Payload.exe process comes from a malicious program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional due to high CPU usage.
What is Payload.exe process?
Payload.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Payload.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Payload.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may cause unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Payload.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, Payload.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Payload.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Payload.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Taobao.exe, Nicodemo.exe, Ccservice.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Payload.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners do to your system. Payload.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted 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 a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as increase power costs. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Payload.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Payload.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
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 unreliable web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Payload.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 apps, along with the majority of non-critical 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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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