My laptop has become extremely slow, and Task Manager shows hundreds of processes labeled "Node.js JavaScript runtime." They keep duplicating, sometimes initially appearing simply as "node," and they return after restarting the computer. Malwarebytes previously detected and quarantined spyware, which temporarily improved performance and stopped the processes from multiplying, but the issue came back later.
The most recent software I installed was an outdated tool for using Xbox 360 controller input with game streaming on my PC, along with related streaming software such as Moonlight or Apollo. It came from an archive site, although the original software was Microsoft-licensed. I also downloaded a couple of ROMs, but deleted them without running them. Could this behavior indicate malware, and what should I check next?
1 Answer
A large number of Node.js processes could be caused by legitimate software spawning workers, but the sudden duplication and the previous spyware detection make this worth investigating. Capture a full Task Manager screenshot, including the process names, resource usage, and ideally the file locations or command lines. That information can help identify which program is launching them instead of assuming every Node.js process is malicious.
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