If you ever hear your laptop fan spinning wildly, you might open the Task Manager and notice a process called “Software Reporter Tool” consuming 100% of your CPU. This is not a virus; it is actually a hidden component of Google Chrome designed to scan your computer for malware that might interfere with the browser.
While this sounds helpful, the scanner is notoriously poorly optimized. It frequently triggers while you are playing games or compiling code, bringing your entire computer to a crawl. Since you likely already have a dedicated antivirus program running, having Chrome scan your hard drive is completely redundant. You can safely disable this aggressive background scanner.
How to Safely Disable the Chrome Software Reporter Tool
You must revoke Chrome’s NTFS file permissions to prevent it from launching the scanner executable.
- Close Google Chrome completely.
- Open File Explorer (press Windows Key + E).
- Click in the address bar at the top, paste this exact path, and press Enter:
%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\SwReporter - You will see a folder named with a version number (like
89.281.200). Open it. - Inside, you will find software_reporter_tool.exe.
- Right-click the
software_reporter_tool.exefile and select Properties. - Click the Security tab at the top.
- Click the Advanced button near the bottom.
- Click the Disable inheritance button.
- When prompted, select Remove all inherited permissions from this object.
- The permission list will become entirely blank. Click Apply, then click Yes to the warning, and click OK.
You have successfully placed a padlock on the scanner. Google Chrome will still try to launch the Software Reporter Tool in the background, but Windows will instantly block it because Chrome no longer has the file permission to execute the program. Your CPU usage will remain low, and Chrome will continue to browse the web perfectly.