Go.exe executable file is related to a harmful application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Go.exe process?
Go.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned previously, Go.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the effects are usually the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to perform this process. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably want to use your system for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your CPU power.
Go.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Go.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can result in bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end machine is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” 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
How dangerous is the Go.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, Go.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.
Go.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Go.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Unohostclr.exe, Jg6_6asg.exe, Menu.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Go.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your system. Go.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions properly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak power for a long period of time may trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. 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 CPU cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Go.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Go.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 common malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Go.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Go.exe is right among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Go.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 using special software. Proper security tool must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak computers. In addition, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the specified characteristics.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Go.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is required 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.
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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, 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 Go.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 Go.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Go.exe
Description: The Go.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Go.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.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
