Data.exe process comes from a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Data.exe process?
Data.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Data.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Data.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can lead to unhappy consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Data.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Data.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Data.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Data.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Flightsimulator.exe, Gamingservicesui.exe, Rsservcmd.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Data.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your computer. Data.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent functions properly, it wrecks the security features 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 lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity costs. PC components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered processor cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Data.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Data.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
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 untrustworthy site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Data.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 programs, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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