Etehe.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Etehe.exe executable file belongs to a harmful application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Etehe.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out before, Etehe.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the effects are usually the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your personal computer to perform this operation. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to make use of your device for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.

Etehe.exe Windows Process

Etehe.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Etehe.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can cause unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who make profit 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

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Etehe.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Etehe.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. 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 experience exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.

    Etehe.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameEtehe.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorSxtrace.exe, Asdasd.exe, Desktop.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Etehe.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary bad activity coin miners do to your system. Etehe.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions effectively, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Etehe.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Etehe.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 through “serious” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Etehe.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Etehe.exe is just among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Etehe.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 needs using specific program. Effective security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the mentioned features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Etehe.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, 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.

    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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Etehe.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 Etehe.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Etehe.exe

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