What is the mDNSResponder.exe process ( Bonjour) and how to disable it

Have you ever asked yourself what is the mDNSResponder.exe process? Have you tried to uninstall it and you don’t know how? Well, continue to read on to find out how to disable it from your computer.

The mDNSResponder.exe is the equivalent of the Bonjour application, representing a service for Windows. IT is a program that installs itself with iTunes from Apple, Safari or Skype and it is used to connect users in the network.

You will notice that it is implemented as a Windows Service. You can see that in the Services panel from Task Manager.

The problem is that this program most of the times does not appear in the Add/Remove Programs menu, so you can’t disable or uninstall it very easily. The good news is that you can uninstall the program. It’s important to know that you shouldn’t uninstall Bonjour ( mDNSResponder.exe ) if you are using iTunes and you share libraries.

How to remove the mDNSResponder.exe process?

Well, first you need to know that you can remove the Bonjour application without uninstalling it. To do this, you can to go to the Services Tab in Task Manager and double click on the mDNSResponder.exe service. From the Startup Type menu you have to pick Disable.

So, if you may encounter some problems with some programs, you can always restart it.

Uninstalling Bonjour

Go to Start and pick Run and type cmd.exe. In the window that appears you have to type Program Files\Bonjour (Program Files (x86 ) if you run Windows Vista or Windows 7. Add mDNSResponder.exe /? at the end. You will see a list of commands that you can type.

Type mDNSResponder.exe -remove to uninstall it.

You will receive a confirmation message of the uninstalling process. You have to know that you need to run the command as Administrator.

You also have to disable the .dll file. To do this, you have to type ren mdnsNSP.dll mdnsNSP.blah in the same window.

To reinstall it all you have to do is type the mDNSResponder.exe -install in Command Prompt.