Mi.exe process belongs to a malevolent application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
What is Mi.exe process?
Mi.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out earlier, Mi.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, but the effects are usually the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this process. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you may want to make use of your desktop for other tasks – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.
Mi.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Mi.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may result in bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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
How dangerous is the Mi.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Mi.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.
Mi.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Mi.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Rjnhlsk.exe, Windows.exe, Astrill.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Mi.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your computer. Mi.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent functions properly, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and increase electricity bills. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered 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 example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Mi.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Mi.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 widespread malicious programs through “severe” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Mi.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Mi.exe is just one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, 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 figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Mi.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Getting rid of such a virus requires the use of specific tool. Appropriate antivirus must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak computers. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your protection tool – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits all of the discussed qualities.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Mi.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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Mi.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 Mi.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Mi.exe
Description: The Mi.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Mi.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.
