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
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
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
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
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.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
Leave a Comment