Gwidlmon.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Gwidlmon.exe process is related to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU usage.
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What is Gwidlmon.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned before, Gwidlmon.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your desktop for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.

Gwidlmon.exe Windows Process

Gwidlmon.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Gwidlmon.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” 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

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Gwidlmon.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, Gwidlmon.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

    Gwidlmon.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameGwidlmon.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorXtuservice.exe, Iracingservice64.exe, Hvsimgr.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Gwidlmon.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your computer. Gwidlmon.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent functions correctly, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Gwidlmon.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Gwidlmon.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 malevolent programs among “major” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Gwidlmon.exe malware injection: 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 about 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Gwidlmon.exe is just with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Gwidlmon.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 using special program. Effective antivirus should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have proactive security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the discussed characteristics.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Gwidlmon.exe miner consumes a lot of processor 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, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Gwidlmon.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 Gwidlmon.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Gwidlmon.exe

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