Dax3api.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Dax3api.exe process is related to a harmful program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Dax3api.exe process?

Dax3api.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually mentioned before, Dax3api.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, but the impacts are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this procedure. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you probably need to use your desktop for other tasks – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.

Dax3api.exe Windows Process

Dax3api.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Dax3api.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can result in sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer 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

  • 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 Dax3api.exe miner?

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

    First, Dax3api.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Dax3api.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Dax3api.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Googlecrashhandler64.exe, Msdt.exe, Igfxcuiservicen.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Dax3api.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your computer. Dax3api.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. 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.

    Small and well-protected CPU cooling system is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Dax3api.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Dax3api.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 common malevolent programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Dax3api.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Dax3api.exe is just among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright 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 figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Dax3api.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 requires the use of special software. Proper antivirus should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have on-run protection in your security solution – to halt 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 goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the discussed characteristics.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Dax3api.exe miner takes 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Dax3api.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.

    Remove Dax3api.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Dax3api.exe

    Description: The Dax3api.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Dax3api.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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