From our investigations, the issue is either caused by an incomplete/corrupted installation of IOBit Malware Fighter or by a powerful malware that deliberately deletes the main executables of the installed security suites in order to avoid picking up by scans.
What is IMF.exe?
Imf.exe is a type of executable associated with IOBit Malware Fighter – a security scanner developed for Windows operating systems. The imf.exe process is known to take up quite a lot of system resources, but it’s instrumental in removing viruses and malware via the IOBit Malware Fighter suite. IoBit Malware Fighter is capable of detecting and removing spyware, adware, malware, trojans and various bots. As long as the imf.exe executable is legitimate, you should not worry about any security issues.
Potential security threat?
Although we haven’t managed to identify any malware intruders that camouflage as the IMF executable, you can never be too careful. One of the best ways to determine if you’re dealing with a genuine executable is to determine it’s location. To do this, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and locate the Imf.exe process in the Processes tab. Once you see it, right click on it and choose Open File Location. If the revealed location is different than C: \ Program Files \ iobit \ iobit malware fighter , you might be actually dealing with a malware infection. In this case, you should use a powerful malware remover like Malwarebytes to get rid of the infection. Here’s a quick guide (here) on how to remove viruses and malware with Malwarebytes. Note: Scanning with Malwarebytes is also effective if you’re seeing the “IMF.exe – System Error/The program can’t start” at every startup. This is usually a sign that a malware is trying to limit the capabilities of security scanners.
Should I remove imf.exe?
Keep in mind that imf.exe is a core process of IObit Malware Fighter. Removing the only the executable will likely render the software useless and trigger the “IMF.exe – System Error/The program can’t start” every time the executable is needed. However, if you find that the IMF executable is using too many system resources, you can remove the security suite altogether. To remove the imf.exe, open up a Run command (Windows key + R) and type “appwiz.cpl” in the associated box and hit Enter to open Programs and Files.
In Programs and Files, find the IoBit Malware Fighter, then right-click on it and choose Uninstall. Once the software has been removed, reboot your PC. Note: If you can also uninstall the security suite by navigating to the location of the uninstaller (C: \ Program Files \ IObit \ IObit Malware Fighter \ unins000.exe) and running it.
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