Oko.exe executable file belongs to a harmful application that can properly be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unusable due to high CPU utilization.
What is Oko.exe process?
Oko.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, Oko.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the effects are usually the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this process. This virus does not take note of the fact that you may need to make use of your computer for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.
Oko.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Oko.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money 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 Oko.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Oko.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.
Oko.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Oko.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Xx.exe, Works.exe, Rundll32.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Oko.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Oko.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, running at peak level for long times can cause damage to your device and raise power expenses. PC 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.
Compact and covered CPU fan is hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Oko.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Oko.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 common malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for Oko.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Oko.exe is just one of them.4
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 unreliable site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? 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 Oko.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 requires using special app. Effective anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak PCs. In addition, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Oko.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, 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, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Oko.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 Oko.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Oko.exe
Description: The Oko.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Oko.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.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
