Backgroundtaskhost.exe process comes from a harmful program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
What is Backgroundtaskhost.exe process?
Backgroundtaskhost.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Backgroundtaskhost.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Backgroundtaskhost.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often may result in sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Backgroundtaskhost.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Backgroundtaskhost.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, 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 experience exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Backgroundtaskhost.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Backgroundtaskhost.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Cttunesvr.exe, Axinstui.exe, Auditpol.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Backgroundtaskhost.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your PC. Backgroundtaskhost.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions successfully, it wrecks the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase power expenses. PC components 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 CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Backgroundtaskhost.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Backgroundtaskhost.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 thing on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a very big lure to add 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 OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Backgroundtaskhost.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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU 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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