▷ What is ekrn.exe and should you remove it?

Several Windows users have come to us with questions after seeing that a certain process (ekrn.exe) consumes a lot of system resources even in situations where the computer is in idle mode. For some affected users, CPU and GPU usage exceeds 80% (even exceeds the 90% in some cases). Because of this, many affected users start to wonder if ekrn.exe is not disguised malware that is using their system resources for malicious purposes.

Using Ekrn.exe in Task Manager

What is ekrn.exe?

The genuine ekrn.exe process is a software component belonging to ESET Smart Security. EKrn is an acronym for ESET Core Service. This process is in no way essential for Windows installation and can be uninstalled or disabled to reduce resource scarcity on your computer.

The purpose of the ekrn.exe process is to run a kernel driver associated with ESET Smart Security. This provides a collection of security processes including an antivirus scanner, a PUA (shields from potentially unwanted applications, a firewall, anti-phishing software and anti-ransomware shields.

Since this process includes an autorun task that should open it at every system startup, it is perfectly normal to see this process active within the Task Manager. However, what is not normal is to see that this process consumes a considerable amount of system resources in cases where ESET Smart Security is not running or is not performing any task that requires resources.

Is ekrn.exe safe?

As we explained above, the genuine ekrn.exe file should not be considered a security threat. Rather, is a basic kernel service used to run antimalware scans and maintenance operations.

However, you should not dismiss this threat so easily before making sure it is not malware. Please note that in 2019, there has been a wave of viruses with the ability to cover up. These things are designed to disguise themselves as trusted system processes to avoid detection by security suites.

To make sure this is not the case, you need to conduct a series of investigations to help you determine if the process you are carrying out is genuine or not.

The first is the first, you should start by checking if the main app is installed. If you already have ESET Smart Security installed, the executable is probably original. But if you don't have this security package installed and you never had it, the chances of a virus infection are very high.

If the first investigation raised other suspicions, you should keep looking at the location of the ekrn.exe process that you constantly see inside ekrn.exe. To do this, presione Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open a Task Manager window.

Once inside the Task Manager, select the Processes tab from the list of available options, then scroll down the list of background processes and locate the ekrn.exe file. Once I can locate it, right click on it and choose Open file location from the context menu that just appeared.

Opening the location of the koab1err.exe file

If the revealed location is different from C: N- Program files (x86) N-ESET NOD32 AntivirusN- O C: N- Program files (x86) N-ESET Smart SecurityN- ) and did not install the security suite in a custom location, it is even more likely that it is a security infection.

If you discover that the ekrn.exe process is in a suspicious location, how C: Windows or C: WindowsSystem32, you need to take a closer look at the file to determine if it is a malware infection or not.

To do this, you need to upload the ekrn.exe process to a virus database directory to find out if the file is malicious or not. The most popular directory of this type is VirusTotal, but you can use any other free equivalent. To scan the file with VirusTotal, go to this link (here), upload the file and wait for the scan to complete.

No threats detected with VirusTotal

If the analysis has clarified any doubt that it is a virus infection, you can skip the next section and go directly to $ 0027. Should I remove ekrn.exe? $ 0027.

However, if the VirusTotal scan revealed any security issues, continue to the next section for step-by-step instructions to deal with the virus infection.

Dealing with the security threat

If previous investigations have revealed that the file you are dealing with is not a genuine component that is part of ESET Smart Security, We strongly recommend that you perform a deep scan capable of identifying and removing all infected instances that have reached your computer. .

Note that if this scenario applies, there is most likely a malware infection behind the extraordinarily high resource usage of ekrn.exe.

When it comes to hiding malware, security researchers admit that they are notoriously more difficult to detect and quarantine (even on windows 10). Because of this, It is very important to use a competent security scanner that is equipped to deal with these types of problems..

If you already pay (or are you willing to pay) a premium subscription to a security scanner, go ahead and start a scan with it. But if you are looking for a free alternative that works just as well, look no further, Malwarebytes. A deep analysis with this tool will allow you to eliminate the vast majority of malware that is avoiding detection by processes such as elevated third-party processes. If you haven't done it before, follow this article (here) for step-by-step instructions.

Scan screen completed in Malwarebytes

If this test has been successful in identifying and treating the virus infection, restart your computer, then continue to the next section and see if ekrn.exe still consumes a lot of system resources.

Should I remove ekrn.exe?

If your previous investigations did not reveal any security concerns (or already removed them with a security scanner), you can safely conclude that it is not an infected item.

Go ahead and open another Task Manager window (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and see if the high resource usage of ekrn.exe still occurs.

If the same problem persists, you can quickly solve it by uninstalling the ekrn.exe process along with the main application, but keep in mind that this is equivalent to uninstalling your third party security suite.

Removing ekrn.exe will have no consequences for your operating system, apart from interfering with third party security package. But note that you can only finish the process by uninstalling the main application. Otherwise, the security suite will regenerate the ekrn.exe file on the next system startup.

However, as soon as i do, Windows Defender will reset itself as the default antivirus package for your computer.

If there is still high resource usage and you want to get rid of ekrn.exe along with the main application, continue with the next method.

How to remove ekrn.exe?

If you have done all the above checks to confirm that the file is really genuine and you still want to get rid of the ekrn.exe process due to excessive resource consumption, you can easily do it by removing it along with the main app.

Some affected users who also encountered this issue have confirmed that they managed to resolve the issue indefinitely by uninstalling ESET Smart Security in a conventional manner.

Here is a quick guide on how to uninstall ekrn.exe along with the main application (ESET Smart Security):

1. Press the Windows key + R to open a Run dialog. Once inside the Run box, scribe $ 0027appwiz.cpl $ 0027 and press Enter to open the Programs and Features window. Type appwiz.cpl and hit Enter to open the list of installed programs

2. Once you are inside the Programs and Features window, scroll down the list of installed applications and locate ESET Smart Security. Once i see it, right-click and choose Uninstall from the context menu that just appeared. Uninstall the security toolbar

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the operation, then restart the computer and see if the resource consumption is resolved on the next system boot.