Epicgameslauncher.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Epicgameslauncher.exe process comes from a malevolent program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Epicgameslauncher.exe process?

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

As I have specified in the introduction, Epicgameslauncher.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be different, but the consequences are usually the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your personal computer to perform this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to make use of your device for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.

Epicgameslauncher.exe Windows Process

Epicgameslauncher.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage

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

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the video 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 conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit 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

  • 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 Epicgameslauncher.exe miner?

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

    First, Epicgameslauncher.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed 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 web browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.

    Epicgameslauncher.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameEpicgameslauncher.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorWmic.exe, Microsoftedgeupdate.exe, Nvscpapisvr.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Epicgameslauncher.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Epicgameslauncher.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To execute all malevolent functions properly, 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 number of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and well-protected processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Epicgameslauncher.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Epicgameslauncher.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 malicious programs among “major” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Epicgameslauncher.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Epicgameslauncher.exe is just among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious website 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 make money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Epicgameslauncher.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 demands the use of specific program. Effective antivirus must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. Additionally, it is better to have on-run security in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions 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 perfect option that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Epicgameslauncher.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial 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 Epicgameslauncher.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 Epicgameslauncher.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Epicgameslauncher.exe

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