this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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That's not a standard Windows prompt, looks like some third-party application is intercepting the call.
Check the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
- for a key named taskmgr.exe. If it exists, see if the taskmgr.exe key has a value called Debugger. If so, delete the Debugger value, or rename the taskmgr.exe key to e.g. taskmgr.exe.old.Then try launching Task Manager again.
If there's nothing in the registry, you could monitor the process tree in Process Explorer and watch what happens when you execute taskmgr.exe. You could also use Process Monitor if you want to dig deeper and find out exactly what's happening - you can filter out Microsoft processes to make it easier to see all thirdparty software interactions.
Yes! Thanks It intercepted the call and launched taskmanagerlauncher.exe
Which tells me that the actual executable may have been unprotected. I'd be curious if you run the exe directly if it would give you the same prompt.
No, when the reg key is present, it launched the launcher even when doubleclicking on taskmgr.exe
Doing something like this on a work pc is a good way to get written up.