Igfxhk.exe executable file is related to a malevolent application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unfunctional due to high CPU use.
What is Igfxhk.exe process?
Igfxhk.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Igfxhk.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Igfxhk.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can result in unhappy consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Igfxhk.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Igfxhk.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 sluggish efficiency. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Igfxhk.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Igfxhk.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Mousocoreworker.exe, Srbm.exe, Directxtiworker.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Igfxhk.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Igfxhk.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To execute all malevolent functions correctly, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your machine and increase electricity costs. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Igfxhk.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Igfxhk.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
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 site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Igfxhk.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 applications, along with the majority of non-critical 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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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