.device.exe process comes from a malevolent program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!
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What is .device.exe process?
.device.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned in the introduction, .device.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to run this operation. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably want to use your machine for other activities – it will always use over 80% of your processor power.
.device.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so .device.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may lead to bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money 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 .device.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, .device.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
.device.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | .device.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Powermgr.exe, Wallpaper32.exe, Onedrivesetup.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic .device.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. .device.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions successfully, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and raise electricity bills. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected processor fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by .device.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely a bad case when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get .device.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 common malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for .device.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and .device.exe is right among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the .device.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 needs making use of specific app. Effective anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak computers. In addition, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since .device.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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-critical 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.
Remove .device.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 .device.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: .device.exe
Description: The .device.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This .device.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 GridinSoft Threat Encyclopedia.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
