Kernelx64.exe executable file comes from a malicious program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Kernelx64.exe process?
Kernelx64.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Kernelx64.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Kernelx64.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can cause sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Kernelx64.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, Kernelx64.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Kernelx64.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Kernelx64.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Opce.exe, Vc.exe, Asd.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Kernelx64.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your system. Kernelx64.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions correctly, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for long times may cause damage to your machine and raise power expenses. 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.
Little and well-protected processor fan is quite hard to broke. 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 really high load caused by Kernelx64.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Kernelx64.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 thing on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Kernelx64.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 apps, along with the majority of non-critical Windows 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.
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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