C.exe process belongs to a malicious application that can properly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is C.exe process?
C.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the introduction, C.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to perform this process. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you probably want to make use of your device for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.
C.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so C.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may cause sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong PC is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money 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
How dangerous is the C.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, C.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
C.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | C.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Sessionmsg.exe, Explorer.exe, Moxia.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic C.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. C.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the security mechanisms 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 lot of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, running at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device and increase power bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, 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 C.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get C.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 widespread malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for C.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and C.exe is right one of them.4
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 suspicious website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing 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 PC.
How to remove the C.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus demands making use of specific tool. Proper anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak computers. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since C.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is needed to halt 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.
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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial 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.
Remove C.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.
After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.
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.
Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.
Remove C.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: C.exe
Description: The C.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This C.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
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
