Pxsetup.exe executable file is related to a malicious program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Pxsetup.exe process?
Pxsetup.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out before, Pxsetup.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this operation. This virus does not take note of the fact that you may need to make use of your computer for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.
Pxsetup.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Pxsetup.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can cause sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Pxsetup.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Pxsetup.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.
Pxsetup.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Pxsetup.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Useraccountsetting.exe, Sym.exe, Davonevur.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Pxsetup.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative thing coin miners perform to your system. Pxsetup.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To conduct all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and increase power bills. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Pxsetup.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Pxsetup.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 common malevolent programs among “serious” malware. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Pxsetup.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Pxsetup.exe is right with them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Pxsetup.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 demands the use of special tool. Effective antivirus should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different reasons. 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 all of the mentioned features.2
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Pxsetup.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, it is required to halt 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Pxsetup.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.
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
