Menu.exe process comes from a malicious program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost nonfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Menu.exe process?
Menu.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Menu.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the impacts are usually the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may want to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will always use over 80% of your CPU power.
Menu.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Menu.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can cause sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit 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
How dangerous is the Menu.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, Menu.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Menu.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Menu.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Twain_32.exe, Mkner.exe, Pack.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Menu.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad activity coin miners perform to your computer. Menu.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent functions correctly, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase electricity bills. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Menu.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Menu.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 “serious” malware. Adware often acts as a carrier for Menu.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Menu.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Menu.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus demands using specific app. Appropriate security tool should have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak computers. On top of that, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the discussed features.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Menu.exe miner consumes 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows 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 Menu.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 Menu.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Menu.exe
Description: The Menu.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Menu.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.
