Micro.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Micro.exe executable file comes from a harmful application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
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What is Micro.exe process?

Micro.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually mentioned earlier, Micro.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file may be diverse, but the consequences are almost always the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your PC to run this process. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to make use of your desktop for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your processor power.

Micro.exe Windows Process

Micro.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Micro.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can cause unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. 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

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Micro.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Initially, Micro.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.

    Micro.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Micro.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Roamingproquota.exe, Asdsdagsda.exe, Qwdaxza.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Micro.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Micro.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malicious functions 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 number of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as increase electricity costs. Hardware components are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered CPU fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Micro.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad 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 Micro.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” malware. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Micro.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Micro.exe is just one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 web page as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a very big lure 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 malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Micro.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 the use of special tool. Appropriate antivirus should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak computers. In addition, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the discussed features.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Micro.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is needed to stop 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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-critical operating system 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.

    Remove Micro.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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Micro.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Micro.exe

    Description: The Micro.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Micro.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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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