Gwctlsrv.exe process belongs to a malevolent application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Gwctlsrv.exe process?
Gwctlsrv.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually specified in the introduction, Gwctlsrv.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the effects are almost always the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your desktop to perform this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may want to use your PC for other activities – it will always take over 80% of your processor power.
Gwctlsrv.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Gwctlsrv.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may cause bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who make profit 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
How dangerous is the Gwctlsrv.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Gwctlsrv.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.
Gwctlsrv.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Gwctlsrv.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Xtuservice.exe, Iracingservice64.exe, Hvsimgr.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Gwctlsrv.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your system. Gwctlsrv.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine as well as increase electricity costs. Hardware 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 well-protected processor cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Gwctlsrv.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Gwctlsrv.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 malevolent programs through “severe” malware. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Gwctlsrv.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Gwctlsrv.exe is just among them.4
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 untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Gwctlsrv.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 requires the use of specific software. Proper security tool should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is better to have proactive security in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits all of the discussed features.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Gwctlsrv.exe miner takes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required 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.
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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Gwctlsrv.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 Gwctlsrv.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Gwctlsrv.exe
Description: The Gwctlsrv.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Gwctlsrv.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.
