Mingc.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Mingc.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
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What is Mingc.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned previously, Mingc.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the effects are usually the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your desktop to run this operation. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may need to use your PC for other tasks – it will always take over 80% of your processor power.

Mingc.exe Windows Process

Mingc.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Mingc.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can result in unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such 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

  • 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 Mingc.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Mingc.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating income 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 for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.

    Mingc.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameMingc.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorRelease.exe, Ton.exe, Altruistics.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Mingc.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your computer. Mingc.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 stops it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your device and increase power bills. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and well-protected CPU cooling system is hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Mingc.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Mingc.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 prevalent malicious programs through “severe” viruses. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Mingc.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Mingc.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 computer is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known 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 app and get a coin for every setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Mingc.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 demands using specific program. Effective security tool should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the mentioned features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Mingc.exe miner takes a lot of processor power, 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.

    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-critical system 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.

    Remove Mingc.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 Mingc.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Mingc.exe

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