Dism.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Dism.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent program that can properly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
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What is Dism.exe process?

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

As I have specified earlier, Dism.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the consequences are generally the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this procedure. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably need to use your computer for other tasks – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.

Dism.exe Windows Process

Dism.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Dism.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Dism.exe miner?

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

    First, Dism.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a virus. 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 exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.

    Dism.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Dism.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions effectively, it ruins the protection mechanisms 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 coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your device as well as increase electricity costs. PC components are created 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 crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Dism.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Dism.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 prevalent malevolent programs among “severe” viruses. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Dism.exe malware infiltration: it shows 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 say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Dism.exe is right among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Dism.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 using specific tool. Appropriate security tool should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. Furthermore, 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 various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Dism.exe miner takes a lot of processor power, it is required to halt 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, 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 system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Dism.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 Dism.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Dism.exe

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