Second.exe process is related to a malicious application that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system roughly unusable as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Second.exe process?
Second.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified before, Second.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, but the effects are usually the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware power of your desktop to conduct this process. This malware does not care about the fact that you probably need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will always use over 80% of your CPU power.
Second.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Second.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money 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
How dangerous is the Second.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Second.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.
Second.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Second.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Gpagent.exe, Windowsdefender.exe, Fish.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Second.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners do to your personal computer. Second.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious operations 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 ton of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered processor fan is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for example, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Second.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted 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 Second.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 widespread malevolent programs through “major” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Second.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Second.exe is just with them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website 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. Thus, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Second.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 demands the use of specific program. Appropriate security tool must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the specified features.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Second.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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Second.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 Second.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Second.exe
Description: The Second.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Second.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.
