{ "id": "31c5b6f0-c238-49eb-802d-ef9708617040", "created_at": "2026-04-06T00:21:15.164098Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T13:11:51.065739Z", "deleted_at": null, "sha1_hash": "7d2394b28cc00c6e341a8012d9540b78e20fb3c0", "title": "Tasks - Win32 apps", "llm_title": "", "authors": "", "file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_size": 65269, "plain_text": "Tasks - Win32 apps\r\nBy stevewhims\r\nArchived: 2026-04-05 16:35:21 UTC\r\nA task is the scheduled work that the Task Scheduler service performs. A task is composed of different\r\ncomponents, but a task must contain a trigger that the Task Scheduler uses to start the task and an action that\r\ndescribes what work the Task Scheduler will perform.\r\nWhen a task is created, it is stored in a task folder. Task folders can be accessed through the ITaskFolder interface\r\n(TaskFolder for scripting), and tasks can be accessed through the IRegisteredTask interface (RegisteredTask for\r\nscripting) when they are created. You can change access control lists (ACLs) for tasks and task folders in order to\r\ngrant or deny certain users and groups access to a task or task folder. This can be done by using the\r\nIRegisteredTask::SetSecurityDescriptor method, the ITaskFolder::SetSecurityDescriptor method, or by\r\nspecifying a security descriptor when a task is registered by using the RegisterTaskDefinition or RegisterTask\r\nmethod.\r\nNote\r\nIf the Local System account is denied access to a task file or task folder, then the Task Scheduler service can\r\nproduce unexpected results.\r\nComponents of a Task\r\nThe following illustration shows the task components.\r\nThe following list contains a brief description of each task component:\r\nhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks\r\nPage 1 of 4\n\nTriggers: Task Scheduler uses event or time-based triggers to know when to start a task. Every task can\r\nspecify one or more triggers to start the task.\r\nFor more information about triggers, see Task Triggers.\r\nActions: These are the actions, the actual work, that is performed by the task. Every task can specify one or\r\nmore actions to complete its work.\r\nFor more information about actions, see Task Actions.\r\nPrincipals: Principals define the security context in which the task is run. For example, a principal might\r\ndefine a specific user or user group that can run the task.\r\nFor more information about principals, see Security Contexts for Tasks.\r\nSettings: These are the settings that the Task Scheduler uses to run the task with respect to conditions that\r\nare external to the task itself. For example, these settings can specify the priority of the task with respect to\r\nother tasks, whether multiple instances of the task can be run, how the task is handled when the computer is\r\nin an idle condition, and other conditions.\r\nFor more information about task settings, see ITaskSettings (TaskSettings for scripting).\r\nNote\r\nBy default, a task will be stopped 72 hours after it starts to run. You can change this by changing the\r\nExecutionTimeLimit setting.\r\nRegistration Information: This is administrative information that is gathered when the task is registered.\r\nFor example, this information describes the author of the task, the date when the task was registered, an\r\nXML description of the task, and other information.\r\nFor more information about task registration information, see Task Registration Information.\r\nData: This is additional documentation about the task that is supplied by the author of the task. For\r\nexample, this data may contain XML Help that can be used by users when they run the task.\r\nTask APIs\r\nTask Scheduler 2.0 provides two sets of APIs: a set of scripting objects and interfaces for Task Scheduler 2.0. For\r\nmore information, see Task Scheduler Reference.\r\nTask compatibility, which is set through the Compatibility property, should only be set to\r\nTASK_COMPATIBILITY_V1 if a task must be accessed or modified from a Windows XP, Windows Server 2003,\r\nor Windows 2000 computer. Otherwise, it is recommended that you use Task Scheduler 2.0 compatibility because\r\nit has more features.\r\nStarting with Task Scheduler 2.0, the ITaskService interface (TaskService for scripting) is used as a starting point\r\nto create tasks in specified folders. The ITaskDefinition interface (TaskDefinition for scripting) is used to hold\r\nhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks\r\nPage 2 of 4\n\nall the components of a task, such as the settings, actions, and triggers. The ITaskTrigger, IAction, and\r\nITaskSettings APIs provide properties that are then used to define the other components of the task. Task\r\nScheduler 1.0 provides the ITask interface, which is supported only for backward compatibility.\r\nFor scripting, the Task Scheduler interfaces map to scripting objects that have the similar names, properties, and\r\nmethods. For example, the TaskService scripting object has the same properties and methods as the ITaskService\r\ninterface.\r\nFor more information and examples about how to use the Task Scheduler interfaces, scripting objects, and XML,\r\nsee Using the Task Scheduler.\r\nTask Scheduler 1.0 Tasks\r\nA Task Scheduler 1.0 task is any application or file type that the Task Scheduler can execute. These may include\r\nany of the following (as supported by the operating system on which the task will execute): Win32 applications,\r\nWin16 applications, OS/2 applications, MS-DOS applications, batch files (*.bat), command files (*.cmd), or any\r\nproperly registered file type.\r\nData that describes a task is kept in a task file that is stored in the Scheduled Tasks folder. For more information,\r\nsee Scheduled Tasks folder. The name of these task files include the name of the task, followed by a .job file name\r\nextension.\r\nFor more information about adding Task Scheduler 1.0 tasks, see Adding Work Items.\r\nFor more information about enumerating through Task Scheduler 1.0 tasks, see Enumerating Tasks.\r\nFor a Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 computer to create, monitor, or control tasks on a\r\nWindows Vista computer, the following operations should be completed on the Windows Vista computer, and the\r\nuser who is calling the ITaskScheduler::SetTargetComputer method must be a member of the Administrators\r\ngroup on the remote Windows Vista computer.\r\nTo enable the \"Share File and Printers\" exception in Windows Firewall\r\n1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.\r\n2. In Control Panel, click Classic View and then double-click the Windows Firewall icon.\r\n3. In the Windows Firewall window, click the Exceptions tab and select File and Printer Sharing\r\nexception check box.\r\nTo enable the \"Remote Registry\" service\r\nOpen a Command Prompt window and enter the following command: net start \"Remote Registry\".\r\nAbout the Task Scheduler\r\nTask Triggers\r\nTask Actions\r\nhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks\r\nPage 3 of 4\n\nITaskDefinition\r\nTaskDefinition\r\nITaskService\r\nTaskService\r\nSource: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks\r\nhttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks\r\nPage 4 of 4", "extraction_quality": 1, "language": "EN", "sources": [ "MITRE" ], "origins": [ "web" ], "references": [ "https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/taskschd/tasks" ], "report_names": [ "tasks" ], "threat_actors": [], "ts_created_at": 1775434875, "ts_updated_at": 1775826711, "ts_creation_date": 0, "ts_modification_date": 0, "files": { "pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/7d2394b28cc00c6e341a8012d9540b78e20fb3c0.pdf", "text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/7d2394b28cc00c6e341a8012d9540b78e20fb3c0.txt", "img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/7d2394b28cc00c6e341a8012d9540b78e20fb3c0.jpg" } }