Cxutilsvc.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Cxutilsvc.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can properly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Cxutilsvc.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned before, Cxutilsvc.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the effects are usually the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your personal computer to perform this operation. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to use your PC for other tasks – it will always consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Cxutilsvc.exe Windows Process

Cxutilsvc.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Cxutilsvc.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may lead to unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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

  • 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 Cxutilsvc.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, Cxutilsvc.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.

    Cxutilsvc.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameCxutilsvc.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorSmartaudio3.exe, Leading.exe, Rtkauduservice64.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cxutilsvc.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your PC. Cxutilsvc.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To execute all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase power bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and well-protected CPU fan is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Cxutilsvc.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Cxutilsvc.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 prevalent malicious programs among “major” viruses. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Cxutilsvc.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Cxutilsvc.exe is just with them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Cxutilsvc.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 making use of specific app. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run protection in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the discussed characteristics.4

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cxutilsvc.exe miner takes 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Cxutilsvc.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 Cxutilsvc.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Cxutilsvc.exe

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