question about "svchost.exe" in processes list

[Sachmho]

Hey when i check my processes currently running, i usually have a few listed as "svchost.exe" that can take up a noticeable amount of ram, anywhere form 8-20 mb.... now i do not know what this process is; is this just some standard XP thing? or is this something i should close (virus, waste of space, etc.) inputs?

 

[Jeff7]

As far as I know, they are various Windows XP services running in the background. What each one does specifically, or how to tell, I do not know. I've got 5 instances of it running, taking up about 30MB of RAM total.

 

[dawks]

They are essential services. svhost, stands for Service Host. Within those processes are programs that windows requires to run. Such as the DHCP service (so your computer can obtain an IP automatically, and retain it), the DNS service (which allows any and all applications to access DNS servers transparently, so you can use domain names (eg, www.microsoft.com) instead of IP addresses (207.99.99.99), the builtin XP firewall, XP themes, and more.

You can go to Control Panel, and find administrative tools, then open the services window, and find out more about whats running.

 

[Twista]

largest i have is 16,976K and smallest is 1,300K! Im not on xp but its about the same on xp and 2k..ect..

 

[BatmanNate]

It's just a generic host name for any service launched from a DLL.