Chrmstp.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Chrmstp.exe executable file comes from a malevolent program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Chrmstp.exe process?

Chrmstp.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually specified in the introduction, Chrmstp.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the effects are generally the identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to run this operation. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably want to use your desktop for other tasks – it will always take over 80% of your CPU power.

Chrmstp.exe Windows Process

Chrmstp.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Chrmstp.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can result in sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Chrmstp.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Initially, Chrmstp.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

    Chrmstp.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Chrmstp.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Adobearm.exe, Cuh.exe, Graphicscardenginestarter.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Chrmstp.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your system. Chrmstp.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as increase power expenses. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU fan is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Chrmstp.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Chrmstp.exe coin miner virus?

    Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources

    Coin miners are the most common malevolent programs through “major” malware. Adware often serves as a carrier for Chrmstp.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Chrmstp.exe is right one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Before blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Chrmstp.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Removing such a virus requires making use of specific program. Proper anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the discussed features.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Chrmstp.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is required to halt it before launching the security program. Otherwise, your scan will last for years, even though the GridinSoft program is pretty lightweight.

    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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Chrmstp.exe coin miner virus with GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware. You can use this anti-malware program for free during its 6-day trial period. In that term, all functions are available, and it takes no payments to remove malware from your system.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    When the scan is finished, press the Clean Now button to remove all detected elements from your system. This procedure takes less than a minute.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Chrmstp.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Chrmstp.exe

    Description: The Chrmstp.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Chrmstp.exe will create your CPU to go for very warm temperatures for prolonged periods of time, which could reduce the life of the CPU.

    Operating System: Windows

    Application Category: Trojan

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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