Backgroundtransferhost.exe executable file comes from a malicious application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unusable due to high CPU utilization.
What is Backgroundtransferhost.exe process?
Backgroundtransferhost.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Backgroundtransferhost.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Backgroundtransferhost.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Backgroundtransferhost.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Backgroundtransferhost.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because 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 sluggish efficiency. Pages can 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.
Backgroundtransferhost.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Backgroundtransferhost.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Bcdboot.exe, Baaupdate.exe, Backgroundtaskhost.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Backgroundtransferhost.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single negative activity coin miners perform to your computer. Backgroundtransferhost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the security components 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 load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity expenses. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Backgroundtransferhost.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Backgroundtransferhost.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 untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Backgroundtransferhost.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 Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC 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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