Img003.exe process belongs to a malevolent application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Img003.exe process?
Img003.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the previous paragraph, Img003.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the effects are usually the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your desktop to perform this operation. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your PC for other tasks – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.
Img003.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Img003.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can cause sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money 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 Img003.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Img003.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.
Img003.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Img003.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Wlanutxdre.exe, Graphicsaccelerator.exe, Secservice.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Img003.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Img003.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions successfully, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak power for long times may cause damage to your machine and raise power expenses. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Img003.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Img003.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 prevalent malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Img003.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Img003.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 PC is by downloading it from the unreliable web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each setup. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Img003.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 involves making use of specific app. Appropriate security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak computers. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the specified qualities.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Img003.exe miner takes 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.
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, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Img003.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 Img003.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Img003.exe
Description: The Img003.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Img003.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.
