What Is qttask.exe?

When you come across qttask.exe on your computer, you needn’t worry that you have come under attack from a harmful virus, worm, Trojan, or spyware. This executable file is associated with Apple QuickTime’s video streaming tool. While it isn’t a critical component of the application, it enables easier use of the program by providing a tray bar linking to it.

The qttask program most likely arrived already installed on your system  with the QuickTime player when you bought your unit, or you may have installed it yourself together with an Apple QuickTime program. It is still important to verify that this .exe file is located correctly on your hard drive to ensure that it isn’t a worm, virus, or spyware disguised as a similarly-spelled file. Error Fix review and Registry Fix review provide good information on choosing the right software to eliminate many common PC problems which can be caused by similar issues. 

Qttask.exe allows you to run QuickTime by simply clicking on its system tray icon. While it has a simplified functionality, this tray icon uses up a lot of your system’s resources – almost 3.4 MB to 1.5 MB of memory at a time – that some users opt to disable qttask.exe to optimize their memory and enable their CPU and Internet functions to run more smoothly. This is because Windows automatically opens QuickTime each time you click on a QuickTime video or movie file, or open a .mov email attachment. Hardly anyone access QuickTime through its System Tray these days.

To disable qttask.exe under version 5, access the QuickTime icon from Start on your menu bar. Click on Edit, then Preferences, and as soon as you choose the Quick Time Preferences, uncheck the box beside the QuickTime System Tray icon.  For version 6, access the QuicTime Settings panel after double-clicking on  the QuickTime icon. Select Browser Plug-in from the drop-down menu, and uncheck the System tray icon. For version 7 users, the System Tray will have a turquoise blue “Q” icon that you will need to right-click on. After selecting QuickTime Preferences, click on the Update tab and deselect “check for updates automatically”. The next step will involve clicking the Advanced tab and unchecking “Install QuickTime icon in System Tray.

The final step with versions 5, 6, and 7 will involve deleting QuickTime under your Startup tab.

Tags: system tray icon, qttask