Hdaudio.exe executable file is related to a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unusable as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Hdaudio.exe process?
Hdaudio.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Hdaudio.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your desktop to perform this procedure. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your device for other tasks – it will consistently take over 80% of your CPU power.
Hdaudio.exe – Really high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Hdaudio.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may result in bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is required. 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 web browsing. 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 Hdaudio.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Hdaudio.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor 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 experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.
Hdaudio.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Hdaudio.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Kruspeedup.exe, Xmr.stak, Driver.windows |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Hdaudio.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your system. Hdaudio.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent functions effectively, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state 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 cause damage to your machine and increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Compact and covered processor fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Hdaudio.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Hdaudio.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 common malicious programs through “severe” malware. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Hdaudio.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Hdaudio.exe is just one of them.4
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 suspicious website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Hdaudio.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 special software. Effective anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Hdaudio.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU 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 software, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system 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 Hdaudio.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 Hdaudio.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Hdaudio.exe
Description: The Hdaudio.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Hdaudio.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.
