Alg.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can accurately be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Alg.exe process?
Alg.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out in the introduction, Alg.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this procedure. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.
Alg.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Alg.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often may lead to bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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
How dangerous is the Alg.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Alg.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow performance. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Alg.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Alg.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Bcdedit.exe, Iccproxy.exe, Backgroundtransferhost.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Alg.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad thing coin miners do to your computer. Alg.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions correctly, it wrecks the protection 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 number of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity costs. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Alg.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Alg.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 the most widespread malevolent programs among “serious” viruses. Adware often functions as a carrier for Alg.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that approximately 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Alg.exe is right among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Alg.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 demands the use of special app. Effective anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. In addition, it is better to have proactive protection in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Alg.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU 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.
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 software, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Alg.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.
After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.
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.
Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.
Remove Alg.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Alg.exe
Description: The Alg.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Alg.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
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
