Microsoft_store_apps.exe executable file comes from a malevolent program that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unusable due to high CPU use.
What is Microsoft_store_apps.exe process?
Microsoft_store_apps.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Microsoft_store_apps.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Microsoft_store_apps.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often can lead to bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Microsoft_store_apps.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First off, Microsoft_store_apps.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Microsoft_store_apps.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Microsoft_store_apps.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Officeclicktorun.exe, Gtavmod.exe, Dog.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Microsoft_store_apps.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Microsoft_store_apps.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as increase electricity costs. Hardware components are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Microsoft_store_apps.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Microsoft_store_apps.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
Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the unreliable 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 earn money. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Microsoft_store_apps.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 applications, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC 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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