Igfxemn.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Igfxemn.exe process comes from a harmful application that can properly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unusable due to high CPU utilization.
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What is Igfxemn.exe process?

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

As I have specified earlier, Igfxemn.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your desktop to conduct this procedure. This virus does not take note of the fact that you probably want to make use of your machine for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.

Igfxemn.exe Windows Process

Igfxemn.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Igfxemn.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may result in unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end machine is needed. 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 video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Igfxemn.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, Igfxemn.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 struggle with exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

    Igfxemn.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Igfxemn.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Gwidlmon.exe, Gwctlsrv.exe, Xtuservice.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Igfxemn.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Igfxemn.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions correctly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity costs. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and well-protected processor fan is not very easy 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 earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Igfxemn.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely a bad case when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Igfxemn.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 among “severe” malware. Adware often works as a carrier for Igfxemn.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include 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 approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Igfxemn.exe is just among 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 PC is by downloading it from the unreliable web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Igfxemn.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Eliminating such a virus needs the use of specific app. Proper antivirus must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the specified features.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Igfxemn.exe miner takes 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.

    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 programs, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Igfxemn.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 Igfxemn.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Igfxemn.exe

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