Windows OS Specific Term

Windows common executables

• Smss.exe: Session Manager
  • HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentColtrolSet\Control\Session Manager\SubSystems
• Ntoskrnl.exe: Windows kernel
• Win32k.sys: Kernel mode device driver
• Cdd.dll: Canonical Display Driver
• Dxgkrnl.sys: Wrapper for Direct X support
• Conhost.exe: Provide support for console
• Dwm.exe: Desktop Windows Manager
• Csrss.exe: Client/Server runtime subsystem
• Basesrv.dll
• Winsrv.dll
• Sxssrv.dll
• Csrsvr.dll
• Psxss.exe: POSIX subsystem process
• Kernel32.dll
• Advapi32.dll
• User32.dll
• Gdi32.dll
• Iumdll.dll
• Iumdll.dll
  • Ntdll.dll: special system support library primarily for the use of subsystem DLLs and native applications (native: images not tied to any particular subsystem)
• Npfs.dll

Abbreviation

• IUM: Isolated User Mode
• WPA: Windows Performance Analyzer
• WDK: Windows Driver Kit
• PE: Portable executable
• APC: Asynchronous Procedure Call
• DPC: Deferred Procedure Call

COM

• Component Object Model

OLE

• Object Linking and Embedding
  DDE
• Dynamic Data Exchange

WinRT

• Windows Runtime

Windows RT

• Arm-based Windows OS - Discontinued

Wow64

• Windows on Windows 64-bit

VDA

• virtual address descriptor

WHQL

• windows hardware quality labs

KMCS

• kernel mode code signing

HCK

• Hardware Compatibility Kit

VBS

• Virtual Base Security

HVCI

• Hypervisor Code Integrity

VTLs

• Virtual Trusted Levels

TPM

• Trusted Platform Module

SMP

• Symmetric multiprocessing

SMT

• Simultaneous multi-threaded

NUMA

• non-uniform memory access

DMA

• Direct memory access

SLAT

• Second Level Address Translation
  MMU
• Memory Management Unit