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.
What is Auepmaster.exe process?
Auepmaster.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
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
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
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 Name | Auepmaster.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Microsoftsecurityapp.exe, Intelunisonclient.exe, Lightingservice.exe |
| Removal | Download 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
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
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, 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.
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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