1.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
1.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is 1.exe process?

1.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have pointed out before, 1.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the impacts are generally the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this procedure. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to use your PC for other activities – it will always take over 80% of your processor power.

1.exe Windows Process

1.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so 1.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often can cause sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

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 1.exe miner?

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

    First, 1.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

    1.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name 1.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior V4_tool.exe, Updgt.exe, Swup.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic 1.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary negative thing coin miners perform to your PC. 1.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as raise power bills. 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 covered processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by 1.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get 1.exe coin miner virus?

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

    Coin miners are one of the most prevalent malevolent programs among “severe” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for 1.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and 1.exe is right one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the 1.exe miner from my PC?

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

    Eliminating such a virus needs making use of specific program. Appropriate security tool must have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak computers. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the discussed features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since 1.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is needed to stop it before launching the security program. Otherwise, your scan will last for years, even though the GridinSoft program is pretty lightweight.

    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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-critical operating 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.

    Remove 1.exe coin miner virus with GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware. You can use this anti-malware program for free during its 6-day trial period. In that term, all functions are available, and it takes no payments to remove malware from your system.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    When the scan is finished, press the Clean Now button to remove all detected elements from your system. This procedure takes less than a minute.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove 1.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: 1.exe

    Description: The 1.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This 1.exe will create your CPU to go for very warm temperatures for prolonged periods of time, which could reduce the life of the CPU.

    Operating System: Windows

    Application Category: Trojan

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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