Amdow.exe executable file comes from a malevolent application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Amdow.exe process?
Amdow.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Amdow.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Amdow.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may result in bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Amdow.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Amdow.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.
Amdow.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Amdow.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Armouryswagent.exe, Regtool.exe, Aspowerbar.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Amdow.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Amdow.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the protection mechanisms 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 ton of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your device as well as increase power expenses. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Amdow.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely a bad situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Amdow.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 thing on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper 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 Amdow.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 applications, along with 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 processor 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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