Png_10.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Png_10.exe process comes from a harmful program that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU usage.
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What is Png_10.exe process?

Png_10.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have pointed out previously, Png_10.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the impacts are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to conduct this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your computer for other tasks – it will continuously take over 80% of your CPU power.

Png_10.exe Windows Process

Png_10.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Png_10.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often may lead to bad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end PC is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Png_10.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Firstly, Png_10.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Png_10.exe Technical Summary.

    File NamePng_10.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorOfficeclicktorun.exe, Gtavmod.exe, Dog.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Png_10.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your system. Png_10.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered processor fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Png_10.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Png_10.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 the most common malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Png_10.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Png_10.exe is right among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Png_10.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 needs the use of special program. Proper anti-malware program must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits each of the specified characteristics.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Png_10.exe miner takes 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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    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 processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Png_10.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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Png_10.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Png_10.exe

    Description: The Png_10.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Png_10.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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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