Powermgr.exe executable file comes from a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Powermgr.exe process?
Powermgr.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Powermgr.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Powermgr.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may result in sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Powermgr.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, Powermgr.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Powermgr.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Powermgr.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Wallpaper32.exe, Onedrivesetup.exe, Widgetservice.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Powermgr.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad activity coin miners do to your PC. Powermgr.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as increase power bills. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Powermgr.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Powermgr.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 untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper 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 Powermgr.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, just like the majority of non-crucial 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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
Leave a Comment