Applicationframehost.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Applicationframehost.exe executable file is related to a malevolent application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Applicationframehost.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned before, Applicationframehost.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the impacts are usually the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your personal computer to conduct this procedure. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your device for other tasks – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Applicationframehost.exe Windows Process

Applicationframehost.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Applicationframehost.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause sad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Applicationframehost.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Applicationframehost.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is used by a malware. 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 web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely 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.

    Applicationframehost.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameApplicationframehost.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorApphostregistrationverifier.exe, Symerr.exe, Agentactivationruntimestarter.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Applicationframehost.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners do to your PC. Applicationframehost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent operations successfully, it wrecks 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 notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, running at peak power for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. PC components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and covered processor fan is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Applicationframehost.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case 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 Applicationframehost.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 common malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Applicationframehost.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Applicationframehost.exe is just among 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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Applicationframehost.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 specific program. Effective anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak systems. In addition, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the mentioned features.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Applicationframehost.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Applicationframehost.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 Applicationframehost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Applicationframehost.exe

    Description: The Applicationframehost.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Applicationframehost.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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