Kthmimu.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Kthmimu.exe process belongs to a malicious program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Kthmimu.exe process?

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

As I have actually specified in the introduction, Kthmimu.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the consequences are almost always the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your personal computer to run this process. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to make use of your PC for other activities – it will always consume over 80% of your processor power.

Kthmimu.exe Windows Process

Kthmimu.exe – Very high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Kthmimu.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may cause sad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the operation 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 strong PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. 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

  • 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 Kthmimu.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, Kthmimu.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

    Kthmimu.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameKthmimu.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorDxcap.exe, Remezttf.exe, Zhemdo_build.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Kthmimu.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Kthmimu.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent operations effectively, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your device and increase electricity expenses. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered processor fan is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Kthmimu.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely a bad situation when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Kthmimu.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 widespread malicious programs through “major” malware. Adware often acts as a carrier for Kthmimu.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Kthmimu.exe is right with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Kthmimu.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 needs making use of special app. Effective anti-malware program should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Kthmimu.exe miner consumes 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 programs, just like the majority of non-crucial 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 Kthmimu.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 Kthmimu.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Kthmimu.exe

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