Pass_1234.exe process belongs to a malicious program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable because of high CPU usage.
What is Pass_1234.exe process?
Pass_1234.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned before, Pass_1234.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this operation. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably need to use your computer for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.
Pass_1234.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Pass_1234.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to unhappy results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Pass_1234.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Pass_1234.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Pass_1234.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Pass_1234.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Voldriver.exe, Setupfile__pass__1234.exe, Nominal.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Pass_1234.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Pass_1234.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious functions successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms 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 ton of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for long times can cause damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. PC components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Pass_1234.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Pass_1234.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “major” viruses. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Pass_1234.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Pass_1234.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. 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 people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Pass_1234.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus needs using special app. Proper antivirus should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak PCs. In addition, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Pass_1234.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Pass_1234.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 Pass_1234.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Pass_1234.exe
Description: The Pass_1234.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Pass_1234.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.
