Clap.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unfunctional due to high CPU usage.
What is Clap.exe process?
Clap.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the introduction, Clap.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the impacts are almost always the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your PC to run this process. This virus does not take note of the fact that you may want to make use of your device for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.
Clap.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Clap.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation 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 strong desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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
How dangerous is the Clap.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, Clap.exe malware makes your system 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 necessities, 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 sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Clap.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Clap.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Tone.exe, Xs.exe, Searchfilter.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Clap.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Clap.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent functions properly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for long times may cause damage to your machine as well as increase power bills. Hardware components are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Clap.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Clap.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 often acts as a carrier for Clap.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Clap.exe is right among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious 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. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Clap.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 needs the use of specific software. Effective security tool should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the discussed qualities.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Clap.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Clap.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 Clap.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Clap.exe
Description: The Clap.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Clap.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.
