Cncmd.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Cncmd.exe process comes from a malevolent program that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unusable due to high CPU use.
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What is Cncmd.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned in the introduction, Cncmd.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the consequences are generally the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to run this procedure. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your PC for other activities – it will consistently use over 80% of your processor power.

Cncmd.exe Windows Process

Cncmd.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Cncmd.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may result in bad effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong machine is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs 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 Cncmd.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Cncmd.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow performance. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

    Cncmd.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameCncmd.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorLiquidsensord.exe, Installmanagerapp.exe, Uhssvc.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cncmd.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary negative thing coin miners perform to your system. Cncmd.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for long times may cause damage to your machine and raise power bills. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Small and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Cncmd.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Cncmd.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 one of the most prevalent malevolent programs through “serious” malware. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Cncmd.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Cncmd.exe is just one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.

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

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

    Getting rid of such a virus needs using special software. Effective anti-malware program should have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the discussed features.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cncmd.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is needed to stop 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Cncmd.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 Cncmd.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Cncmd.exe

    Description: The Cncmd.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Cncmd.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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