winmail.dat task purpose and description:

Winmail.dat is not an executable program, but a data file, and if you are getting these winmail.dat files as email attachments, then read below. The actual disk location does not matter with this file type, since this is not an executable or file that can run on your computer. This cannot be spyware, virus, or adware related. This data file is arriving as email attachments and may be unreadable data. This is because they are sent as MIME encoded emails, and MIME is a data type that can be unreadable in some email readers or email software. The reason that the email is unreadable is your reader has no idea what to do with the formatting in it, so it looks encrypted. The default attachment for this is winmail.dat. Have the sender send you the file as plain text, and you should be able to read it fine. If he's using Outlook, then he can change the settings for this. He/she is probably sending files in html formats or rich text, and your reader cannot understand it. If you are using Outlook to read the emails, then it should be no problem as Outlook can recognize the MIME type, and the winmail.dat attachment will not occur. This is not considered malware or spyware related, it is a safe file as it is not an executable file. (See the details below for the actual location of this file.)

Actual process or task name: (You can view alphabetical task list here)
winmail.dat

File type:
This is a data file

Where is this file and folder located on my computer?
The attachment can be anywhere if you save it on your computer, it arrives as email attachments so this doesn't really apply.

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, winmail.dat 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 winmail.dat 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!