Etcmk.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unfunctional due to high CPU use.
What is Etcmk.exe process?
Etcmk.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Etcmk.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Etcmk.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may cause sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Etcmk.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First off, Etcmk.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 struggle with incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Etcmk.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Etcmk.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Xservicegpu.exe, Kthmimu.exe, Serviceks.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Etcmk.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Etcmk.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, running at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as increase power costs. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Etcmk.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Etcmk.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 item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Etcmk.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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor 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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