Avast-scan.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Avast-scan.exe executable file comes from a malevolent program that can properly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin¹. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.

What is Avast-scan.exe process?

Avast-scan.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

Avast-scan.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as a processor for system work, so Avast-scan.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can lead to sad consequences.

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 Avast-scan.exe miner?

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

Firstly, Avast-scan.exe malware makes your system 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 needs, 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 experience incredibly slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

Avast-scan.exe Technical Summary.

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

“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners do to your system. Avast-scan.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malevolent operations correctly, 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 notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

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

Compact and covered CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Avast-scan.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure³. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

How did I get Avast-scan.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

One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

How to remove the Avast-scan.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 programs, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.