Factor.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can properly be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional because of high CPU usage.
What is Factor.exe process?
Factor.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the previous paragraph, Factor.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the effects are usually the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your desktop to perform this process. This virus does not care about the fact that you may need to use your device for other tasks – it will consistently take over 80% of your processor power.
Factor.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Factor.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the activity 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 high-end machine is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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 Factor.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Factor.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating profits 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 likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Factor.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Factor.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Altruistics.exe, Hidmonitorsvc.exe, Avastui.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Factor.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your system. Factor.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent functions effectively, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this trojan 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 system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for long times may cause damage to your device and increase electricity costs. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, 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 unusually high load caused by Factor.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Factor.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 common malevolent programs through “severe” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Factor.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Factor.exe is just with them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the unreliable website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Factor.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 using special program. Proper anti-malware program must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is better to have proactive protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements 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 perfect choice that fits all of the discussed characteristics.4
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Factor.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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.
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, 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 Factor.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 Factor.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Factor.exe
Description: The Factor.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Factor.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.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
