Protectn.exe process comes from a malevolent application that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Protectn.exe process?
Protectn.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified in the introduction, Protectn.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this process. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may need to make use of your system for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.
Protectn.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Protectn.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may result in sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. 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 Protectn.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, Protectn.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Protectn.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Protectn.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Dxsetup.exe, Fallout76.exe, Minerafacil.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Protectn.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your PC. Protectn.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for a long period of time may trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity bills. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Protectn.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Protectn.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 prevalent malicious programs among “major” malware. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Protectn.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Protectn.exe is right one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Protectn.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Getting rid of such a virus needs using special app. Appropriate security tool should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb choice that fits each of the discussed characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Protectn.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows 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.
Remove Protectn.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 Protectn.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Protectn.exe
Description: The Protectn.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Protectn.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.
