Con_manager.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Con_manager.exe process belongs to a malicious application 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 personal computer pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
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What is Con_manager.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned in the introduction, Con_manager.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the impacts are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to perform this operation. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably want to use your device for other activities – it will continuously take over 80% of your CPU power.

Con_manager.exe Windows Process

Con_manager.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Con_manager.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may cause bad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end machine is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Con_manager.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Con_manager.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all processor power is used by a malware. 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 incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.

    Con_manager.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your computer. Con_manager.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent operations properly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments 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 a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as increase electricity expenses. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Con_manager.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Con_manager.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” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Con_manager.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates 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. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Con_manager.exe is right 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 PC is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Con_manager.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 requires the use of special tool. Effective anti-malware program must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak computers. 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 reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits each of the discussed features.5

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

    Remove Con_manager.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 Con_manager.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Con_manager.exe

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