Programstarter.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unusable because of high CPU utilization.
What is Programstarter.exe process?
Programstarter.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Programstarter.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the effects are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your PC to perform this operation. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably want to use your device for other tasks – it will always use over 80% of your CPU power.
Programstarter.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Programstarter.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often may lead to unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money 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 Programstarter.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First off, Programstarter.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, 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 suffer from incredibly slow performance. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Programstarter.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Programstarter.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Dashost.exe, Espeongateway.exe, Microsoftaudio.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Programstarter.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your PC. Programstarter.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To complete all malicious functions successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as raise power expenses. PC 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.
Tiny and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Programstarter.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Programstarter.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 one of the most widespread malicious programs among “serious” malware. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Programstarter.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may 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 Programstarter.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Programstarter.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 needs the use of specific program. Effective antivirus must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have proactive protection in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the specified features.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Programstarter.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is required to stop 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Programstarter.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 Programstarter.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Programstarter.exe
Description: The Programstarter.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Programstarter.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.
