Prevhost.exe Windows Process – What is it?

Prevhost.exe is a legitimate Windows system process that is responsible for handling thumbnail and metadata generation for files and folders in Windows Explorer. This process is part of the Windows Shell Experience Host, which provides a graphical user interface for Windows operating system.

The purpose of prevhost.exe is to generate previews of files, such as images, videos, and documents, to display them as thumbnails in Windows Explorer. It also generates metadata for files, such as author, date, and size, which are used for file searching and organization.

Prevhost.exe runs in the background and is not visible to the user unless you open the Task Manager or another system monitoring tool. It typically runs when a user opens a folder or file in Windows Explorer that requires thumbnail or metadata generation.

If you notice high CPU or disk usage associated with the prevhost.exe process, it could indicate that the system is generating a large number of thumbnails or metadata for files. This can cause a slowdown in the system’s performance, but it is generally not a cause for concern.

Cybercriminals may sometimes use the name of a legitimate process, such as Prevhost.exe, to disguise their malware and evade detection. In this case, the malware could be a coin miner virus that is using the Prevhost.exe name to conceal its malicious activity.

If you suspect that Prevhost.exe is behaving abnormally or causing high CPU or disk usage, it is recommended to run a full system scan with a reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to detect and remove any potential threats. Additionally, you can monitor the process using the Task Manager or a system monitoring tool to identify any suspicious behavior or activity that could indicate malware infection.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.

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What is Prevhost.exe process?

Prevhost.exe is a system process that is responsible for handling thumbnail and metadata generation for files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Sometimes hackers use the name of a legitimate process, such as Prevhost.exe, to disguise their malware and evade detection. In this case, the malware could be a coin miner virus that is using the Prevhost.exe name to conceal its malicious activity.

If you suspect that Prevhost.exe is behaving abnormally or causing high CPU or disk usage, it is recommended to run a full system scan with a reputable antivirus or anti-malware software to detect and remove any potential threats. Additionally, you can monitor the process using the Task Manager or a system monitoring tool to identify any suspicious behavior or activity that could indicate malware infection.

Prevhost.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Prevhost.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end machine is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.¹

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

How dangerous is the Prevhost.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, Prevhost.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 wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.

Prevhost.exe Technical Summary.

“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your PC. Prevhost.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious functions successfully, it wrecks the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine and increase power costs. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

Little and covered CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Prevhost.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure². GPUs are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your graphic card decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

How did I get Prevhost.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Prevhost.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Prevhost.exe is right one of them.

The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying 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 as well as new parts for your desktop.

How to remove the Prevhost.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 demands using specific tool. Proper antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak computers. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the discussed characteristics.³

Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Prevhost.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, it is needed to halt 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

Remove Prevhost.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.

1. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
3. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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