You will usually find many services running on your PC, some of which are essential for your device. However, others might often seem to be malware or viruses. In such cases, you must not ignore the service in question and remove it in case it is malicious.
The “killer network service” running on your PC is usually not a virus or malware. Yet, it seems to be one as it often uses a significant amount of CPU resources. Viruses and malware are often disguised as genuine services on your PC after all.
The information given here should be helpful to you if you are not sure whether this service is a virus. You can also try the steps given below to fix the high CPU usage on your device if required.
Why do You have the Killer Network Service (KNS) on Your Device?
The KNS mainly speeds up your internet and it is a background service that you can choose to shut down anytime. However, you might want to leave it on to optimise your online gaming experience. Stopping this service is a viable option if you do not need it anyway or if the service is using too many resources.
How to know whether it is a Virus?
Various malicious software might try to infect your device under the disguise of the KNS. Now, that can usually help them remain undetected by your pre-installed as well as third-party antivirus.
So, you might want to check whether the service you find running on your device is a genuine one.
Check its File Location
How do you confirm whether the killer network service is malware? It is quite simple – you must enter the following file location in your File Explorer application:
C:\Program Files\killernetworking\killercontrolcenter
Does entering this path lead you to the KNS file? If yes, then the file is surely not malware. However, you have malware on your device if this path does not work.
You might want to find and remove any KNS files that do not have the aforementioned path. Check the paths of the files on their Properties tab if required to find their path.
Look for it on the Services Page
You might find the KNS only on the Task Manager if it is malware. After all, the Services page usually lists only genuine services on your PC. So, you must navigate to the Services section to look for the KNS there.
If you find the KNS on this page, it is probably a genuine background service. Otherwise, it is a virus and you must get rid of it.
This step is optional for determining the authenticity of KNS on your device. You must not proceed with deleting the service before checking its file location with the previous method.
What if the Killer Network Service is Using too many CPU Resources?
The KNS often needs more CPU resources on your device than you might want. So, you would have to disable it to prevent an increase in CPU usage. The best way to do that is to stop the service right away on your PC.
There are other viable ways to lower the CPU usage too as we shall see.
- Disable the Killer Network Service
You should find all the services running on your PC in the Services section. So, open the Services page by entering “services.msc” in the Run command. You can also simply use the Start menu search bar to navigate.
Find the KNS listed there and open the options or right-click it. Then, opt for disabling it on your device and exit the Services section to check the CPU usage.
Set it to Manual Startup
You need not necessarily disable the service if you want to enable it sometime later. Instead, you can manually do it, which means it would not start automatically after the system login. You can then come back anytime to start this service again.
- Stop it Using the Resource Monitor
You can also use the Resource monitor to stop the killer network service on Windows Vista and later systems. All you need to do is open the Run dialog and enter “resmon” in it to open the program. You can find the details of the resource allocation on your device using the Resource Monitor.
Find the KNS under the Processes section and right-click on it to view the options. Then, click on End Process to shut it down on your PC. This should stop the KNS right away and reduce CPU usage on your device. However, this would not be enough if you are running other resource-demanding programs.
- Delete the Killer Network Service
Do you want to completely get rid of the KNS from your device? You can do that anytime through the Apps and Features on your PC. Find the Killer Performance Suite there, click on it and opt for uninstalling it. This will remove the KNS completely from your device without causing any harm.
Check the CPU usage on your device once you have removed the KNS. You might have to take other steps to reduce resource usage if it remains high. Alternatively, you can restore the system to a point where this problem did not occur.
- Restore a Previous System Point
Have you created restore points for your Windows system? If yes, then now might be the time to use them. Open the Recovery section on your Control Panel and click on Open System Restore. Click on Next and select the system point that you want to restore on your device.
You must note that taking these steps would not affect your personal files. However, it would remove any apps that were not installed before you created the system point you have restored.
Conclusion
You do not usually have to worry about the killer network service being malware. Yet, it might cause issues, such as high CPU usage on your device. You must proceed with one of the aforementioned steps in such situations for a solution.
