Nslookup.exe process belongs to a malicious program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unfunctional because of high CPU usage.
What is Nslookup.exe process?
Nslookup.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out in the previous paragraph, Nslookup.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the effects are usually the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your desktop to run this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to use your machine for other tasks – it will consistently use over 80% of your CPU power.
Nslookup.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Nslookup.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can cause bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining 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 needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” 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
How dangerous is the Nslookup.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, Nslookup.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, 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 slow performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Nslookup.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Nslookup.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Osk.exe, Wrapper.exe, Qexplorerutil.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Nslookup.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary negative thing coin miners do to your system. Nslookup.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, running at peak level for long times may cause damage to your device as well as increase power expenses. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Nslookup.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Nslookup.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 widespread malicious programs among “severe” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Nslookup.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Nslookup.exe is just one of them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for 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 software as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Nslookup.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 specific software. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Additionally, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend 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 features.4
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Nslookup.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed 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 programs, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Nslookup.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 Nslookup.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Nslookup.exe
Description: The Nslookup.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Nslookup.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.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
