ProcessKO

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on September 07, 2010

When applications hang or freeze up in Windows, the common solution is to open the Task Manager and terminate the offending program, but sometimes that's not enough. Nenad's ProcessKO is a small utility that can quickly kill a running process or application, especially when Task Manager can't.

At just under 50KB, ProcessKO is about as small as functional Windows software gets in this time of terabyte disks. It downloads as a self-extracting ZIP file and runs as soon as you click the executable file, which makes it completely portable; you can install it on a USB flash drive and carry it around as part of your PC repair toolkit. It packs some useful features into a very small interface, including a highly recommended Help file, since this program operates a little differently from other free process killers. In fact, a check box on the interface asks you to verify that "I am an expert and I know what I'm doing" or it won't let you proceed, so you can't do more damage than you're trying to fix. The K.O. Favorites lets you add specific programs you work with regularly; the K.O. Timer function lets you terminate processes on schedule. The Instant K.O. button does most of the grunt work; it calls up a list of all running processes, and you simply select those you want to terminate. We tested it on several fairly benign processes, and it ends them abruptly, virtually instantaneously. It's as simple as a few quick clicks to add or remove entries from the favorites and timer functions, and you can also browse to add processes from files.

ProcessKO is obviously designed with professionals and experienced users in mind, and it goes out of its way to make sure you don't use it incorrectly. If you're intimidated by the Task Manager, ProcessKO may be a bit much for your needs. For advanced users, though, it's a good tool to have around.