Archiver.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Archiver.exe executable file is related to a harmful application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin¹. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU utilization.

What is Archiver.exe process?

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

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

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Archiver.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can cause bad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

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 Archiver.exe miner?

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

First, Archiver.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 experience incredibly slow performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

Archiver.exe Technical Summary.

File Name	Archiver.exe
Type	Trojan Coin Miner
Detection Name	Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
Distribution Method	Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
Similar behavior	Aruler.exe, Shtirlitz.exe, Device_detection.exe
Removal	Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Archiver.exe removal.

“Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your PC. Archiver.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, performing at peak level for long times may cause damage to your device and increase power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

Small and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Archiver.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure³. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

How did I get Archiver.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 PC is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing 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 program as well as new parts for your PC.

How to remove the Archiver.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 software, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.