Kun.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Kun.exe process comes from a malicious application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU usage.
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What is Kun.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned in the previous paragraph, Kun.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be different, but the effects are almost always the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your desktop to run this operation. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your machine for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.

Kun.exe Windows Process

Kun.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Kun.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may cause bad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ PCs 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 Kun.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Firstly, Kun.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.

    Kun.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Kun.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Xx.exe, Works.exe, Rundll32.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Kun.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary bad activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Kun.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the security mechanisms 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 number of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device and raise power bills. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Kun.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Kun.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “severe” malware. Adware often acts as a carrier for Kun.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Kun.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 thing on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing 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 PC.

    How to remove the Kun.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 involves the use of specific tool. Appropriate anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the specified characteristics.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Kun.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, 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.

    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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Kun.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 Kun.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Kun.exe

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