Movies.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Movies.exe executable file is related to a harmful program that can properly be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
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What is Movies.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned in the introduction, Movies.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, but the impacts are almost always the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this process. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you probably need to make use of your desktop for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your CPU power.

Movies.exe Windows Process

Movies.exe – Very high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Movies.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can cause sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the operation 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 very strong desktop is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Movies.exe miner?

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

    First, Movies.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.

    Movies.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameMovies.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorDnscleaner.exe, Crea.exe, Brave.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Movies.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative thing coin miners do to your PC. Movies.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions successfully, it ruins the protection 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 load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and raise power expenses. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy 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 earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Movies.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Movies.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 common malevolent programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Movies.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Movies.exe is right among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page 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 earn money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add 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 buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Movies.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 requires using special software. Proper anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak computers. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the mentioned qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Movies.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows 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 Movies.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 Movies.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Movies.exe

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