Udclientservice.exe is a file/process that belongs to the Lenovo device driver package. The process is a part of Lenovo ThinkSmart Manager and should not cause any issues, unless the instance you see in the Task Manager is a malicious copy.
Being a part of ThinkSmart Manager, udclientservice.exe should have minimal impact on your system performance. This service is a Lenovo way towards organizing remote access to multiple systems – a pretty useful feature for enterprises. However, an image of legit and trusted name makes udclientservice process a great disguise for various malware.
What is Udclientservice.exe process?
Mostly, the instance of udclientservice.exe is OK and belongs to a legitimate piece of software, as I’ve just said. However, malware can take its name to confuse users and make them think that it is a normal process. Usually, such a trick is done by coin miner malware. In this case, you will see a load of over 80% coming from this process alone. This is too much even for powerful systems, so you will likely see your computer struggle even in the easiest tasks.
Udclientservice.exe – Very high CPU/GPU usage
Besides excessive CPU usage, malware is also distinctive from a legit process by the .exe file location. Normally, the udclientservice.exe process sits in the C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\Lenovo\udc\Service\ directory. You can check the location of the one by clicking it in the Task Manager with the right mouse button and choosing “Open file location” in the dialogue box. Locations other from what I pointed above mean that the process you see is malicious.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that 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 computer is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.1
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Udclientservice.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, Udclientservice.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Udclientservice.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Udclientservice.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Editor.exe, Fesa.exe, Routerapplication.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Udclientservice.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary bad thing coin miners do to your system. Udclientservice.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions effectively, it wrecks the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your device and raise power expenses. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Udclientservice.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure2. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Udclientservice.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 prevalent malevolent programs among “serious” malware. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Udclientservice.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Udclientservice.exe is just one of them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. People 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 lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Udclientservice.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 software, just like the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
References
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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