Musnotifyicon.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Musnotifyicon.exe process belongs to a harmful application that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unusable due to high CPU use.
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What is Musnotifyicon.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out in the introduction, Musnotifyicon.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the consequences are usually the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to run this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your system for other tasks – it will continuously consume over 80% of your processor power.

Musnotifyicon.exe Windows Process

Musnotifyicon.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize 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 essential as processor for system work, so Musnotifyicon.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause sad effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit 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 Musnotifyicon.exe miner?

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

    First off, Musnotifyicon.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 experience exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.

    Musnotifyicon.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameMusnotifyicon.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorTutle.exe, Svcrun.exe, Icesoundservice64.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Musnotifyicon.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners do to your computer. Musnotifyicon.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions successfully, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU cooling system is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Musnotifyicon.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit 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 Musnotifyicon.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 works as a carrier for Musnotifyicon.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Musnotifyicon.exe is just one of them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 unreliable web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Musnotifyicon.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 demands using special tool. Effective anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak computers. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the mentioned features.4

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Musnotifyicon.exe miner takes 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Musnotifyicon.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 Musnotifyicon.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Musnotifyicon.exe

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