Programinstaller.exe process comes from a malevolent application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unusable as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Programinstaller.exe process?
Programinstaller.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the introduction, Programinstaller.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the impacts are usually the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your desktop to conduct this procedure. This malware does not take note of the fact that you may want to use your machine for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your processor power.
Programinstaller.exe – Very high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Programinstaller.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can result in bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Programinstaller.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, Programinstaller.exe virus makes your PC 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 demands, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow efficiency. 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.
Programinstaller.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Programinstaller.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Hxtsr.exe, Office.exe, Dqltxp.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Programinstaller.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Programinstaller.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent operations properly, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your device and raise power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to crack. 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 very high load caused by Programinstaller.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Programinstaller.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 among “major” malware. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Programinstaller.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Programinstaller.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Programinstaller.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus requires using specific program. Proper anti-malware program should 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 on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the discussed qualities.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Programinstaller.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, it is required 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 software, 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.
Remove Programinstaller.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.
Remove Programinstaller.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Programinstaller.exe
Description: The Programinstaller.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Programinstaller.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
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
