Runtimebroker.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Runtimebroker.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent application that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unusable as a result of high CPU use.

What is Runtimebroker.exe process?

Runtimebroker.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Runtimebroker.exe Windows Process

Runtimebroker.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Runtimebroker.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often may cause sad effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Runtimebroker.exe miner?

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

    First off, Runtimebroker.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a virus. 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

    Runtimebroker.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Runtimebroker.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Rthdvcpl.exe, Slui.exe, Gpupdate.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Runtimebroker.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary bad thing coin miners perform to your system. Runtimebroker.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malevolent functions properly, it ruins the security components 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 load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your machine and raise electricity expenses. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered processor fan is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Runtimebroker.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Runtimebroker.exe coin miner virus?

    Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Runtimebroker.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.

    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 programs, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    Security engineer focused on malware behavior, removal workflows, and Windows hardening. Robert reviews threat articles for practical accuracy, checking detection names, symptoms, and cleanup steps before publication.

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