What Is ACU.exe? Is It A Virus Or Malware? Fix?

What is ACU?

ACU is an executable exe file which belongs to the Atheros Client Utility process which comes along with the Atheros Client Installation Software developed by Atheros Communications software developer.

If the ACU process running in the Windows Operating system is important, then you should be careful while deleting it. Sometimes ACU process might be using CPU or GPU too much. If it is malware or a virus, it might be running in the background without you knowing it.

The .exe extension of the ACU file specifies that it is an executable file for Windows Operating Systems like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

Malware and viruses are also transmitted through exe files. So we must be sure before running any unknown executable file on our computers or laptops.

Now we will check if the ACU file is a virus or malware. Whether it should be deleted to keep your computer safe? Read more below.

Is ACU safe to run? Is it a virus or malware?

Let’s check the location of this exe file to determine whether this is legit software or a virus. The location of this file and dangerous rating is.

File Location / Rating: C:Program Files (x86)Atheros

To check whether the exe file is legit you can start the Task Manager. Then click on the columns field and add Verified Signer as one of the columns.

Now, look at the Verified Signer value for ACU process if it says “Unable to verify” then the file may be a virus.

File Name	ACU
Software Developer	Atheros Communications
File Type	EXE
File Location	C:Program Files (x86)Atheros
Software	Atheros Client Installation

 

Over All Ratings for ACU : 4/5

Next, check the developer of ACU. If the developer of the software is legitimate, then it is not a virus or malware. If the developer is not listed or seems suspicious, you can remove it using the uninstall program.

Based on our analysis, we have displayed our result of whether this ACU.exe file is a virus or malware below.

How to check if ACU is a security issue?

We also recommend using the Security task manager application to find which processes are unwanted in your Windows computer and can be a security issue. Here is how you can find whether ACU is a security threat using the Security Task Manager application.

1. Download the Security Task Manager application and install it on your computer.
2. Run it as administrator. It will now show all the applications that are running on your computer.
3. Now it will show the Rating, file location, company, and product name for each process.
4. Now click on the rating column to sort based on ratings.
5. You will now see which process has the worst rating easily so can decide ACU is given a bad rating or not easily.
6. You will also find whether the ACU process is important or not with this feature. Here is a screenshot of the software running on our windows computer.

How To Remove or Uninstall ACU

To remove ACU from your computer do the following steps one by one. This will uninstall ACU if it was part of the software installed on your computer.

1. If the file is part of a software program, then it will also have an uninstall program. Then you can run the Uninstaller located at directory like C:Program Files>Atheros Communications>Atheros Client Installation >Atheros Client Utility> ACU_uninstall.exe.
2. Or the ACU was installed using the Windows Installer then to uninstall it Go to System Settings and open Add Or Remove Programs Option.
3. Then Search for ACU or the software name Atheros Client Installation in the search bar or try out the developer name Atheros Communications.
4. Then click on it and select the Uninstall Program option to remove ACU file from your computer. Now the software Atheros Client Installation program along with the file ACU will be removed from your computer.

How do I stop ACU process?

In order to stop the acu.exe process from running you either have to uninstall the program associated with the file or if it’s a virus or malware, remove it using a Malware and Virus removal tool.

Is ACU a Virus or Malware?

As per the information we have the ACU . But a good file might be infected with malware or a virus to disguise itself.

Is ACU causing High Disk Usage?

You can find this by opening the Task Manager application (Right-click on Windows Taskbar and choose Task Manager) and clicking on the Disk option at the top to sort and find out the disk usage of ACU.

Is ACU causing High CPU Usage?

You can find this by opening the Task Manager application and finding the ACU.exe process and checking the CPU usage percentage.

How to check GPU Usage of ACU?

To check ACU GPU usage. Open the Task Manager window and look for the ACU process in the name column and check the GPU usage column.

I hope you were able to learn more about the ACU file and how to remove it. Also, share this article on social media if you find it helpful.

Let us know in the comments below if you face any other ACU related issues.