Min.exe process belongs to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unfunctional due to high CPU utilization.
What is Min.exe process?
Min.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned earlier, Min.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, but the consequences are usually the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to perform this procedure. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably need to use your computer for other tasks – it will always consume over 80% of your CPU power.
Min.exe – Really 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 struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Min.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may lead to sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the activity 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 very strong computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Min.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, Min.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed 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 experience incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Min.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Min.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 Min.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners do to your PC. Min.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious operations correctly, it ruins the protection 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 lot of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown 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 may cause damage to your machine and increase electricity costs. PC 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.
Tiny and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Min.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Min.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 malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Min.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Min.exe is right among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Min.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus involves using special program. Effective anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the specified qualities.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Min.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, it is required 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 applications, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Min.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 Min.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Min.exe
Description: The Min.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Min.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.
