Pssvc.exe process is related to a malicious program that can properly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unusable as a result of high CPU use.
What is Pssvc.exe process?
Pssvc.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Pssvc.exe – Really high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Pssvc.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may lead to sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Pssvc.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Pssvc.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a malware. 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 web browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Pssvc.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Pssvc.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Qaadminagent.exe, Psadminagent.exe, Gamingservicesnet.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Pssvc.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Pssvc.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security components 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 number of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise electricity expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Pssvc.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Pssvc.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. For this reason, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Pssvc.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.
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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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