Cftmon.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable due to high CPU use.
What is Cftmon.exe process?
Cftmon.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Cftmon.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Cftmon.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Cftmon.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Cftmon.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.
Cftmon.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Cftmon.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Server.exe, Software_reporter_tool.exe, Proxypub.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cftmon.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Cftmon.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent functions correctly, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as increase electricity costs. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Cftmon.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Cftmon.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every setup. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Cftmon.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Booting the PC into Safe Mode with Networking
Press the Start button, then choose Power, and click on Reboot while holding the Shift key on the keyboard.
Windows will reboot into recovery mode. In that mode, choose Troubleshoot→ Startup Settings→ Safe Mode with Networking. Press the corresponding button on your keyboard to choose that option.
When your computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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