BackgroundTransferHost.exe
Summary
Background Transfer Host manages background file transfers for Windows Store apps and system components using BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service).
BackgroundTransferHost.exe is the 111th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 200,444 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by svchost.exe.
Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System32100%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- d5087b8a4ad2eac8e447d621c2383e791412b5b00fc0e4a37f4338847d5b22a322.32%
- bd5f35555de04ffcc3564dbe10711acb7010accc40132be616a519c29b9538b421.46%
- a6750e6cfab55aca0a4704e90aeb9fde1bc6a341bdc158189cc5442708ec7f8117.44%
- d0b2ea23edf1c29e722904b4c2157e6f08b8a0f910cb2876b0a4821f3d434d5014.89%
- 97c48adc319f7522c39c1f659e5dc5c7d2fb8eb1b7d403f3f2431059586b1f2f5.5%
- 0713b4757aff9827c7d935e19855e778e1cd93fe5dfe4180d31978ef853775605.42%
- 62b52f9594bdd96e73b2a21944977229786d4f4c421eb0f353c310b71a56c9aa4.75%
- 50e46406c00182189f74ec64ca3aed40b35b99f999b254be4205c1e7de3194f63.5%
- 397e4a972d6665dc9c96df4161c2a3e268f78590fb09048b0c19f3b5d3dd9a8a1.6%
- ee406f94f5e8e4db280dfa70a77b7cc3ab53d1b11d6a52566a5cbcaa70d9eabc0.83%
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- services.exe100%
Top Parents
- svchost.exe100%
Top Children
- conhost.exe37.5%
- WerFault.exe37.5%
- explorer.exe12.5%
- net1.exe12.5%
Rare or environment-specific process names are omitted from ancestry tables. Percentages are of all observed relationships.
Security Analysis
What does BackgroundTransferHost.exe normally do?
Located in C:\Windows\System32 or standard Windows/Office paths. Part of normal Windows or Office operations.
When is BackgroundTransferHost.exe suspicious?
Running from non-standard paths. Parent process other than expected. Spawning shells or unusual child processes.
How do attackers abuse BackgroundTransferHost.exe?
Not commonly abused.
Detection guidance
Low priority. Validate path and parent process.
False positive notes
Normal system/Office operation.
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Data from EchoTrail's dataset of ~346M Windows process executions. Last extracted 2026-08-04.