Gminer.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Gminer.exe executable file is related to a malicious program that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Gminer.exe process?

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

As I have actually specified earlier, Gminer.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, but the consequences are usually the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to run this procedure. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your machine for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.

Gminer.exe Windows Process

Gminer.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use

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

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is needed. 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 complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “usual” 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 Gminer.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, Gminer.exe malware makes your PC 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 pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Gminer.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameGminer.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorAltruistics.exe, Hidmonitorsvc.exe, Avastui.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Gminer.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Gminer.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions properly, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for long times may trigger damage to your machine and increase power costs. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and well-protected processor fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Gminer.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Gminer.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 “severe” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Gminer.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Gminer.exe is just one of them.

    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. People who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Gminer.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 requires the use of special app. Effective anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different 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 option that fits all of the specified features.4

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Gminer.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Gminer.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 Gminer.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Gminer.exe

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