Dsssm.exe executable file comes from a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional due to high CPU utilization.
What is Dsssm.exe process?
Dsssm.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out before, Dsssm.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, but the effects are usually the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to run this procedure. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your computer for other activities – it will always use over 80% of your processor power.
Dsssm.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Dsssm.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can lead to sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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
How dangerous is the Dsssm.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, Dsssm.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Dsssm.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Dsssm.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Opce.exe, Vc.exe, Asd.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Dsssm.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Dsssm.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions effectively, 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 ton of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine and increase power expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and covered processor fan is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Dsssm.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Dsssm.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 malicious programs through “major” viruses. Adware often functions as a carrier for Dsssm.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Dsssm.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Before blaming these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Dsssm.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 requires making use of specific software. Effective anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak computers. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Dsssm.exe miner takes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required 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.
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.
When your PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Dsssm.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.
After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.
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.
Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.
Remove Dsssm.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Dsssm.exe
Description: The Dsssm.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Dsssm.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
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
