Cloud.exe executable file belongs to a harmful application that can accurately be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unusable because of high CPU use.
What is Cloud.exe process?
Cloud.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out before, Cloud.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, but the impacts are usually the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this operation. This virus doesn’t take note of the fact that you may need to use your PC for other activities – it will constantly consume over 80% of your processor power.
Cloud.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Cloud.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, 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 “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Cloud.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Cloud.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.
Cloud.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Cloud.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Upsilon.exe, Activator.exe, Qemu.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Cloud.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your personal computer. Cloud.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the security components 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 load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device as well as increase power costs. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Cloud.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Cloud.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 among “serious” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Cloud.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Cloud.exe is just one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Cloud.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 requires the use of specific software. Proper anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Cloud.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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.
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 apps, along with 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 Cloud.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 Cloud.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Cloud.exe
Description: The Cloud.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Cloud.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.
