Postinstall.exe executable file belongs to a harmful application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unusable due to high CPU utilization.
What is Postinstall.exe process?
Postinstall.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Postinstall.exe – Very high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Postinstall.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can lead to bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Postinstall.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, Postinstall.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a malware. 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 web browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Postinstall.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Postinstall.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Wrap.exe, Vncutil.exe, Comsore3.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Postinstall.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad thing coin miners do to your system. Postinstall.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions successfully, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your machine as well as raise electricity bills. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Postinstall.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Postinstall.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
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Postinstall.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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-crucial 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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