Users panic after mistaking ASUS Christmas software for a virus

Windows 11 users were shocked to see an executable file named “Christmas.exe” running on their computer like a malware or virus.

According to some users' feedback on forums, their Windows 11 desktop screen suddenly appeared a strange software : a banner with a relatively large size, with a Christmas -themed design.

This banner even appears when a game is running, sometimes it even causes the running software to suddenly stop. When opening Task Manager to check, users will see a strange application named “Chistmas.exe” running.

Phan mem Giang sinh cua ASUS khien nguoi dung ta hoa, ngo virus

Christmas wreath suddenly appears, taking up 1/3 of the screen, making users think they are infected with malware. Photo: Reddit

Naturally, when seeing strange software with the extension “.exe” running, users will think of the worst case scenario: their computer is infected with malware or some other malicious software.

But it turns out, this is a Christmas software that ASUS automatically installed on users' computers. According to information that Windows Latest news site found out, this banner is part of ASUS Armoury Crate, an ASUS software that controls and manages game applications on the computer, and is pre-installed on ASUS computers.

Phan mem Giang sinh cua ASUS khien nguoi dung ta hoa, ngo virus-Hinh-2

The small size of the executable file and the name Chrismas.exe make it look like a virus. Photo: Asus forum

Tracking Christmas.exe through the Task Manager tool, the editor of Windows Latest found that this software comes from the folder "C:\ProgramData\ASUS\FestsEffect\data\Christmas\christmas.exe", and the file has a size of about 106 KB.

As mentioned above, ASUS Armoury Crate comes pre-installed on some ASUS-branded computers, and it was this that started Christmas.exe to celebrate the upcoming Christmas season. Digging deeper, the team found another file named “HappyNewYear.exe” located at the address "C:\ProgramData\ASUS\FestsEffect\data\HappyNewYear\HappyNewYear.exe".

Based on this information, we can predict that during the upcoming New Year, a similar banner will appear on ASUS machines with Armoury Crate installed.