ghost64.exe is a classic case of a legitimate tool name being hijacked by malware. In an enterprise environment with Symantec Ghost, it is harmless. For the average home user who has never touched disk cloning software, it is almost certainly a cryptocurrency miner or a remote access Trojan.
Do not ignore it. A quick check using Task Manager and VirusTotal takes five minutes and can save you from data theft, hardware damage from overheating, or identity fraud. If in doubt, remove it—you can always reinstall legitimate software later.
Stay safe, and always verify before you terminate. ghost64exe
Last updated: October 2025. This article is for educational purposes. Always consult a professional IT technician if you are uncertain about modifying system files.
If the malware has caused system instability: ghost64
Appendix A: YARA Rule for ghost64.exe
rule Ghost64_Unholy_Hollow
meta:
description = "Detects potential ghost64.exe packed variant with custom .ghost section"
strings:
$s1 = ".ghost" fullword ascii
$s2 = "VirtualAlloc" wide ascii
$s3 = "NtUnmapViewOfSection" ascii
condition:
uint16(0) == 0x5A4D and $s1 and any of ($s2,$s3)
Appendix B: IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) Last updated: October 2025
This paper is provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity research purposes only.