License.exe process belongs to a malicious application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unfunctional due to high CPU utilization.
What is License.exe process?
License.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
License.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so License.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may lead to sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the License.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, License.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, 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 exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
License.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | License.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Xservicegpu.exe, Kthmimu.exe, Serviceks.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic License.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your computer. License.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malevolent operations effectively, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power bills. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered CPU cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by License.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get License.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
Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the License.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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like 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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