Setup2.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Setup2.exe process is related to a malevolent program that can accurately be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional because 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 Setup2.exe process?

Setup2.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have specified earlier, Setup2.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, but the consequences are generally the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your personal computer to run this procedure. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you may need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will continuously consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Setup2.exe Windows Process

Setup2.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Setup2.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can cause unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who make profit 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

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Setup2.exe miner?

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

    First of all, Setup2.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is used by a virus. 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 experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Setup2.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Setup2.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Wifitask.exe, Dllhostn.exe, G_jugk.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Setup2.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary bad activity coin miners do to your system. Setup2.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your machine and increase power 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.

    Tiny and covered CPU fan is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Setup2.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Setup2.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “major” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Setup2.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Setup2.exe is right among 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 untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Setup2.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 tool. Proper security tool must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these features for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the specified features.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Setup2.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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.

    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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Setup2.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 Setup2.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Setup2.exe

    Description: The Setup2.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Setup2.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