Gamingservices.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Gamingservices.exe executable file is related to a malevolent program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Gamingservices.exe process?

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

As I have specified in the introduction, Gamingservices.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your desktop to perform this process. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your PC for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.

Gamingservices.exe Windows Process

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

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Gamingservices.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can lead to sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining 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 gain money 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 Gamingservices.exe miner?

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

    First, Gamingservices.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 extremely sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

    Gamingservices.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your PC. Gamingservices.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open 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 PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for long times may cause damage to your device and increase 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.

    Tiny and well-protected CPU fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Gamingservices.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Gamingservices.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 the most widespread malicious programs through “serious” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Gamingservices.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Gamingservices.exe is right among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Gamingservices.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Eliminating such a virus involves the use of specific software. Proper antivirus must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb choice that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Gamingservices.exe miner takes 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 software, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Gamingservices.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 Gamingservices.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Gamingservices.exe

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