net.exe is a process belonging to the Microsoft Windows Operating System and offers additional functions to your local area network via the DOS command line. "This program is a non-essential process, but should not be terminated unless suspected to be causing problems. " This process can sometimes be used by trojans but is otherwise a legitimate process. Note: net.exe is also a process which is registered as the w32.dabber.c worm. "This virus is distributed via the Internet through e-mail and comes in the form of an e-mail message, in the hopes that you open its hostile attachment. " The worm has its own SMTP engine which means it gathers E-mails from your local computer and re-distributes itself. "In worst cases this worm can allow attackers to access your computer, stealing passwords and personal data. " This process is a security risk and should be removed from your system.
Non-system processes like net.exe originate from software you installed on your system. Since most applications store data on your hard disk and in your system's registry, it is likely that your computer has suffered fragmentation and accumulated invalid entries which can affect your PC's performance.

In Windows Task Manager, you can see what CPU, memory, disk and network utilization is causing the Microsoft Windows Networking process. To access the Task Manager, hold down the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys at the same time. These three buttons are located on the far left of your keyboard.

This process is considered safe. It is unlikely to pose any harm to your system. The net.exe file should be located in the folder C:\Windows\System32. Otherwise it could be a Trojan.

This process is not considered CPU intensive. However, running too many processes on your system may affect your PC’s performance. To reduce system overload, you can use the Microsoft System Configuration Utility (MSConfig) or the Windows Task Manager to manually find and disable processes that launch upon start-up.

Use the Windows Resource Monitor to find out which processes and applications write/read the most on the hard drive, send the most data to the Internet, or use the most memory. To access the Resource Monitor, press the key combination Windows key + R and then enter 'resmon'.