WMI

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a Microsoft windows component that is responsible for providing information about system management within an enterprise environment. It is essentially an API (Application Program Interface) that allows the control and management of devices and systems in an enterprise network. It is based on the Common Information Model (CIM) and Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) industry standards. CIM is a language free programming model that utilizes object oriented practices to describe an enterprise network system. WBEM is a collection of integrated management tools that ensures the swapping of data across otherwise unrelated technologies and platforms.

Wmiprvse.exe

The Windows Management Instrumentation Provider Service (wmiprvse.exe) functionality was first made available with the Windows XP platform, and subsequently with the Windows 2003 platform. The WMI provider is basically a software component that acts as an intermediary between the CIM object manager and managed objects. The provider provides the CIM Object Manager with data from managed objects, takes care of requests in support of management applications, and produces event notifications. This service can be used in most windows based applications, especially in case of enterprise applications and administrative scripts.

Wmiprvse.exe and associated WMI components are stored in the following path:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem

If the above mentioned file exists in a directory apart from the System32 directory, it is definitely a virus, spyware, Trojan or Worm.

Developers utilize the wmiprvse.exe file to create applications that are deployed as monitoring tools. These monitoring tools can provide real-time information to users or alert them about significant events or changes that occur within a network, or to a file or application. At a micro level, wmiprvse.exe can also be used to search and obtain desktop system information.

Management applications and scripts can acquire data or execute operations via WMI in a broad range of languages. It is intended for programmers who use C/C++, Microsoft Visual Basic application and scripting languages that have Windows based engines and deal with Microsoft ActiveX objects.

WMI control

The WMI Control is a tool that allows users to configure WMI settings either locally or remotely. To access the WMI Control, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. In the Run dialog box, type wmimgmt.msc
4. Click OK.

The WMI Control console appears. Users, with the help of the WMI control console, can perform the following tasks:

• Authorizing of users and groups and setting of permission levels
• Error logging configuration
• Repository backup
• Changing of the default namespace for scripting
• Management of mapped drives and locals drives on a remote or local work station.
• Viewing of system properties on a remote or local work station.