winlogon.exe task purpose and description:

winlogon.exe is a program which may have been on your computer since the day you first purchased your computer, as it may have been preinstalled software. The actual hard drive location and folder is also shown below, always verify where its located on your hard drive, as this makes sure it is not spyware, adware, or virus related. Many spyware and virus writers often place files elsewhere on your computer, and use the same name in an attempt to fool you. This winlogon.exe file is needed for your Windows system to operate correctly. This handles user authorizations and is primarily for the Windows XP operating system (or later). You will not be able to terminate winlogon.exe from the tasklist. Note that many worms have tried to disguise their names like this, make sure your file is found in the correct location if you are concerned you may have a virus or worm. This file is considered safe and is not spyware, virus, or adware related software. (See the details below for the actual location of this file.)

Actual process or task name: (You can view alphabetical task list here)
winlogon.exe

File type:
This is an executable Microsoft program.

Where is this file and folder located on my computer?
In the Windows \ System32 folder. Note many worms have used the name winlogon.exe to try and fool people. Make sure yours is located in the correct folder, with the correct name.

General information:
Be aware that many tasks will be similiar names to existing tasks or processes. You can always view the running tasks on your computer by pressing ctrl-alt-del to view the windows "task manager", and then view the "processes" tab. This will show you all tasks running or currently active on your PC. Although this shows you all running tasks, it does not show dll file thats are loaded, as they get loaded as part of other processes. Many spyware writers attempt to hide their files on your computer, for example, winlogon.exe may be intentionally misspelled to look like a similiar task, or spyware may be named very similiar to a Windows system task. The reason they do this is so you cannot easily recognize the name in your tasklist as I have mentioned above. Make sure always check the location of the file if you are concerned. You can always find the location of winlogon.exe on your computer by using your Windows search options, but I will also try to list the file location of every file described on this website, so you can verify the correct location. You can view the entire tasklist directory with the link below.

View entire task list here!