Skypebackgroundhost.exe process belongs to a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unusable due to high CPU usage.
What is Skypebackgroundhost.exe process?
Skypebackgroundhost.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified in the previous paragraph, Skypebackgroundhost.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the effects are generally the identical. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your PC to run this operation. This virus doesn’t take note of the fact that you may want to use your computer for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your processor power.
Skypebackgroundhost.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Skypebackgroundhost.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may result in bad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters 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 Skypebackgroundhost.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, Skypebackgroundhost.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, 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 experience exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Skypebackgroundhost.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Skypebackgroundhost.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Cxproper.exe, Mictray64.exe, Cxutilsvc.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Skypebackgroundhost.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Skypebackgroundhost.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security mechanisms 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 number of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your machine and increase power bills. Hardware components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered CPU cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked 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 Skypebackgroundhost.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Skypebackgroundhost.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 malevolent programs through “severe” viruses. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Skypebackgroundhost.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Skypebackgroundhost.exe is just among them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer 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 demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Skypebackgroundhost.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus demands making use of specific program. Proper anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions 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 an ideal choice that fits each of the discussed characteristics.4
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Skypebackgroundhost.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Skypebackgroundhost.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 Skypebackgroundhost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Skypebackgroundhost.exe
Description: The Skypebackgroundhost.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Skypebackgroundhost.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.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
