What specifically is IKEEXT?

[vpwin7]

I have googled this process, and had found all results similar to IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules - Process and Service wiki

This process (at start up only it seems) eats my cpu for a good minute after boot. I'm unsure as to what it's function is/does in 'noob' terms. I'm usually pretty good with computers but I can't get past the technical jumble in the description.

Any information would be great.

 

[Crispy]

IPsec IKE and AuthIP Service
Updated: January 9, 2008
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
The IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules (IKEEXT) service implements the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) and Authenticated Internet Protocol (AuthIP) protocols. These keying modules support the authentication and key exchange features required by Internet Protocol security (IPsec).
Aspects

The following is a list of all aspects that are part of this managed entity:
Name Description IKE and AuthIP Service Initialization
The IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules (IKEEXT) service must be running for Internet Protocol security (IPsec) to provide authentication and encryption services. This service implements the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) and Authenticated Internet Protocol (AuthIP) protocols. These keying modules support the authentication and key exchange features required by Internet Protocol security (IPsec).
When appropriate auditing events are enabled (Enable IPsec and Windows Firewall Audit Events), Windows reports successes and failures in starting the service, or when the service stops operating due to a failure.

Source: IPsec IKE and AuthIP Service

Hope this helps you, IMO don't worry about it.

 

[Digerati]

Most home users don't need this service, and normally, it is set to "Manual" and should not be trying to start. I just checked my Win7 systems and the service is Stopped on all. Are you connecting to a corporate network?

 

[vpwin7]

Well I don't know if it occurs at home as well, but at college my laptop has been connecting to an unsecure wifi supplied by the school. At my house I use a netgear router, which is 'secured.'

Also would disabling this completely be a threat to my laptop? I have network discovery / sharing off, and homegroup completely disabled as well. If the worse case scenario is that it disrupts my internet connection then it's worth putting it on the never load list.

 

[Bill2]

1) In simple terms, if you use an external hardware firewall/ router between your computer and the internet, do not use IPsec (VPN tunneling) and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), then this service can be disabled.

2) Even with the service enabled, it should not consume resources at startup. How exactly did you determine that the service is eating resources at startup? Also check the startup entries in your MSCONFIG tab and uncheck all unnecessary items.

 

[vpwin7]

I used process explorer and noticed my computer was bogging down a bit more than usual. It was real rough after running for awhile, cpu usage spiking a lot, isolated that to "iphlpsvc" (ip helper). So I disabled that and it seemed to run much better, except it still lagged quite a lot at startup for a good minute or two and isolated that to ikeext. I set it to manual (was automatic some reason), and it seemed to finish loading everything much faster now.

Aside from these two incidents though my computer still distorts sound when the welcome / user logon screen is displayed. I guess I can live with this problem though since it runs fine after logon. Although this all occured randomly after some windows updates. I have tried restoring and everything with no luck, I'm not about to reinstall my OS over something like this though.

 

[Digerati]

I have Netgear wireless here at home too. Don't need that service.

If the worse case scenario is that it disrupts my internet connection then it's worth putting it on the never load list.

Or you simply enable (set to automatic) it again to restore your connection.

 

[vpwin7]

I have Netgear wireless here at home too. Don't need that service.

If the worse case scenario is that it disrupts my internet connection then it's worth putting it on the never load list.

Or you simply enable (set to automatic) it again to restore your connection.

I've had it set to manual and all seems fine. It hasn't attempted to load since either, so I presume it just isn't needed.

Thanks everyone for the info.

 

[Digerati]

I've had it set to manual and all seems fine. It hasn't attempted to load since either, so I presume it just isn't needed.

As expected!

Thanks for the followup!