Novpopen.exe is an executable file from a malicious coin miner trojan. This particular type of malware employs your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, with a focus on Monero or DarkCoin. It drains your PC performance, taking all possible resources on cryptomining.
No known programs use Novpopen.exe as the name for their executable files and processes. Thus, it is obvious that this process belongs to malware. Considering that most of people complain of extraordinarily high CPU usage of this process, it is most likely a coin miner. Malicious miners exploit your hardware and the one of other victims to mine cryptocurrencies. That being said, it is crucial to address this issue promptly to restore your computer’s performance. By taking appropriate actions and implementing effective security measures, you can mitigate the negative consequences caused by Novpopen.exe and safeguard your system from further attacks.
What is Novpopen.exe process?
Novpopen.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I mentioned in the introduction, Novpopen.exe is most likely a coin miner trojan. Such malware hides behind different names. However, the impact and outcomes remain consistent. Coin miners use all the hardware capacity of your PC. Regrettably, this malware disregards any other tasks you may need to perform on your device, consistently consuming more than 80% of your processor power.
Further, the executable file Novpopen.exe serves as any common example of a coin miner. These malicious programs, known by various aliases, share a common objective. Their primary goal is to harness the computing power of your PC for the purpose of cryptocurrency mining. Unfortunately, this relentless pursuit of mining activities comes at the expense of your device’s performance. As a result, it overloads your processor, using over 80% of its capacity. Malware does not care about your needs, thus you will see the novpopen.exe process taking over 80% of your CPU power.
Novpopen.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
In addition to consuming CPU resources, certain coin miners also exploit GPU power for their operations. When this occurs, even your mouse cursor will start lagging. As GPU is not vital, malware frequently uses it at full capacity. Such an overload can cause excesive wear or even cause hardware failures.
A Brief Overview of Cryptocurrency Mining
Cryptocurrency mining refers to the process of calculating the hash of a transaction block, which is an essential component of any blockchain-based project. Due to the computational intensity involved, a powerful desktop computer is required. GPUs, in particular, are well-suited for this task due to their abundance of cores. Cryptocurrency mining farms are typically comprised of tens or even hundreds of video cards, enabling them to efficiently fulfill their mining objectives.
However, such computer systems are not suitable for general purposes like gaming or web browsing. Instead, malicious actors take advantage of unsuspecting individuals’ hardware to conduct mining activities, even while those devices are being used for regular tasks 1.
Allow me to provide a brief overview of the process of cryptocurrency mining. Cryptocurrency mining involves performing complex calculations to determine the hash of a transaction block, an essential operation in blockchain-based projects. To efficiently carry out these calculations, a powerful desktop computer is required. GPUs, with their numerous cores, are particularly well-suited for this task. To maximize their mining capabilities, cryptocurrency mining farms are typically equipped with tens or even hundreds of video cards. However, it’s important to note that these specialized computer systems are not suitable for everyday activities such as gaming or web browsing.
Unfortunately, there are malicious individuals who exploit the hardware of unsuspecting users for their own gain. They utilize coin miners to conduct mining activities, even while the affected devices are being used for regular tasks. This unauthorized usage of hardware for mining purposes can have detrimental effects on the performance and usability of the affected computers.
Common Symptoms of Coin Miners
- Microsoft Defender is disabled.
- CPU and GPU usage spikes to 80-90% immediately after system startup.
- Cooling fans run at high speed, causing excessive noise.
- A single process in Task Manager monopolizes all CPU and GPU resources.
How Harmful is the Novpopen.exe Miner?
Coin miners may not cause direct file damage, but they severely impact system performance.
First and foremost, the Novpopen.exe malware overwhelms your system, rendering it incapable of running your applications smoothly. This malware monopolizes your CPU power, so other programs cannot operate properly. This malicious program shows no regard for your needs and solely focuses on generating profits at your expense. Even if you manage to open your web browser after a period of patience, you will likely encounter frustratingly slow performance. Pages may take an eternity to load, and simple tasks like logging in can take up to a minute, creating a nightmare scenario for individuals who rely on online work.
It is important to be aware of the typical symptoms associated with coin miners. Some indicators include a disabled Microsoft Defender, significant spikes in CPU and GPU usage right after system startup, excessive noise from the running cooling fans, and the presence of a single process in Task Manager consuming all available CPU and GPU resources.
While coin miners may not directly cause damage to your files, they can have a detrimental impact on your overall system functionality. The Novpopen.exe miner, in particular, exhibits intrusive behavior that overwhelms your system’s resources. This results in an inability to efficiently run applications, slow browsing experiences, and frustratingly long loading times. These disruptions can be particularly challenging for individuals who rely on a smooth and efficient online work environment.
Novpopen.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Novpopen.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Mufusiso.exe, Vmmem.exe, Novpop.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Novpopen.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative thing coin miners do to your PC. Novpopen.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. 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 cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and increase power expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered CPU cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Novpopen.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure2. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Novpopen.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 prevalent malevolent programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Novpopen.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Novpopen.exe is just one of them.3
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Novpopen.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 needs the use of special program. Effective anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the specified characteristics.4
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Novpopen.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Novpopen.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 Novpopen.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Novpopen.exe
Description: The Novpopen.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses CPU and GPU power to mine cryptocurrencies. Since this operation is hardware-intensive, this malware promptly overloads your system. High loads during extensive time periods often end up with hardware failures. For that reason, you should remove the novpopen.exe process as soon as possible.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Trojan
User Review
( votes)References
- For a detailed explanation of how cryptocurrency mining works, you can refer to this resource.
- 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.
