Pupa.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Pupa.exe process?
Pupa.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Pupa.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be different, but the consequences are usually the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your personal computer to run this procedure. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to use your computer for other activities – it will consistently use over 80% of your processor power.
Pupa.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Pupa.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may cause unhappy results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Pupa.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Pupa.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.
Pupa.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Pupa.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Mmm1.exe, Etece.exe, Etehe.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Pupa.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Pupa.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent functions effectively, it ruins the protection 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 load of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your device as well as increase electricity expenses. Hardware components are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected processor fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Pupa.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Pupa.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “severe” malware. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Pupa.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Pupa.exe is right one of them.4
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 unreliable website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Pupa.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 requires the use of special app. Proper antivirus should have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have on-run protection in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features 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 great option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Pupa.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 software, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Pupa.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 Pupa.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Pupa.exe
Description: The Pupa.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Pupa.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.
