Is Akamai NetSession Client Safe?

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Akamai NetSession Client is the application software pre-installed on the PC or comes bundled with the programs that you install. It uses peer to peer network and boosts the speed of downloads thus improving the download time. Akamai NetSession Client is particularly helpful when you try to download a large file from the internet. The tool has gained popularity and is used by many software and media publishers to deliver files.

Is the Akamai NetSession Client safe

Akamai NetSession Client is not readily visible to you because we never actually entirely read the License Agreement before checking the ‘I agree’ box. If the interface is bundled with software, it gets installed unknowingly and you might mistake it for a virus later. There are many MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) games and software that rely on the netsession_win.exe to update data quickly and efficiently. You might not install the software yourself but there’s a big chance that it gets installed along with software or game.

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So you must be wondering what is Akamai NetSession Client exactly. Let’s try to understand it in a bit of detail.

What is Akamai NetSession Client?

Akamai NetSession is basically a download manager allowing users on a slow connection to download big files slowly. The NetSession Interface is so designed that it has almost no impact on memory, CPU capacity or disk space. It improves the speed, reliability, and efficiency for downloads and streams. It doesn’t violate your privacy or intrude on your computing.

Akamai NetSession captures information similar to a web server which is utilized for troubleshooting and network performance monitoring only. Therefore, NetSession continually sends information about your computer to Akamai.

Is Akamai NetSession Client a virus?

Now you must be clear as to what is Akamai NetSession Client. But is it a virus as it is mistaken for. Akamai NetSession doesn’t infect your machine with spyware, adware or a virus as such. It monitors some aspects of your usage and this is considered as undesirable by some and they may want to remove it. You’ll find that the built-in (or external) firewall has blocked some of its features on public and private networks.

The legitimate file is located in the C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Akamai folder. If you find it located elsewhere, run an antivirus scan right away as it could be a malware.

Can I remove Akamai NetSession Client?

There’s only one concern with the Akamai software that it allows your computer to be used in order to upstream content to other users. Akamai NetSession controls the computer’s idle bandwidth to beam files to other Akamai users. Thus your computer is used only when it is ‘idle’ utilizing minimal network resources. It constantly monitors the network use and sends this information to Akamai. But if you don’t like it, you can remove the Akamai NetSession Client anytime.

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How do I stop or uninstall Akamai NetSession Client?

The NetSession interface is not a critical Windows component and can be easily stopped or removed. But if it’s downloading or streaming data to your computer and you try to stop it, it will be interrupted. You may need to restart your computer to resume.

If you want to temporarily stop NetSession, open Control Panel > Akamai NetSession Interface applet > System Preferences. Now, select the Preferences tab. There under Service, click the Stop button.

NetSession interface can also be stopped via Task Manager. You can locate and terminate the netsession_win.exe process. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to start afresh.

If you have to uninstall Akamai NetSession, Open Control Panel > programs & features and uninstall Akamai NetSession Interface there.

Otherwise, open a command prompt in its installation folder, type admintool.exe uninstall –force and hit Enter.

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The Final Words

Akamai NetSession Client has access to the public and private network of your computer. It has been estimated that almost 30% of the global web traffic is served by the Akamai’s content delivery system. Akamai operates on a network of servers globally and rents out the servers’ capacity to the people who want faster networking content.

The Netsession client is one such extension of the Akamai’s global server network which helps in faster and complete downloads. But the days of this interface is believed to be numbered because today we have faster broadband connections and speedy browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. They can easily deal with large files and can download a 1.5 GB file in less than 20 minutes.

Check this video by Akamai Technologies about the application access:

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