The agent.exe file is also known as the InstallShield Update Service Agent and is used to connect to the Internet to check for software updates for the following software applications: Roxio, DragonNaturally Speaking, Corel Draw, Acronis, Articulate, and other programs that make use of the service FLEXnet Connect.

Agent.exe acts like the wuauclt.exe process (referred to as Windows Update). It checks for updates on the Internet and notifies the user regarding the update. For the agent.exe file to collect the correct update for the software, it has to obtain particular information from the software including product version, product name, and language.
By default, the provider of the software is the one that sets the frequency of the update-checking process carried out by the agent.exe file. The user can also change its settings through the control panel of the Update Manager.
Non-system processes like agent.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 agent.exe 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 agent.exe file should be located in the folder %program files%\common files\installshield\update service. 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'.