Proxypub.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Proxypub.exe process is related to a malevolent application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.

What is Proxypub.exe process?

Proxypub.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Proxypub.exe Windows Process

Proxypub.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will 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 Proxypub.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can cause sad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Proxypub.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, Proxypub.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Proxypub.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Proxypub.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Vape_v4.exe, Raconnn.exe, Lilin.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Proxypub.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your system. Proxypub.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malevolent functions successfully, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. 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.

    Little and well-protected processor cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Proxypub.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Proxypub.exe coin miner virus?

    Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Proxypub.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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    Security engineer focused on malware behavior, removal workflows, and Windows hardening. Robert reviews threat articles for practical accuracy, checking detection names, symptoms, and cleanup steps before publication.

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