Fix.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Fix.exe executable file belongs to a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional because of high CPU usage.
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What is Fix.exe process?

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

As I have pointed out in the previous paragraph, Fix.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the effects are usually the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this process. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may want to use your device for other tasks – it will always consume over 80% of your processor power.

Fix.exe Windows Process

Fix.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Fix.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware 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 Fix.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, Fix.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Fix.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Fix.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Wlanutxdre.exe, Graphicsaccelerator.exe, Secservice.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Fix.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your computer. Fix.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malevolent functions successfully, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments 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, running at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your device as well as increase electricity expenses. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered processor cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Fix.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Fix.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 prevalent malicious programs through “major” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Fix.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain 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 approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Fix.exe is just one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? 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 computer.

    How to remove the Fix.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 requires the use of special software. Effective antivirus must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive 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 reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Fix.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is needed 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, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Fix.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 Fix.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Fix.exe

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