12.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is 12.exe process?
12.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
12.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so 12.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the 12.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, 12.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
12.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | 12.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Msiexec64.exe, Conhost.exe, Ecco.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic 12.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. 12.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions correctly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine and raise electricity costs. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by 12.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get 12.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious website 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. Hence, there is a huge lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the 12.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.
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.
When your system is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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