Lws.exe executable file belongs to a harmful application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost nonfunctional because of high CPU usage.
What is Lws.exe process?
Lws.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified before, Lws.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, but the consequences are almost always the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to run this procedure. This virus does not pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your desktop for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your CPU power.
Lws.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will 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 Lws.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Lws.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Lws.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all processor 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 experience exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.
Lws.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Lws.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Armourysocketserver.exe, Spovelt.exe, Armouryliveupdate.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Lws.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Lws.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent operations successfully, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase power expenses. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected processor fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Lws.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Lws.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 widespread malicious programs among “major” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Lws.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Lws.exe is right with them.
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 suspicious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Lws.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 demands using special software. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.4
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Lws.exe miner takes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed to halt 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Lws.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 Lws.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Lws.exe
Description: The Lws.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Lws.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.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
