Windows Task Manager is showing process "ctfmon.exe". ctfmon.exe is consuming ~4MB of computer memory. What is ctfmon.exe? Is ctfmon.exe necessary for Windows? Is ctfmon.exe harmful to my computer?How can we disable ctfmon.exe?

ctfmon.exe is a process that gets installed with Microsoft Office on a Microsoft Windows based system. ctfmon.exe is used by Language Bar feature and the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) of the Microsoft Office. According to Microsoft, ctfmon.exe process basically monitors the the active windows and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies.

ctfmon.exe is not necessary for Windows working. It is required for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies related to Microsoft Office.

Genuine ctfmon.exe is not harmful for your system.It consumes approximately 4MB of memory and few CPU time. Some Malware (especially, Trojans) may masquerades as ctfmon.exe. These Malware are indeed harmful for your system and your privacy. In detecting and healing such Malware, a good Anti-Virus Application with updated virus-database can help.

Disabling ctfmon.exe:

Step-1: Go to Control Panel and select Regional and Language option.

Go to Language tab, and then click Details:

Click Details and Select Advanced tab, and tick the "Turn off advanced text services", then Click Apply, then OK:

Step-2: Go to Start Menu, select Run and in Run-Dialog type: msconfig and click OK:

Select Startup tab, and un-check ctfmon.exe entry:

Now, just restart the Windows and check Task Manager agaon.