If the VPN Agent Service or vpnagent.exe is showing high CPU usage issue on Windows 11 or Windows 10 computers, here is how you can troubleshoot the problem. This problem comes from the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client that you installed on your computer earlier. That said, you need to take a deep look at this app in order to get rid of this issue.
VPN Agent Service (vpnagent.exe) High CPU or Data usage
To fix the VPN Agent Service (vpnagent.exe) high CPU, Data or Memory usage issue in Windows 11/10, follow these steps:
- Terminate the process
- Temporarily disable firewall and antivirus
- Change these AnyConnect settings
- Reinstall Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
To learn more about these steps, continue reading.
1] Terminate the process
It is the first thing you can do when it is consuming more than usual resources on your computer. If your computer is acting normally, you can simply open the Task Manager, find the corresponding process, select it, and click the End task button.
However, in most cases, you won’t be able to use your computer normally. In such cases, you need to wait for some time until it goes back to normal. Alternatively, you can restart your computer to get the job done quickly.
On the other hand, if the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client app is assigned to start at the boot, you need to remove that program from the startup. You can follow this guide to disable startup programs in Windows 11/10.
2] Temporarily disable firewall and antivirus
Not all, but some third-party firewall software can cause some issues when you have installed the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client on your computer. As it uses a VPN or virtual private network and a firewall scans all incoming and outgoing traffic, the combination might not work on all systems.
Similarly, your antivirus can also cause the same issue. People have claimed any issue involving Windows Security or Windows Defender. Still, you can disable Windows Security temporarily and check if it resolves the issue or not. It is needless to say that you have to do the same thing even if you are using a third-party antivirus tool.
3] Change these AnyConnect settings
- Disable Captive Portal Detection in the AnyConnect options
- Disable any settings to send feedback or other telemetry data back to the developer.
4] Uninstall & reinstall Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
If none of the aforementioned solutions has worked for you, it is the last solution you can opt for. As this service or process is directly involved with the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client app, you need to uninstall it from your computer.
There are multiple ways to uninstall the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client from your computer.
- First, you can use the Control Panel to get it removed.
- Second, you can use Windows Settings. In that case, you need to press Win+I to open Windows Settings and go to Apps > Apps & features. Then, click on the three-dotted icon of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client app and select the Uninstall button. Next, you need to confirm the change.
- Third, you can use a software uninstaller tool on your computer. It is the recommended method so that you can remove all the leftovers after going through the uninstallation process.
Having done that, download and install the latest version of this software.
If you do not use this software, it might be a good idea to uninstall it from your computer.
Read: Best Free Uninstaller Software for Windows
How to fix VPN high usage?
The basic solution to fix the high CPU or Memory usage issue by a VPN app is to close it from the Task Manager. As it is a temporary solution, you can check the firewall or antivirus app as well since they often influence the usage of resources. If nothing helps, you need to uninstall the VPN app in order to use your computer smoothly.
Read: Fix Services and Controller app High CPU usage in Windows
How to fix vpnagent.exe high CPU usage?
To fix the vpnagent.exe high CPU usage on Windows 11/10 PC, you need to go through the aforementioned solutions. First, you can terminate the app from the Task Manager. Then, you can close the firewall software and antimalware program temporarily. Finally, you need to uninstall the app from your computer to get it fixed.
Read: How to fix 100% Disk, High CPU, High Memory usage in Windows.
