Dnscache.exe executable file comes from a harmful application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Dnscache.exe process?
Dnscache.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned in the introduction, Dnscache.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, but the impacts are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this procedure. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to use your system for other activities – it will consistently take over 80% of your processor power.
Dnscache.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Dnscache.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may lead to bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. 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
How dangerous is the Dnscache.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Dnscache.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Dnscache.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Dnscache.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Mufusiso.exe, Vmmem.exe, Novpop.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Dnscache.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Dnscache.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes 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 computer slow, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and raise power costs. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Dnscache.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards 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 exploited in such a way.
How did I get Dnscache.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 “major” malware. Adware sometimes works as a carrier for Dnscache.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Dnscache.exe is right among them.4
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 untrustworthy site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Dnscache.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 involves using 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 systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features 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 perfect option that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Dnscache.exe miner takes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Dnscache.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 Dnscache.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Dnscache.exe
Description: The Dnscache.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Dnscache.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 Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
