notepad using high cpu while running in background

Question

So randomly i was playing minecraft and my game started to lag intensely so i checked task manager and it said notepad is using 50-70% of my cpu, i've attempted to end task many times but it still reappears. The file location is still inside system32 i dont know what else to do.

Answer 1

Hello,

That really looks like a case of process hollowing. A hidden script or virus is launching the legitimate system32 notepad completely in the background and injecting a malicious payload right into it, very likely a cryptominer that steals your system resources.

The best and cleanest way to wipe something like this out is a deep offline sweep since it catches the bad code completely off guard before windows even loads up. Open Windows Security from your start menu, click over to Virus and threat protection, click on the Scan options text, pick the Microsoft Defender Offline scan option, and press the Scan now button.

Make sure you safely quit your game before doing this since your computer is going to automatically restart immediately. It will boot into a special scanner to hunt everything down and once it eventually loads you back to your normal desktop that stubborn ghost process should hopefully be gone.