Cheat.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Cheat.exe process?
Cheat.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out earlier, Cheat.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the effects are usually the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your PC to perform this operation. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your system for other activities – it will always use over 80% of your CPU power.
Cheat.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Cheat.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Cheat.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, Cheat.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor 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 struggle with extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Cheat.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Cheat.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Remove.drm, Remove.cr_hand, Cr_auto.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cheat.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad activity coin miners perform to your computer. Cheat.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious functions effectively, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and raise electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Cheat.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Cheat.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 widespread malicious programs through “serious” viruses. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Cheat.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Cheat.exe is right one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Cheat.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 involves making use of special tool. Effective security tool should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. On top of that, it is better to have proactive protection in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features 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 superb choice that fits each of the specified qualities.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cheat.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, 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.
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 apps, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Cheat.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 Cheat.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Cheat.exe
Description: The Cheat.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Cheat.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.
