Scantopcactivationapp.exe process is related to a malicious application that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Scantopcactivationapp.exe process?
Scantopcactivationapp.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out earlier, Scantopcactivationapp.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the impacts are almost always the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this process. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you may need to use your desktop for other tasks – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.
Scantopcactivationapp.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Scantopcactivationapp.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may cause unhappy consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the action 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 strong machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who gain money 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 Scantopcactivationapp.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Scantopcactivationapp.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.
Scantopcactivationapp.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Scantopcactivationapp.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Ccleaner64.exe, Chrmstp.exe, Adobearm.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Scantopcactivationapp.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary negative thing coin miners do to your system. Scantopcactivationapp.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent operations correctly, it ruins the security components 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 number of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Scantopcactivationapp.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Scantopcactivationapp.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 widespread malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware often functions as a carrier for Scantopcactivationapp.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Scantopcactivationapp.exe is just with them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing 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 computer.
How to remove the Scantopcactivationapp.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 requires the use of specific software. Proper antivirus must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different 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 choice that fits each of the specified characteristics.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Scantopcactivationapp.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed to stop 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 apps, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Scantopcactivationapp.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 Scantopcactivationapp.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Scantopcactivationapp.exe
Description: The Scantopcactivationapp.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Scantopcactivationapp.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.
