Reg_w8.exe process comes from a malicious application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Reg_w8.exe process?
Reg_w8.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Reg_w8.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the effects are usually the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your personal computer to perform this operation. This malware does not care about the fact that you probably need to use your PC for other tasks – it will consistently take over 80% of your CPU power.
Reg_w8.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Reg_w8.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often can lead to unhappy results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Reg_w8.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Reg_w8.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, 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 can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.
Reg_w8.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Reg_w8.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Officeclicktorun.exe, Gtavmod.exe, Dog.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Reg_w8.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your computer. Reg_w8.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions correctly, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the original in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and raise power costs. PC elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Reg_w8.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Reg_w8.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 malicious programs among “major” viruses. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Reg_w8.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Reg_w8.exe is just one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay 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 software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Reg_w8.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus involves using specific tool. Effective antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal choice that fits all of the specified features.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Reg_w8.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Reg_w8.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 Reg_w8.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Reg_w8.exe
Description: The Reg_w8.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Reg_w8.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.
