Hfhelper64.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Hfhelper64.exe process?
Hfhelper64.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned in the introduction, Hfhelper64.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to run this process. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to use your desktop for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.
Hfhelper64.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Hfhelper64.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can result in unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Hfhelper64.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, Hfhelper64.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.
Hfhelper64.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Hfhelper64.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Telegramunosetup.exe, Bsmss.exe, Setupsmss.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Hfhelper64.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners do to your computer. Hfhelper64.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection features 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 load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your device and increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Hfhelper64.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Hfhelper64.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 malicious programs through “serious” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Hfhelper64.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Hfhelper64.exe is just with them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored 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 acquire a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Hfhelper64.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 app. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Hfhelper64.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is needed 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Hfhelper64.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 Hfhelper64.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Hfhelper64.exe
Description: The Hfhelper64.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Hfhelper64.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.
