Gamepanel.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Gamepanel.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Gamepanel.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out previously, Gamepanel.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the consequences are almost always the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this procedure. This malware does not care about the fact that you probably want to make use of your desktop for other tasks – it will consistently use over 80% of your processor power.

Gamepanel.exe Windows Process

Gamepanel.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Gamepanel.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often may cause unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. 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

  • 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 Gamepanel.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Gamepanel.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.

    Gamepanel.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Gamepanel.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Mmm1.exe, Etece.exe, Etehe.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Gamepanel.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Gamepanel.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malicious operations properly, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as raise power costs. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Gamepanel.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Gamepanel.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” malware. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Gamepanel.exe malware infiltration: 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 malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Gamepanel.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 untrustworthy website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper 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 Gamepanel.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 tool. Proper security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the mentioned features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Gamepanel.exe miner takes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Gamepanel.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 Gamepanel.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Gamepanel.exe

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