Msiexec.exe process belongs to a harmful program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unusable as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Msiexec.exe process?
Msiexec.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Msiexec.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize 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 crucial as processor for system work, so Msiexec.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can result in sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Msiexec.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Msiexec.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Msiexec.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Msiexec.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Lghub_updater.exe, Gamingservices.exe, Wmiregistrationservice.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Msiexec.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Msiexec.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent functions correctly, it ruins the security features 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 lot of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, running at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected processor cooling system is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Msiexec.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Msiexec.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Msiexec.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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