Smartsense.exe executable file comes from a harmful program that can properly 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 because of high CPU use.
What is Smartsense.exe process?
Smartsense.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually specified earlier, Smartsense.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the impacts are almost always the identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your PC to run this process. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to make use of your computer for other tasks – it will consistently take over 80% of your processor power.
Smartsense.exe – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Smartsense.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can lead to bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very strong computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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
How dangerous is the Smartsense.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, Smartsense.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Smartsense.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Smartsense.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Editor.exe, Fesa.exe, Routerapplication.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Smartsense.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single negative activity coin miners perform to your computer. Smartsense.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions properly, it wrecks the security components 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 notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak power for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and raise power costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, 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 really high load caused by Smartsense.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Smartsense.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 “major” viruses. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Smartsense.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have 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 malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Smartsense.exe is just one of them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Hence, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these guys 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 bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Smartsense.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 involves making use of special software. Appropriate antivirus must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. On top of that, it is better to have proactive security in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. 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 reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits all of the specified features.4
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Smartsense.exe miner takes a lot of CPU 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.
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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Smartsense.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 Smartsense.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Smartsense.exe
Description: The Smartsense.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Smartsense.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.
