world, to help as many people as possible keep their devices safe. Learn more about us on our "About SpyShelter” page.

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