Mmsshost.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Mmsshost.exe process belongs to a malicious program that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much unfunctional due to high CPU use.
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What is Mmsshost.exe process?

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

As I have actually specified earlier, Mmsshost.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the consequences are almost always the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this procedure. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you probably want to make use of your system for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Mmsshost.exe Windows Process

Mmsshost.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Mmsshost.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can cause sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who make profit 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

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Mmsshost.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Mmsshost.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 generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.

    Mmsshost.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameMmsshost.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorRstmwservice.exe, Aac3572mbhal_x86.exe, Aackingstondramhal_x86.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Mmsshost.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Mmsshost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining 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 making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity expenses. Hardware components 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.

    Little and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Mmsshost.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized 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 Mmsshost.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 malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Mmsshost.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Mmsshost.exe is just with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the unreliable website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Mmsshost.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 requires the use of special software. Proper antivirus should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits each of the discussed characteristics.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Mmsshost.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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.

    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 software, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Mmsshost.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 Mmsshost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Mmsshost.exe

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