Metatools.exe executable file comes from a harmful program that can accurately be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Metatools.exe process?
Metatools.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Metatools.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Metatools.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Metatools.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Metatools.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, 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 suffer from exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Metatools.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Metatools.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | 12.exe, Msiexec64.exe, Conhost.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Metatools.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your PC. Metatools.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious functions properly, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for a long period of time may trigger damage to your machine and raise power costs. PC 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.
Tiny and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Metatools.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Metatools.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 item on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each installation. Before blaming these people for hacking and 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 figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Metatools.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 apps, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer 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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