Under normal circumstances, the csrss.exe file isn’t malware or a virus, which means you can’t safely delete or quarantine it. However, there is an easy way to verify whether you’re dealing with the actual csrss.exe or an imposter. If your system has been infected with malware pretending to be csrss.exe, then the best course of action is to remove it.
What Is Client Server Runtime Process?
When you open the Task Manager on any Windows computer, you’ll find at least one instance, and often several instances, of something called Client Server Runtime Process. This is the display name that Windows uses for csrss.exe, which stands for client server runtime subsystem. The Client Server Runtime Process has been around since the early days of Windows. Before 1996, it was responsible for the graphical subsystem. That use has changed throughout the years, but it’s still responsible for some critical work behind the scenes in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.
Is It Safe to Disable Csrss.exe?
Even though csrss.exe has limited functionality in modern versions of Windows, compared to obsolete versions, it’s still critical. That means you can’t kill, disable, delete, or quarantine csrss.exe without experiencing severe consequences. If you kill a legitimate csrss.exe process, your system may become unstable. In most cases, your computer will shut down. The computer typically starts up fine afterward, but deleting or quarantining the file may result in a computer that is unusable without professional intervention.
What Causes Csrss.Exe to Use Excessive GPU or CPU?
Under normal circumstances, csrss.exe should only use a small amount of system resources. If you open Task Manager and see an instance of Client Server Runtime Process using an excessive amount of system resources like CPU, GPU, or memory, that usually indicates some type of problem. If you’re using Windows 7, you should disable Aero. If you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8, update your graphics drivers or roll back to an earlier driver if you updated recently. In most cases, the cause behind csrss.exe using excessive resources is that you’re dealing with a fake.
Could Csrss.exe Be a Virus?
While csrss.exe is a legitimate file and an essential part of Windows, some malware and viruses sneak through with fake names. That means it’s possible to have malware that uses the csrss.exe file name or slight variations of that name. If you suspect that your computer may be infected with a csrss.exe virus or malware, it’s easy to figure that out. This is because legitimate copies of the csrss.exe file are only found in two different folders. If you find a Client Server Runtime Process in your Task Manager that points to any other folder or to a file that isn’t named csrss.exe, that means you have some type of malware or virus. Here’s how to tell if an instance of Client Server Runtime process is legitimate:
What to Do if You Think Malware Is Masquerading as Csrss.exe
If you suspect that you have malware or a virus running on your computer that’s disguised as an innocuous Client Server Runtime Process, the best thing to do is to scan your computer for malware. While you can safely delete a csrss.exe file if it’s located outside your System32 or SysWOW64 folder, doing so may not actually remove the malware. If you opt to delete such a file, always scan your computer afterward with at least one free spyware or malware removal tool. In some situations, you may find that you can’t delete the malicious csrss.exe file or that you have malware that actively prevents you from running a malware removal tool. In those cases, you’ll want to use a bootable antivirus tool on a flash drive or CD.
