OfficeClickToRun.exe is an executable file that is part of the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run process. It is associated with the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run (SxS) software developed by Microsoft. This executable file plays a crucial role in the functioning of the Click-to-Run process, which is used to install and update Microsoft Office applications on a computer.
Most often, this process stays low in the Task Manager, consuming minimal RAM and CPU power. However, seeing it taking over 80% of your CPU means that it is not a genuine OfficeClickToRun process. Malware, particularly coin miner trojans, often hijack the names of system processes in order to disguise themselves. Though, they cannot disguise an obscenely high resource consumption. This indicator is determinative when it comes to understanding the nature of that process.
What is Officeclicktorun.exe process?
Officeclicktorun.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned earlier, Officeclicktorun.exe can be a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the effects are usually the identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your PC to run this procedure. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably want to make use of your PC for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.
Officeclicktorun.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage
Aside from high CPU/GPU load, you can prove the malicious origins of the process by its file location. Click the one in the Task Manager with the right mouse button and choose the “Open file location” button in the context menu. This will open the folder where the executable file is stored. The location of a normal OfficeClickToRun.exe file is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\ClientX64 (or, in some cases, ClientX86). Files with this name in any other directories should be considered malicious.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed 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. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Officeclicktorun.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Officeclicktorun.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all processor power is consumed 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.
Officeclicktorun.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Officeclicktorun.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Gtavmod.exe, Dog.exe, Decrypt_bit.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Officeclicktorun.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Officeclicktorun.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious functions correctly, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. 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 PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for long times may cause damage to your device and raise electricity costs. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Officeclicktorun.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure1. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Officeclicktorun.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 malevolent programs among “major” malware. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Officeclicktorun.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Officeclicktorun.exe is just with them.2
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. For this reason, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Officeclicktorun.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus involves the use of specific tool. Appropriate antivirus should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is better to have on-run protection in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions 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 option that fits each of the mentioned qualities.3
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Officeclicktorun.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is required 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.
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 apps, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Officeclicktorun.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 Officeclicktorun.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Officeclicktorun.exe
Description: The Officeclicktorun.exe is a process related to Microsoft Office suite. It is needed to provide the App-V functionality, a new app technology introduced by Microsoft. It should not take a lot of system power, but when it does, and is located in an unusual directory, you are probably facing a coin miner trojan. Such malware commonly hijacks names of system processes.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Trojan
User Review
( votes)References
- 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.
