Have you recently checked your computer with an antivirus that also checks open ports and found an OpenMeter.exe or CodeMeter.exe on your system? Let’s figure out what this executable is and whether it is safe or not!
About CodeMeter.Exe – Use Cases
CodeMeter is a licensing product for software. Basically it creates licenses for a program that you recently downloaded. If you have found it on your system it probably means that one of the tools you’ve installed recently includes CodeMeter. That in itself is not an issue, the problem is that CodeMeter is opening a port to the outside world without asking permission that could be exploited by viruses to infiltrate your system. Of course they’d first have to find a vulnerability, but it’s a possibility so anything that does that without asking for your permission should be considered a no-go.
NOTE: You cant remove Codemeter.exe without breaking one of your programs so deleting it should be done only in extreme cases where it consumes 100% CPU or similar.
CodeMeter licensing is developed by Wibu AG and can be used if you want to develop a program:
http://www.wibu.com/codemeter
NOTE: CodeMeter often runs as a service, so it should be sufficient to disable this service, rather than removing CodeMeter from your machine.
How Do I Remove This Executable? (Only Disable First!)
Before we remove it entirely, let us try to disable the service first and see if that clears up your system so it runs smoothly again
1. Step So, before we delete the executable located in C:\Program Files (x86)\CodeMeter\Runtime\bin we are going to disable the CodeMeter service in order to avoid any Windows error like “this executable is currently in use”.
2. Step Open Run (Windows key + R at same time) and enter services.msc
3. Step Click on any entry (blue marker) and hit C on your keyboard to jump to services starting with the letter C.
4. Step Lo and behold: There is an entry called CodeMeter Runtime Server! What a surprise. Right-click on it and click on Properties !
5. Step Select Disabled from the dropdown and make sure to click STOP AND Apply
Where is the executable, I still want to delete codemeter.exe
If you’re really paranoid and don’t want any program to re-enable it, you can now delete the executable in C:\Program Files (x86)\CodeMeter\Runtime\bin or move it one directory up. However, the service is disabled now and the port will be closed, meaning it cannot be exploited.
Is It Safe To Disable CodeMeter?
It is possible that one of your programs may stop working IF it enforces real-time licensing, sometimes developers should have a fallback but that is not a given.
Re-enable CodeMeter if you find a program that stops working immediately after disabling this service. If you’re a forgetful person, make a note somewhere so you will remember to enable it on demand later on.
Question: Why Is CodeMeter Opening Port 22350 To The Outside World?
Most programs that communicate with other servers in the background require a port for this type of communication. Licensing software properly absolutely requires an open port. Generally, this is not a problem but if the program is infrequently updated exploits from the black market can be used to compromise a machine running such a service.
However, the downside is that your software may stop working if it detects it can’t connect to the licensing server on the other end.