00.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

00.exe executable file is related to a malicious program that can properly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional as a result of high CPU use.

What is 00.exe process?

00.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
00.exe Windows Process

00.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so 00.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may result in unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the 00.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Initially, 00.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.

    00.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name 00.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Xservicegpu.exe, Kthmimu.exe, Serviceks.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic 00.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. 00.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To complete all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for long times may cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by 00.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get 00.exe coin miner virus?

    Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the 00.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Booting the PC into Safe Mode with Networking

    Press the Start button, then choose Power, and click on Reboot while holding the Shift key on the keyboard.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    Windows will reboot into recovery mode. In that mode, choose Troubleshoot→ Startup Settings→ Safe Mode with Networking. Press the corresponding button on your keyboard to choose that option.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    Security engineer focused on malware behavior, removal workflows, and Windows hardening. Robert reviews threat articles for practical accuracy, checking detection names, symptoms, and cleanup steps before publication.

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