The ctfmgr.exe file is an executable process that has been identified by the system security programs of many users as a malicious application associated with a variant of the Worm.Win32.AutoRun.rl malware, which is a family of worms and Trojans reported to infect unprotected Windows-based systems with outdated OS security certificates and an unsecured Windows System Registry. Other user groups claim that their anti-malware tools flag the ctfmgr.exe process as a malware item related to variants of the WORM_SILLY.DN program, which is another family of worms and Trojans known to exploit unencrypted TCP/IP network ports of unprotected systems, especially computers with an unsecured Windows System Registry. Both user groups reported that the ctfmgr.exe malware is embedded with autorun functionalities or self-activating code that can allow the ctfmgr.exe malware to automatically initialize during system startup upon its initial placement and activation in the system, in order to create and inject keys and entries into the unsecured Windows System Registry of the unprotected system. These registry strings are said to instruct the Windows-based computer to allow the ctfmgr.exe process to automatically run upon system startup and operate as a cloacked or hidden background process while it creates copies of itself and places these duplicates in various locations across the internal and external data storage disks of the system. These users also claim that the ctfmgr.exe process is also capable of exploiting various system vulnerabilities, such as unencrypted TCP/IP network ports and unprotected system resources like address books of installed IM (Instant Messaging) tools and email client programs. Upon exploiting these vulnerabilities and system resources, the ctfmgr.exe malware is said to transmit copies of itself via email or IMs (Instant Messages) to the contacts included in the compromised IM and email client address books of the user. Some of these users also reported that the ctfmgr.exe malware can use these unencrypted TCP/IP network ports to upload private user information and Internet surfing details that can be secretly collected by the ctfmgr.exe malware from the infected system and its installed Web browsers to remote servers that are said to be managed by the authors of the ctfmgr.exe malware, or for this malicious application to receive and perform instructions and directives from these remote servers.

Most non-system processes that are running can be stopped because they are not involved in running your operating system. ctfmgr.exe. is used by Worm.Win32.AutoRun.rl and WORM_SILLY.DN, If you shut down ctfmgr.exe, it will likely start again at a later time either after you restart your computer or after an application start. To stop ctfmgr.exe, permanently you need to uninstall the application that runs this process which in this case is Worm.Win32.AutoRun.rl and WORM_SILLY.DN, from your system.

After uninstalling applications it is a good idea to scan you Windows registry for any left over traces of applications. Registry Reviver by ReviverSoft is a great tool for doing this.

The ReviverSoft experts have not yet reviewed ctfmgr.exe

A process usually a part of an installed application such as Worm.Win32.AutoRun.rl and WORM_SILLY.DN, or your operating system that is responsible for running in functions of that application. Some application require that they have processes running all the time so they can do things such as check for updates or notify you when you get an instant message. Some poorly written applications have many processes that run that may not be required and take up valuable processing power within your computer.

We have not received any complaint about this process having higher than normal impact on PC performance. If you have had bad experiences with it please let us know in a comment below and we will investigate it further.

The first thing you should do if ctfmgr.exe. is causing errors on your computer is to run a Windows registry scan with Registry Reviver If you are still seeing errors after this you should uninstall the program that ctfmgr.exe, belongs to, in this case Worm.Win32.AutoRun.rl and WORM_SILLY.DN