Auepmaster.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Auepmaster.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Auepmaster.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out in the previous paragraph, Auepmaster.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the effects are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this procedure. This virus does not take note of the fact that you may need to use your device for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Auepmaster.exe Windows Process

Auepmaster.exe – Very high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Auepmaster.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often may lead to sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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

  • 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 Auepmaster.exe miner?

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

    First of all, Auepmaster.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely slow performance. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

    Auepmaster.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameAuepmaster.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorMicrosoftsecurityapp.exe, Intelunisonclient.exe, Lightingservice.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Auepmaster.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Auepmaster.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security features 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 load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for long times can cause damage to your machine as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered processor fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Auepmaster.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Auepmaster.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 common malevolent programs among “severe” malware. Adware often acts as a carrier for Auepmaster.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Auepmaster.exe is right with 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 suspicious site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every setup. Before blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Auepmaster.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 requires using specific software. Effective antivirus must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. In addition, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the discussed characteristics.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Auepmaster.exe miner consumes a lot of processor 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 software, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Auepmaster.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 Auepmaster.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Auepmaster.exe

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