What is software tool and why it can be found in the chrome folder?
Published: 2020-07-23 07:14:00

If you noticed a hidden process or program running in Task Manager with the name "Software Reporter Tool.exe" which causes high utilization of the CPU/disk and you think what it does in your machine, then you've come to the right place.

Software Reporter Tool is a discrete function in Google Chrome that tracks your Chrome installation and informs whether any add-ons interfere with the browser's normal activity. The method is not related to the internet but is used exclusively by the user to identify programs that may interfere with it.

Though the tool is useful, it can trigger problems on your machine at times. Software Reporting Tool often consumes loads of memory and creates issues with high CPU use and disk use. It can bog down the computer and can cause other applications to crash. Even many users worried about privacy may not want to allow this tool to run on their device because it will send the report of the scan results to Google.

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/fvo13k8yaorxo9bdgcow.png)

<h3>Pros of a software reporter tool-</h3>
<ul><li>It can get harmful software and malware removed from your computer. </li>
<li>It can help remove ineffective extensions and add-ons from Google Chrome that were installed automatically, without your knowledge, by third-party software.</li></ul>

<h3>Cons of a software reporter tool-</h3>
<ul> <li>Often it uses too much RAM and creates high uses of the CPU and problems of disk use. Your machine can slow down. </li>
Occasionally it crashes and you get an error message in Windows named "Google Chrome Web Reporter Tool has stopped working." </li>
<li>Often it can identify and uninstall certain Google Chrome apps and extensions or add-ons which it considers dangerous but the apps and extensions are actually safe and helpful and have been installed deliberately by you.</li> </ul>

<h3>Can you disable it?</h3>
So far, we have understood <a href="https://codersera.com/blog/what-is-software-reporter-tool-and-why-its-there-in-chrome-folder/">what is software reporter tool</a> and why its there in the chrome folder?

It's time to learn if we can disable or remove the software reporter tool. To answer it, yes, we can remove it. 

<h3> Disable Software Reporter Tool Using Registry Editor</h3>

We must take advantage of the DisallowRun key to prevent the Application Reporter Tool from running. 
<ol>
<li> To open the RUN dialog box, press the "WIN+R" key combination, then select regedit, and press Enter. The Registry Editor will be accessed. </li>

<li>Now go to the main below: 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

</li>

<li>Create a new key under the Policy key and set its name to Explorer. </li>

<li>Create a new key under Explorer, and set the name to DisallowRun 

So the final key path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisallowRun </li>

<li>Now select DisallowRun key and right-click on the "New-> String Value" option in the right-hand pane. Set the new name of string as 1 </li>

<li>Double-click on 1 string and set Software Reporter Tool.exe as its value 

Disallow_Software_Reporter_Tool_Registry_Editor.png </li>

This is it. You may need to reboot your machine to take effect. Computer reporter tool will now be blocked from running in context.