Sethc.exe process comes from a malevolent program that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Sethc.exe process?
Sethc.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out in the introduction, Sethc.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this procedure. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you may need to make use of your PC for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.
Sethc.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Sethc.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may result in bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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 Sethc.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Sethc.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.
Sethc.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Sethc.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Tcmsetup.exe, Regini.exe, Cipher.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Sethc.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary negative thing coin miners do to your PC. Sethc.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious functions effectively, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine and increase power costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU fan is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Sethc.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Sethc.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 through “severe” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Sethc.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Sethc.exe is right among them.4
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 site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay 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 as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Sethc.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 the use of specific program. Proper antivirus must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the specified characteristics.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Sethc.exe miner takes 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Sethc.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 Sethc.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Sethc.exe
Description: The Sethc.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Sethc.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.
