Protectedmodulehost.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much unfunctional due to high CPU usage.
What is Protectedmodulehost.exe process?
Protectedmodulehost.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually pointed out previously, Protectedmodulehost.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your desktop to run this process. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably want to make use of your machine for other activities – it will always use over 80% of your processor power.
Protectedmodulehost.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Protectedmodulehost.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to unhappy results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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 Protectedmodulehost.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Protectedmodulehost.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Protectedmodulehost.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Protectedmodulehost.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Mfebrowserhost.exe, Mcshield.exe, Servicehost.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Protectedmodulehost.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Protectedmodulehost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious operations properly, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as increase power expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered processor fan is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Protectedmodulehost.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Protectedmodulehost.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 widespread malicious programs among “serious” malware. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Protectedmodulehost.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Protectedmodulehost.exe is right 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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Protectedmodulehost.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 making use of specific program. Effective antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits each of the specified characteristics.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Protectedmodulehost.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is needed 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-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Protectedmodulehost.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 Protectedmodulehost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Protectedmodulehost.exe
Description: The Protectedmodulehost.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Protectedmodulehost.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.
