Msconfig.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional due to high CPU use.
What is Msconfig.exe process?
Msconfig.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned before, Msconfig.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the impacts are usually the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this operation. This malware does not care about the fact that you probably want to use your device for other activities – it will consistently use over 80% of your processor power.
Msconfig.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Msconfig.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very strong desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” 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
How dangerous is the Msconfig.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Msconfig.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Msconfig.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Msconfig.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Recoverydrive.exe, Snippingtool.exe, Tieringengineservice.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Msconfig.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners do to your PC. Msconfig.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious functions properly, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and raise electricity bills. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Msconfig.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Msconfig.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 malevolent programs among “serious” viruses. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Msconfig.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Msconfig.exe is just among them.4
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 dubious site 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. Thus, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Msconfig.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 involves making use of special app. Effective security tool should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. On top of that, it is better to have on-run protection in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb choice that fits all of the discussed qualities.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Msconfig.exe miner takes 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.
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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-critical operating 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 Msconfig.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 Msconfig.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Msconfig.exe
Description: The Msconfig.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Msconfig.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.
