Cacls.exe process belongs to a malevolent program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Cacls.exe process?
Cacls.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out earlier, Cacls.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your personal computer to run this procedure. This virus does not pay attention to the fact that you may want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your CPU power.
Cacls.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Cacls.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end PC is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such 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 Cacls.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First off, Cacls.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all CPU power is used by a virus. 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 up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.
Cacls.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Cacls.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Baldi.exe, Trojan.win32, Bthudtask.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cacls.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your PC. Cacls.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your device and increase electricity expenses. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Cacls.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Cacls.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Cacls.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Cacls.exe is just with them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Cacls.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Getting rid of such a virus needs the use of special tool. Effective antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Furthermore, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned features.4
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cacls.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, 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 software, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Cacls.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 Cacls.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Cacls.exe
Description: The Cacls.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Cacls.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.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
