Conhost_rs.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Conhost_rs.exe process is related to a malevolent program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unusable because of high CPU usage.
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What is Conhost_rs.exe process?

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

As I have specified in the introduction, Conhost_rs.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the effects are almost always the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your PC for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your processor power.

Conhost_rs.exe Windows Process

Conhost_rs.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Conhost_rs.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters 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

  • 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 Conhost_rs.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Conhost_rs.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.

    Conhost_rs.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Conhost_rs.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Unohostclr.exe, Jg6_6asg.exe, Menu.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Conhost_rs.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners perform to your system. Conhost_rs.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and raise electricity expenses. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Conhost_rs.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized 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 Conhost_rs.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 among “major” malware. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Conhost_rs.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Conhost_rs.exe is right among 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 website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

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

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

    Eliminating such a virus involves making use of special tool. Proper antivirus should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Additionally, it is better to have on-run protection in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice 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 Conhost_rs.exe miner takes 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Conhost_rs.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 Conhost_rs.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Conhost_rs.exe

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