Service[5].exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Service[5].exe process belongs to a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review
It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!
When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.
Gridinsoft Anti-Malware 6-day trial available.
EULA | Privacy Policy | 10% Off Coupon
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to know about news and our exclusive materials on information security.

What is Service[5].exe process?

Service[5].exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually pointed out in the introduction, Service[5].exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file may be diverse, however, the effects are usually the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your PC for other tasks – it will constantly consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Service[5].exe Windows Process

Service[5].exe – Really high CPU/GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Service[5].exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can lead to bad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. 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

  • 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 Service[5].exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Service[5].exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, 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 exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Service[5].exe Technical Summary.

    File NameService[5].exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorWinservicenetworking.exe, Hamster.exe, Strength.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Service[5].exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Service[5].exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations properly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak level for long times may cause damage to your device as well as raise electricity expenses. 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.

    Small and covered processor cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Service[5].exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Service[5].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 malicious programs through “serious” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Service[5].exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Service[5].exe is just with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware spreading, 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 figure for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Service[5].exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Getting rid of such a virus demands making use of specific software. Effective antivirus must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. 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 objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the discussed characteristics.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Service[5].exe miner consumes 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Service[5].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 Service[5].exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Service[5].exe

    Description: The Service[5].exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Service[5].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

    Sending
    User Review
    3.25 (4 votes)
    Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)

    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.

    Spanish Turkish

    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.

    Leave a Reply

    Sending