Cs_installer.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Cs_installer.exe executable file belongs to a Toshiba Software upgrades, developed by Toshiba corporation. There are several cases when coin miner trojans take the name of this process in order to disguise themselves in the system. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU usage.
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What is Cs_installer.exe process?

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

Originally, Cs_installer.exe is a legitimate process, that appears when some of the Toshiba Corp. software on your PC gets an update. It is pretty easy to check its benevolence, and figure out, if you have a deal with a normal process or a coin miner trojan virus. In rare cases, this process can be a disguised installer of a browser hijacker. Even more rare cases when this process hangs in your Task Manager and consumes a lot of resources, and still is a benevolent thing. Such thing happens when a legitimate Toshiba updater fails to update your programs, and then just hangs up then.

Cs_installer.exe Windows Process

Cs_installer.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage

Checking the legitimacy of the Cs_installer process is pretty easy. Find that process in the Task Manager, click it with a right mouse button and then choose “Open file location” in the context menu. If you see the C:/Toshiba/IVP directory opened, then your process is legit. Any other location is 100% malicious.

If that thing is malicious, there is a 90% chance that you have a deal with a coin miner malware. It uses your processor to mine cryptocurrencies, making the computer impossible to use. Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Cs_installer.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptomining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit 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 Cs_installer.exe miner?

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

    First off, Cs_installer.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

    Cs_installer.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your computer. Cs_installer.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the security components 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 lot of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your device as well as raise power costs. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered processor fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large 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 Cs_installer.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Cs_installer.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 among “severe” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Cs_installer.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Cs_installer.exe is just among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these people 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 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Cs_installer.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 demands the use of specific program. Effective anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits all of the discussed qualities.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cs_installer.exe miner consumes a lot of processor 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 applications, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Cs_installer.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 Cs_installer.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Cs_installer.exe

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

    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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