Dllhostn.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Dllhostn.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can properly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU use.
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What is Dllhostn.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned before, Dllhostn.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the effects are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your desktop to perform this operation. This virus does not care about the fact that you may want to use your computer for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your processor power.

Dllhostn.exe Windows Process

Dllhostn.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Dllhostn.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can result in unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Dllhostn.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Dllhostn.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly slow performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Dllhostn.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Dllhostn.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions properly, it wrecks the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to 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 long times may cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered processor fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Dllhostn.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto 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 Dllhostn.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 widespread malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Dllhostn.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Dllhostn.exe is just one of 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 PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK 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 figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Dllhostn.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 making use of specific app. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. On top of that, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for different 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 all of the mentioned qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Dllhostn.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.

    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 computer 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 allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Dllhostn.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 Dllhostn.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Dllhostn.exe

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