Cash.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Cash.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable because of high CPU use.
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What is Cash.exe process?

Cash.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually mentioned before, Cash.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the consequences are usually identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your PC to run this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may need to use your desktop for other tasks – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Cash.exe Windows Process

Cash.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Cash.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often can result in sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who make profit 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

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Cash.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Cash.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

    Cash.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. [cash.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malevolent functions successfully, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as increase power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered CPU cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Cash.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 surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Cash.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 the most common malevolent programs among “severe” viruses. Adware often serves as a carrier for Cash.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Cash.exe is just one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Cash.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Eliminating such a virus involves making use of special software. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have on-run protection in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the specified features.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since [cash.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is needed to stop 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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Cash.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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Wha is Cash.exe Virus ⛏️ Miner?

    Name: Cash.exe

    Description: The Cash.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Cash.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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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