Print.exe executable file is related to a harmful application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Print.exe process?
Print.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Print.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Print.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may lead to bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Print.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Print.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Print.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Print.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Dhcpsvchostdllcommon.exe, Microsoftconhost.exe, Temp.working |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Print.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your computer. Print.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malevolent operations properly, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for long times may trigger damage to your machine as well as increase electricity 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.
Small and covered processor cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, 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 unusually high load caused by Print.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Print.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 suspicious web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these individuals 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 bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Print.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 applications, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer 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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