sidebar.exe
Windows Desktop Gadgets by Microsoft
This is a Windows system installed file with Windows File Protection (WFP) enabled.
Overview
There are 8 versions of sidebar.exe in the wild, the latest version being 6.2.8400.0 (winmain_win8rc.120518-1423). sidebar.exe is run as a standard windows process with the logged in user's account privileges. By adding a startup entry to the run registry key, the file will be executed when the user logs into Windows. The average file size is about 1.21 MB. The programs 8GadgetPack, Windows Sidebar and WeatherBug Gadget have been observed as installing specific variations of sidebar.exe. During the process's lifecycle, the typical CPU resource utilization is about 0.0048% including both foreground and background operations, the average private memory consumption is about 39.76 MB with the maximum memory reaching around 52.23 MB. Addionally, typically read and write I/O disk operations is about 181.99 KB per minute for reads and 563 Bytes per minute for writes.
What is sidebar.exe?
Gadgets are simple mini-applications that give users fast access to personally relevant information and simple tasks—without getting in the way. For example, the Weather Gadget provides real-time information that is available at a glance, and the CPU Meter Gadget provides system information that users are interested in monitoring. Gadgets are part of the desktop, like the Start button, taskbar, and notification area. Unlike normal windows, they aren't represented with a taskbar button. In Window
About sidebar.exe (from Microsoft)
“Gadgets put information and fun—like news, pictures, games, and the phases of the moon—right on your desktop. In Windows Vista, gadgets were corralled in the Sidebar. Windows 7 sets them free on the s”
 Details
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| File name: | sidebar.exe |
| Publisher: | Microsoft Corporation |
| Product name: | Windows Desktop Gadgets |
| Description: | Microsoft® Windows® Operating System |
| Typical file path: | C:\Program Files\windows sidebar\sidebar.exe |
| Original name: | sidebar.EXE.MUI |
Programs installed in
(Note, the programs listed below are for all versions of Windows Desktop Gadgets.)
|
AWS Convergence Technologies |
|
“WeatherBug manages and operates its own weather network that pin points weather conditions in your neighborhood like no other weather service can! WeatherBug Tracking Stations provide live weather inf...”
“8GadgetPack is an utility that installs the original Gadget program files on Windows 8 / 8.1. This is actually just a gadget to help you keeping the gadgets organized and visible. You can right-click ...”
“Windows Sidebar is a long, vertical bar that is displayed on the side of your desktop. It contains mini-programs called gadgets, which offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequent...”
Behaviors
(Note, the behaviors below are for all versions of sidebar.exe, select a unique version for details.)
Scheduled tasks
- The job 'P4G Sidebar' runs on registration in the path '\P4G Sidebar'
- The job 'SidebarExecute' runs on registration in the path '\SidebarExecute'
- Entry path '\P4G Sidebar'
- Entry path '\SidebarExecute'
Startup files (user) run
Runs under the registry key 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'
- 'Sidebar' → C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
User start menu folder
Shortcut pointer placed in '%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu'
- Shortcut to 'sidebar.exe'
Startup files (all users) run
Runs under the registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'
- 'Sidebar' → "C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe" /autoRun
All file variations of sidebar.exe
Distribution by Windows OS
| OS version | distribution |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
43.75% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
37.25% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
12.25% |
|
| Windows 7 Home Basic |
2.50% |
|
| Windows Seven Black Edition |
1.00% |
|
| Windows 7 Starter |
0.75% |
|
| Windows Se7en Titan |
0.50% |
|
| Windows 8 |
0.50% |
|
| Windows Vista Ultimate |
0.50% |
|
| Windows 8 Pro |
0.50% |
|
| Windows 7 Enterprise |
0.50% |
|
Distribution by country
United States installs about 36.02% of Windows Desktop Gadgets.
Distribution by PC manufacturer
| PC Manufacturer | distribution |
| ASUS |
20.00% |
|
| Dell |
19.25% |
|
| Acer |
15.28% |
|
| Hewlett-Packard |
13.58% |
|
| Toshiba |
8.68% |
|
| Sony |
6.04% |
|
| Lenovo |
5.66% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
4.15% |
|
| Samsung |
2.08% |
|
| Medion |
1.51% |
|
| Alienware |
0.94% |
|
| Sahara |
0.94% |
|
| MSI |
0.75% |
|
| American Megatrends |
0.75% |
|
| NEC |
0.38% |
|
