Agcinvokerutility.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey

Agcinvokerutility.exe is a executable file developed by Adobe and is a component of the Adobe Software Integrity Service. It operates in the background and safeguards your Adobe software against piracy and tampering. There should be no issues with the operation of this file.

In most cases, Agcinvokerutility.exe is a legitimate process. Malware can use the name of Agcinvokerutility.exe to conceal itself in the Task Manager, resulting in high CPU usage from the process. In that case, you’ll have problems with your PC.

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What is Agcinvokerutility.exe process?

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

As mentioned previously, Agcinvokerutility.exe is a legitimate process. However, malware can use its name to hide within a system. One indication that the process may be malicious is if it causes high CPU usage, sometimes up to 80%. This can be problematic for specific systems, mainly when performing tasks requiring much processing power.

Agcinvokerutility.exe Windows Process

Agcinvokerutility.exe – Very high CPU/GPU use

To determine if this is a duplicate file and if it is harmful, check its file location. The original Agcinvokerutility.exe file is typically located in the “C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\AdobeGCClient\” folder. To check the file location, right-click on it in the Task Manager and choose “Open file location” from the dialogue box. If the file location differs from the mentioned location, it may be malware.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working

How dangerous is the Agcinvokerutility.exe miner?

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

Initially, Agcinvokerutility.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

Agcinvokerutility.exe Technical Summary.

File NameAgcinvokerutility.exe
TypeTrojan Coin Miner
Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
Similar behaviorRzsdkserver.exe, Updaterstartuputility.exe, Dbxsvc.exe
RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Agcinvokerutility.exe removal.

“Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your computer. Agcinvokerutility.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious functions correctly, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and increase power costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

Tiny and well-protected processor cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Agcinvokerutility.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure1. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad case 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 Agcinvokerutility.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 widespread malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Agcinvokerutility.exe malware injection: 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. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Agcinvokerutility.exe is right one of them.

Unwanted banners adware

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 suspicious website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.

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

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

Removing such a virus involves using special program. Appropriate antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits each of the mentioned qualities.2

Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Agcinvokerutility.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is needed to halt 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

Remove Agcinvokerutility.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.

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

Scanning for Agcinvokerutility.exe

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 Agcinvokerutility.exe process

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

Remove Agcinvokerutility.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

Name: Agcinvokerutility.exe

Description: The Agcinvokerutility.exe is a benevolent executable file. Some malware camouflages itself as AGCInvokerUtility.exe. This file could cause your CPU to reach high temperatures for extended periods, potentially decreasing lifespan. To recognise a malicious copy, you need to check the location of the file and/or perform an anti-malware scan.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Trojan

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References

  1. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
  2. 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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