Software Reporter Tool: How To Disable Chrome Cleanup Tool

The Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool is an executable (.exe) file that runs once every week to detect unauthorized apps, which could interrupt your browsing on the Chrome browser. This is another process that protects your privacy and provides security to your sensitive information.

You might have seen this process running on your task manager by chance and not given a second thought about it. This article has everything you need to know about this tool. 

What is a Software Reporter Tool?

The Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool is a Google Chrome process that monitors Chrome installations and notifies the user if a conflict arises between the browser and a plugin if any.

This tool is used to locate any problems that create a mess with the internet and remove rogue software from the system. You can find this executable file in the Windows Task Manager as software_reporter_tool.exe. 

This reporter tool brings reports to the user if the browser encounters an unexpected ad or website crashes. Just like the COM Surrogate and the Runtime Broker, this too can cause your CPU usage to increase drastically. The executable file is located in the Google Chrome User Data folder as Software reporter tool.exe.

The Chrome app data folder has information on users, device settings, passwords, and bookmarks. This is located in 

C:\ Users\ <Username>\ AppData\ Local\ Google\ Chrome\ User Data\ SwReporter\ <version number>.

Why is Chrome Software Reporter Tool Using High CPU Usage?

A lot of reports and little research have brought into light the fact that a lot of Windows users have reported that Software Reporter Tool.exe causes high CPU usage in their Computers. There are reports complaining that this executable has used about 60% of the system memory. It is quite normal when the tool uses 15 – 20% of the CPU, but anything more than that is something you have to be concerned about.

When the Software Reporter tool runs, it searches for files and prepares reports to be produced to the Chrome browser. This task runs once a week, for more than 20 minutes. Because this is a long process, this can take considerable memory to function.  

Is the Chrome Software Reporter Tool a Virus?

No, the Software Reporter is anything but a virus. There have been no known reports of this tool or the exe file misbehaving or being used as a front for malware. This executable is more like antivirus software than it is a virus. 

Is the Chrome Software Reporter Tool necessary?

The Software Reporter Tool is integral to the Chrome browser and the Operating System. This is absolutely necessary for people who work with many other party applications, which can run into problems anytime.

Also, if you are worried about this tool being accessed by the network, stop worrying. The Software Reporter Tool has no reason to access or be accessed by the internet. It is quite needed as it can figure out rogue sites or any problems that arise online and bring you reports about it.

These problems can be wiped out with the Google Cleanup Tool or the Software Removal Tool. This process takes only a few minutes to scan your computer and remove the malicious files. The following picture is the Removal Tool developed by Microsoft. This is not to be confused with Google’s Chrome Cleanup Tool.

Are the Chrome Cleanup Tool and the Software Reporter Tool Same?

When you run the Software Reporter Tool, you might realize that it resembles the Chrome Cleanup Tool. That is because they go hand-in-hand. The Chrome Cleanup tool was previously known as the Google Chrome Software Removal Tool.

Both of them serve the same purpose of detecting harmful software and deleting it. The reporter tool locates the harm, and the Chrome Cleanup Tool discards it from your computer. The Chrome Cleanup tool is also equally efficient. The Chrome browser also reminds the user to run the Cleanup regularly, for safety purposes.

Can I Disable Software_reporter_tool.exe? 

Yes, users can disable Software Reporter tools on their computers, even though this is a tool Chrome brings with it. It has to be disabled, mandatorily, under certain circumstances.

There are also quite some reasons why the reporter tool software has to be removed from computers. The following paragraph tells you why the Software Reporter Tool has to be disabled. 

Why should you disable the Google Chrome Software Reporter Tool? 

The Software Reporter Tool is a valuable executable that comes when you download Google Chrome. You might get the pop-up that states “Reporter Tool has stopped working” if it runs into problems.

But you might have to take a look at the following reasons why the software_reporter_tool.exe will have to be stopped and disabled before severe consequences happen. 

1. The Software Removal Tool uses a lot of RAM usage

This can increase the power consumption by your computer. High CPU usage is not safe for your processor as it can heat it up and damage it. 

2. Concerns about user privacy might arise

Once the software scan is complete, the tool sends the report details to Google for future reference or solutions. This may cause some users to worry about their privacy being disturbed by the connection between Google and the Software Reporter Tool. You can turn this off if you do not want to send reports to Google. This is available in the Chrome settings.

3. Multiple Software Reporters could be running on the computer

There are chances of more than one reporting software executables running on your computer. If one of these could cause high CPU usage, imagine the stress your computer memory will go through if four or more of these can cause. 

4. A better Antivirus software exists

If you already have an antivirus on your computer, there is no need for the Software Reporter tool to be present. The antivirus will do the same function as the tool and even more. The users will have to run scans of their systems, regularly, to keep threats away and quarantine existing threats. 

How do I disable the Software_Reporter_Tool.exe?

There are 5 different ways through which you can disable Software Reporter Tool on a Windows computer. You might see an error pop-up message saying “Google Chrome Software Reporting Tool has stopped working”.Try again if you come across this. These are the methods you can disable this tool. 

Fix 1: The SwReporter Folder method

1. Open the following location in your File Explorer. 

C:\ Users\ <Username>\ AppData\ Local\ Google\ Chrome\ User Data

2. Right-click on the folder named SwReporter and select Properties on the bottom of the pop-up menu.

3. In the Security tab, click on the Advanced button.
4. Select Disable Inheritance, from the Advanced Security Settings for SwReporter window.

5. In the window that opens, choose ‘Remove all inherited permissions from this object’.

6. Click on Apply and Ok. 

If you still have a Windows 7 OS, there might be little changes in the UI. Once you cross the Advanced button in the Security tab, the steps and button names are a little different from that of Windows 10. 

1. You will see the Change Permissions button instead of the Disable Inheritance button. Click on it. 
2. Remove the check from the Include inheritable permissions from this object’s parent. 
3. In the pop-up window that appears, select Remove. 

Once these updates are done, no one else can access the Software Reporter tool nor update it. 

Fix 2: Delete the Executable file’s entire folder

1. Open the Run program on your Windows computer (Ctrl + R). 
2. Enter the following in the Open text space:

%localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User data\SwReporter

The following location on the file explorer will be opened. There is only one folder present in it. In this WIndows 10 computer, the version number folder is named 89.257.200. You might have a different folder name on your computer. 

3. Right-Click on it and Delete the entire folder. This folder’s deletion will not affect your Chrome browsing experience. Once the user updates Chrome, this folder is installed once again. 

Fix 3: Delete the contents of the Reporter Tool Software

1. Open notepad.
2. In the File menu, select the Open option.  
3. In the browse window, enter this file location:

%localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User data\SwReporter

4. Select software_reporter_tool.exe and choose Open. 
5. You will see a lot of gibberish content. Delete all of it and save the file. 

This is different from the ‘Right-click and delete’ step. This file will also be replaced when Chrome is updated the next time. This is also a temporary way to disable Software Reporter on your computer. 

Fix 4: Removing the Google Access Permission

If you want to permanently disable the tool, you must remove Google permissions. Once this is done, both users and Google can not utilize this tool. Even after updates, this will not be changed. This will be of help if you are looking to disable the Software Reporter Tool, permanently. 

1. Open the Run program. 
2. Enter the following in the Open text box,

%localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User data\SwReporter

3. Locate the SwReporter folder, right-click on it, and select Properties from the menu that drops down. 
4. In the Security tab, select Advanced.
5. In the open window, Select Disable Inheritance and then Remove all inherited permissions from this object. 
6. Click on the Apply button after removing the inherited permissions one by one.  
7. Then, select Yes, in the Security Window. 
8. Close the windows and you are done.

Fix 5: Disabling the Scan tool

The Software Reporter Tool can also be disabled through the Windows Registry and the Grou Policy editor. This method is recommended if you are a system admin. This is how users can kill this tool with the Group Policy editor. 

1. Download a Google Policy Template and extract the compressed files to a folder.
2. Once the extraction is complete, you will notice two files, namely, Google.admx and Chrome.admx. Copy these files and paste them in C:\WIndows\PolicyDefinitions\<folder>.
3. Locate Google.adml and Chrome.adml. Copy these files and paste them in C;\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-us\.
4. Once you are done copying and pasting, open the group policy editor by opening the Run command and typing in gpedit.msc. Run this command.

5. The Local Group Policy Editor window opens. This is the policy editor for Windows 10 Locate this:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Google > Google Chrome.

6. Disable the Enable Chrome Cleanup on Windows.

Once these steps are done, the users and Google will not have access to run the Software Reporter Tool. 

These are how one can disable the Software Reporter Tool on Windows computers. This program may prevent Google from removing the issues on your computer and accessing the tool. 

Conclusion

The Software Reporter Tool is a tool that looks through the computer for unauthorized applications, unwanted software from the system, or files and brings reports of their presence to the user. This executable, called software reporter tool.exe can find any problems that come through the internet and devise ways to fix them.

This very useful tool comes with the entire Google Chrome package. This anti-malware tool for Chrome is completely safe to use. This tool runs once every week. But running this tool can increase the disk usage of the computer and you might want to disable it.

There are a few other reasons to disable this tool too. Though there are cons to running this program, this is quite helpful and is essential for chrome users who go through many new sites, add-ons, and third-party software. In a nutshell, this is quite useful to users who run Chrome browsers on their devices. 

Frequently Asked Questions