Windows Script Host

The Windows Script Host ( WSH ) (previously: Windows Scripting Host ) is a COM -based runtime environment for scripting languages in Windows operating systems .

The WSH can be used since Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 , since Windows 98 SE and Windows 2000 it has been installed by default.

The Script Host was developed to give users and especially administrators the possibility to automate frequently recurring processes. While Unix , OS / 2 and other systems could be controlled with sophisticated programming languages for a long time , the early Microsoft operating systems ( DOS with and without Microsoft Windows 3.0 , Microsoft Windows 3.1 , Windows NT 3.5x ) only offered very limited control options using batch - Programming.

The WSH itself cannot execute scripts, but uses so-called script engines. These script engines can in turn be integrated into other programs or libraries (e.g. Internet Explorer , Microsoft Office , Active Server Pages , ...), which also turns them into script hosts. Script engines for the programming languages JScript and VBScript are supplied with the WSH . Additional programming languages ​​for the WSH can be installed later.

For security reasons, it is also possible to switch off the WSH, because malware (e.g. ransomware ) uses it relatively frequently.

See also

• Windows Management Instrumentation
• Windows PowerShell
• cmd.exe

Web links

• ArsTechnica.de - Small introduction and sample scripts
• Microsoft Script Center
• DevGuru.com - Quick reference of several programming languages ​​and similar a. WSH (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thomas Rieske: Deactivate Windows Script Host (WSH) as a means of spreading malware. In: Computerwoche . IDG Business Media GmbH, August 15, 2018, accessed on June 13, 2019 : “To switch off the Windows Script Host (WSH), first start the registry editor using the regedit.exe command. Then switch to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE branch. Now navigate to Software \ Microsoft \ Windows Script Host \ Settings. The required entry Enabled is missing by default, which, according to Microsoft, means that the WSH is activated. [...] To change this, you must first create a DWORD entry with the name Enabled in the above-mentioned path under Settings. Simply accept the default value 0. Finally, exit the registry editor and restart your computer. "