Reghost.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Reghost.exe executable file is related to a malicious application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Reghost.exe process?

Reghost.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have mentioned in the introduction, Reghost.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your PC to perform this process. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you probably need to make use of your device for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Reghost.exe Windows Process

Reghost.exe – Very high CPU/GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Reghost.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may result in unhappy effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Reghost.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    First of all, Reghost.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

    Reghost.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameReghost.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorSafas2f.exe, Lupservices.exe, Xmreth.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Reghost.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Reghost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To execute all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the security features 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 adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, running at peak power for long times can cause damage to your machine and raise electricity costs. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Reghost.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Reghost.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 common malevolent programs among “major” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Reghost.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Reghost.exe is right among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every installation. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Reghost.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 demands using specific app. Effective security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. On top of that, it is better to have proactive security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements 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 perfect choice that fits all of the discussed features.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Reghost.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Reghost.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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Reghost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Reghost.exe

    Description: The Reghost.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Reghost.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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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