Minerhash.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Minerhash.exe process comes from a malicious program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Minerhash.exe process?

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

As I have specified previously, Minerhash.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be different, but the consequences are usually the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this procedure. This virus does not care about the fact that you may need to make use of your desktop for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your processor power.

Minerhash.exe Windows Process

Minerhash.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Minerhash.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can result in unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” 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

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Minerhash.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Minerhash.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

    Minerhash.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameMinerhash.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior1232.exe, Lsassn.exe, Job.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Minerhash.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your PC. Minerhash.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious functions correctly, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for long times can cause damage to your machine and increase power bills. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Minerhash.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Minerhash.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 “severe” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Minerhash.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Minerhash.exe is right with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 unreliable site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for 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 software and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Minerhash.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 making use of special software. Proper antivirus must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak computers. Additionally, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits each of the discussed features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Minerhash.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, 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 system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Minerhash.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 Minerhash.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Minerhash.exe

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