Ks_bridge.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Ks_bridge.exe process belongs to a malicious application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU utilization.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review
It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!
When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.
Gridinsoft Anti-Malware 6-day trial available.
EULA | Privacy Policy | 10% Off Coupon
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to know about news and our exclusive materials on information security.

What is Ks_bridge.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out previously, Ks_bridge.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, but the consequences are generally the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this procedure. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to make use of your device for other activities – it will constantly consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Ks_bridge.exe Windows Process

Ks_bridge.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Ks_bridge.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

Crypto mining is a term that means the activity 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 very powerful desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Ks_bridge.exe miner?

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

    First of all, Ks_bridge.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Ks_bridge.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameKs_bridge.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorAltruistics.exe, Hidmonitorsvc.exe, Avastui.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Ks_bridge.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative thing coin miners perform to your computer. Ks_bridge.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malevolent operations effectively, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your device as well as increase power expenses. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and well-protected CPU fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Ks_bridge.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Ks_bridge.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 widespread malicious programs through “severe” viruses. Adware often serves as a carrier for Ks_bridge.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Ks_bridge.exe is right one of them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Ks_bridge.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 specific app. Appropriate antivirus must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Additionally, it is better to have on-run security in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the specified characteristics.4

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Ks_bridge.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Ks_bridge.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 Ks_bridge.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Ks_bridge.exe

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

    Sending
    User Review
    3.67 (6 votes)
    Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)

    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.

    Spanish Turkish

    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.

    Leave a Reply

    Sending