A ""speed launcher"" is essentially a program that preloads certain components of another program so that if the program is needed later on, it will load more quickly. This one is for Adobe Reader, which lets you read Acrobat (PDF) files either independently or within your browser. This is a convenience program and some feel that using it at startup is unnecessary (since the operating system will only delay slightly at first use of a PDF file otherwise.) 

If you want a detailed security rating about your Reader_sl.exe (and all other running background processes) read the following user opinions, and download the free trial version of Security Task Manager.

Note: Any malware can be named anything - so you should check where the files of the running processes are located on your disk. If a "non-Microsoft" .exe file is located in the C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System32 folder, then there is a high risk for a virus, spyware, trojan or worm infection! Check it out!

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Users Opinions

1786 users ask for this file. 32 users rated it as not dangerous. 2 users rated it as not so dangerous. 13 users rated it as neutral. 6 users rated it as little bit dangerous. 8 users rated it as dangerous. 4 users didn't rate it ("don't know").

All comments about Reader_sl.exe: Part of 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' version 7 - runs from startup group, assume it speeds up opening pdf files. Should be in the directory C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\  See also: Link   Stephen I believe it sends E-mails   Peter Driscoll its adobe acrobat reader   sortax adobe's startup program to decrease loading time for acrobat   artie This reads any secure logins you make and stores them to a random file under systemroot. It does not appear to transmit data over the net.   mArKtAsTiC It is adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 startup file, it allows adobe to load pdf files quicker.   mikesg This is a file of Adobe Reader (new version), for preloading with less time   Baldi this file is an adobe file and is somewhat harmless unless you are running cisco vpn client, at startup which most anyone would for security reasons, in that case it will stop the vpn dead in its tracks , its possible that it tries to load it to the same block of memory, thats the only thing i can think of , because i know the new vpn runs constent authitifacations from ram   felonious monk reader_sl.exe is a process associated the with the Adobe Reader. It is used to decrease the load time for the reader when a PDF document is selected. This is a non-essential process. Disabling or enabling this is down to user preference.   MaStaH Adobe Reader in startup group   gfasdf Its from Adobe, all it does it help open up pdf files  See also: Link   Elwood Not dangerous when in: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\   this file is an adobe file and is somewhat harmless unless you are running cisco vpn client, at startup which most anyone would for security reasons, in that case it will stop the vpn dead in its tracks , its possible that it tries to load it to the same block of memory, thats the only thing i can think of , because i know the new vpn runs constent authitifacations from ram, i dont know enough about memory mapping or programming to be anymore help   felonious monk its for abode yes - its not necesery and you dont need , but it can take memory when not using it   Another annoyance in your startup process, another program you hadn't asked for. Most harmless, but you don't need it if you don't use pdf's in a daily basis   Porilo It is adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 startup file, it allows adobe to load pdf files quicker.   rko Its not really dangerous, just takes up processing power that could be used elsewhere   LaW Not dangerous, just annoying. Nuke it to reduce memory hogging.   Bob It is the Adobe Reader Speed Launch shortcut that is in the ALL USERS/Startup menu. You can delete it without a problem. It just helps Adobe to load faster when you open a PDF file.   Kate B It is adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0. ((Roughly uses around 1,300k)) Its another annoyance startup progie.   -= Admin =- Developers are starting to take the p*** with these startup processes, Ahead are the worst. It's a cop-out for bad programmers. Anyway, I'm disabling it because I'm not so impatient that I can't wait an extra second for a pdf to open!   Ian Its adobe ok but it locks up AVG anti virus softs in a way similar to the cisco prob described above, takes about 32 meg ram to run according to my available phys mem in taskman. A pain in the butt, easier to reinstall adobe when needed   Damo look under start menu startup and its there   reader_sl.exe Adobe Acrobat SpeedLauncher Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com) Adobe Acrobat, OR it could be a trojan using the same filename, check the links for more details to determine this for yourself on your system  See also: Link   Ralph Part of 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' start up process. can be disabled   nxconvict adobe reader pre-load - not neccessary   Kai H Adobe reader speed launch not needed beter program for pdf files is foxit reader free from foxitsoftware.com it is better faster and more stable.  See also: Link   Ken makes faster loading of pdf files for adobe reader if you have adobe reader if you dont could be anything and it should not appear more than once if it does some thing else is goin on . if you dont use adobe much safe to kill it use msconfig to stop if it comes back could be virus or trojan   DaveAce69 its a SAFE adobe acrobat file its not useful just unchek it from your startup, it just takes more time to load your windows.   ALVI An error occurred while terminating the process as quarantine   WallyPop Supposedly speeds up the opening of pdf files. After disbaling it though, my system is slightly faster on boot up and I find that I actually open pdf files faster now. Pointless for me on XP. I can't see why I didn't disable it earlier.   ECM Part of Adobe Reader. Can cause the pc to lock up when trying to do Hibernation.   bdot reader_sl.exe is Adobe Acrobat Reader's speed launcher. It loads the PDF faster. Definitely not needed. I would use Foxit reader if you think Adobe Reader is bloated (version 9.0 is over 200MB!)  See also: Link   Don C. in a adobe reader how to delete a file menu history   apart of adobe reader, doesn't do much - not needed, may be removed to reduce login time   EvilHom3r It a part of Adobe Acrobat   Skynet Either Adobe Reader Process (Ratting: 1)or a virus masking: Virut.56 in my case (Ratting: 5)  See also: Link   Rob key stroke   Strange behavior for this Adobe file. Using ProcessExplorer by SysInternals as tool, it shows up as a running process on start-up. If you kill it, on exit it somehow briefly fires up AdobeARM.exe. If instead you 'suspend' the reader_sl.exe file, it somehow keeps MS Excel from loading until it's put back in service via 'resume'. Why would Adobe affect Microsoft Excel ? Strange.   Rejjy CPU resource killer. End process if you're chewing 100% for a long period of time.   Kent The file Reader_sl.exe is Adobe's Speed Launcher Prefetch service. This is a valid program file. It's purpose is to improve Adobe Reader startup times. Much like Windows Prefetcher, Speed Launcher prefetches to memory program and system files common to opening .PDF files in Adobe Reader. This service is not critical and can be disabled by removing the Registry entry in HKLM_Software_Microsoft_Windows_CurrentVersion_Run. If your security software is flagging this file it is most likely a false-positive.   Fuzzilla nonessential, but harmless unless you're maxing available system resources, in which case you can disable it on startup, or end it. Won't hurt to not have it running, just enables initial start of acrobat faster.   dimi An irritating file in any case. If it is under the adobe folder it is just meant to provide a "faster" lauch of pdf files. However if it is under the system32 folder you've got yourself a virus and should delete ASAP.   Exhorder Adobe's Speed Launcher for .pdf files, horribly annoying file however. Eatsmemory and slows up computer.   G Man If you know more about Reader_sl.exe, share your knowledge and help other users. Security Rating:  --- don't know ---  1 (not dangerous)  2  3 (neutral)  4  5 (dangerous) What do you know about this file: Link for more details: Your Name:

More process information

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