Gpunv.exe executable file comes from a harmful program that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unusable as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Gpunv.exe process?
Gpunv.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Gpunv.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Gpunv.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may cause unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the operation 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 strong desktop is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
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How dangerous is the Gpunv.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Gpunv.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Gpunv.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Gpunv.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Subtitles.exe, Unpackcheck.exe, Updchrome.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Gpunv.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your PC. Gpunv.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious operations correctly, it ruins the protection mechanisms 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 number of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for long times may cause damage to your machine and raise power expenses. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected processor fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Gpunv.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure2. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Gpunv.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 “severe” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Gpunv.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Gpunv.exe is just among them.
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 suspicious website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a huge lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Gpunv.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 apps, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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