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
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
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
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
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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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