Runner.exe process is related to a harmful program that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional due to high CPU usage.
What is Runner.exe process?
Runner.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually specified earlier, Runner.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, but the consequences are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your personal computer to perform this operation. This virus doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably want to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your CPU power.
Runner.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Runner.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may result in unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation 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 strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. 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 Runner.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, Runner.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.
Runner.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Runner.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Apminertool.exe, Paint.exe, Dism.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Runner.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Runner.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak level for long times may trigger damage to your machine as well as increase power costs. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Runner.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Runner.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 frequently serves as a carrier for Runner.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Runner.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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Runner.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus involves making use of specific software. Proper antivirus must have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your protection tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the discussed characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Runner.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 applications, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Runner.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 Runner.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Runner.exe
Description: The Runner.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Runner.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.
