lsm.exe process is related to a malicious application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unfunctional due to high CPU use.
Actually, the original lsm.exe is not malicious. It belongs to a Local Session Manager service, that runs in Windows to manage the connections with terminal server. Being a part of core Windows functionality, it is considered safe. However, various malware, and most often coin miners, are able to steal this name in order to disguise itself in the system.
What is lsm.exe process?
lsm.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned earlier, lsm.exe is possibly coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the effects are generally the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to perform this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your computer for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power. The fact that lsm.exe takes any sustainable amount of CPU power means that it is a malicious copy – as there is no way for the legit process to take so much power.
Lsm.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as graphics cards use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so lsm.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may lead to sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the activity 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 computer is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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
How dangerous is the lsm.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Lsm.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Lsm.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Lsm.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Nwjs.exe, Comime.exe, Vlabtk.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Lsm.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your system. Lsm.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent functions successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device and increase power expenses. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Compact and covered CPU fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by lsm.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get lsm.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 common malicious programs through “serious” malware. Adware often works as a carrier for lsm.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and lsm.exe is right one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, 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 greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the lsm.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 using specific program. Effective security tool should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. Additionally, it is better to have proactive protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements 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 superb choice that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since lsm.exe miner consumes 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 system 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 system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove lsm.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 Lsm.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Lsm.exe
Description: The Lsm.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Lsm.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.
