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
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
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
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
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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
Leave a Comment