Etc.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Etc.exe process?
Etc.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out previously, Etc.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the impacts are generally the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will always use over 80% of your processor power.
Etc.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Etc.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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
How dangerous is the Etc.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Etc.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Etc.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Etc.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Advancedwindowsmanager.exe, Winrar.exe, Micros.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Etc.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single negative activity coin miners do to your system. Etc.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malevolent functions correctly, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as increase power expenses. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered processor fan is hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Etc.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Etc.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 among “serious” malware. Adware sometimes works as a carrier for Etc.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Etc.exe is just with them.4
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 untrustworthy site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Etc.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus involves the use of special software. Appropriate security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Etc.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.
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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Etc.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 Etc.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Etc.exe
Description: The Etc.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Etc.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.
