http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/process/wmiprvse.exe.html

That file being launched shouldn't be connected to launching Firefox, so I would suspect that you picked up a virus or a trojan by that name.

That could be, however, I scanned for malicious software, and none was found. It would be useful if someone from Mozilla would have an official explanation of which processes are and aren't used by Firefox, or more importantly really, which ones are. Thanks for taking time to reply.

I also wanted to add that it is possible to end the process in the task manager, I think you already saw that in my post, but I wanted to make sure.

Do you use a proxy? You can check here:

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network "mini-tab" > Settings button

The default is "Use system proxy setting" but you also could try "No proxy"

I checked and Use system proxy settings was the setting. I tried No Proxy and closing and reopening Firefox, and that didn't solve the problem. I also tried switching back to Use system proxy settings as well as trying Auto-detect proxy settings for this network, and I closed and reopened Firefox in both cases, and neither of those things solved the problem either. I also made sure to click ok in the Connection Settings window and the Options window each time I tried a different proxy setting. Thanks for taking time to reply.

Registered real quick to say that you're not the only one with this issue. I've done some googling and seen at least three threads about it, though one didn't really lead anywhere, the other is in russian, and the last one is on a website that's kinda dodgy, according to google website diagnostic.

This problem doesn't seem to be on Windows 7, as I don't see the process open on my laptop, though I don't have flash installed on it. But that wouldn't matter since, as you said, even with addons disabled, it runs on startup. The process does open on my vista, though, and XP; going by your post and another.

My guess is that it has something to do with the new Firefox Social API? But that's really only a guess.

If wmiprvse.exe appearing in the task manager in XP and Vista is part of the Firefox Social API, I'm surprised that Mozilla hasn't mentioned anything about it. What is the Firefox social API? I haven't heard of that before. Also, if wmiprvse.exe appearing in the task manager is part of the Firefox social API (or part of any trustworthy part of Firefox), Mozilla should release an official statement about it on their website, otherwise people could be discouraged from downloading or continuing to use their browser, and that's not what I want, and I'm very sure that's not what Mozilla would want. It would also be useful if there was an option in Firefox that allowed users to disable the wmiprvse.exe process associated with the new Firefox social API, if that indeed is what it's a part of. It is possible to end wmiprvse.exe , I'd rather not have to do that every time Firefox starts up though, and I'm still unsure why wmiprvse.exe appears in the task manager when Firefox starts up. Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking time to reply.

all this started after last update or two. my browser frequently uses up to 100% processor, and now this wmiprvse thing started, become very sluggish. even after starting in safe mode, without addons, although then works a bit better, no these 100% spikes. still don have idea what this wmi are oh, i suspect this started when i updated adobe flash, after that my browser started to play sluggish. this was firefox wersion 26xxx i suppose. now i have current one 27.0, its even worse

To answer your PM ...

Are you even using the social API?

In about:config - social.enabled is false by default = disabled. If that pref is now true, turn it off and see if that wmiprvse.exe process isn't getting launched.

on mine its false. tryed various options in that section, seems they have no impact whatsoever. what you guys done on last updates, it started just recently.

I checked, and social.enabled was false. Do you have any other ideas as to why wmiprvse.exe is launched when Firefox starts up? take for example, is there anything else in about:config that I could try disabling? I also recently installed the latest version of adobe flash player, but as I mentioned, the problem persisted even when I restarted Firefox with Add-ons disabled. Also, I got the same result when I ran Firefox after uninstalling adobe flash player, but it's just a thought. Anyway, thanks again for taking time to reply.

To try to work around your current settings and see how Firefox runs "uncustomized" on your system, could anyone having this issue do a two-minute experiment?

Create a new Firefox profile

A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.

Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager using Start > search box (or Run):

firefox.exe -P

Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.

You'll click the Create Profile button. I recommend using the default location suggested (in other words, don't click the button to choose a different folder). Then start Firefox in the new profile you created.

Does the WMI service start up in the new profile?

When returning to the Profile Manager, you might be tempted to use the Delete Profile button. But... it's a bit too easy to accidentally delete your "real" profile, so I recommend resisting the temptation. If you do want to clean up later, I suggest making a backup of all your profiles first in case something were to go wrong.

i tried, all feels the same, wmi still there. and without adblock with all this advertising crap around, its even more sluggish:)

Popping back in with a sort of update.

I found a computer I was less attached to and took a look at that website that google website diagnostic was kind of dodgy about. I still had noscript/ABP installed, so it wasn't a big deal.

forums.sandboxie.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=18072&start=90 , see here. Specifically, pages 2, 4, and 5.

They're working out some tech issues with their own program not working with FF27, but they did note some things that I think can be safely confirmed:

1) The people experiencing the wmiprvse.exe process opening are on XP or Vista. Windows 7 handles wmiprvse processes differently, so we don't see anything there. 2) This is exclusive to Firefox 27. A user on that forum notes they downgraded to 26 and no longer see the wmiprvse process running upon startup.

At the moment, we can't confirm why the process runs or what it's doing, but I don't think it's anything malicious at this point.

If they don't recognize the source of a behavior, bug hunters typically track down the relevant date range by trying different nightly versions of Firefox until they find the day that it changed, and then examine the changes checked in on that day. Hopefully that kind of exhaustive testing won't be necessary, but I don't know what kind of request for Windows services causes wmiprvse.exe to be spun up.

I tried creating a new Firefox profile and I turned off Firefox Health Report and restarted Firefox with Add-ons disabled. wmiprvse.exe still appeared in the task manager when Firefox was ran. I also tried creating a new Firefox profile after the 27.0.1 update, I turned off Firefox Health Report, I deactivated all my plugins, and I restarted Firefox with Add-ons disabled. Again, wmiprvse.exe still appeared in the task manager, so it appears that this isn't an issue with the Firefox profile I usually use, but rather a common issue with Firefox 27.0 and Firefox 27.0.1 .

I have the same problem with Firefox 28.0 (Windows XP SP3). Noticed it today, but maybe it started earlier.