Smartstandby.exe executable file is related to a malicious program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unusable because of high CPU use.
What is Smartstandby.exe process?
Smartstandby.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned before, Smartstandby.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the effects are usually the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your PC to perform this process. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will consistently take over 80% of your processor power.
Smartstandby.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Smartstandby.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
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How dangerous is the Smartstandby.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, Smartstandby.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Smartstandby.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Smartstandby.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Socketheciserver.exe, Gpunv.exe, Hellminer.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Smartstandby.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners do to your system. Smartstandby.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes 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 computer, running at peak power for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware components are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered processor cooling system is not very easy to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Smartstandby.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure2. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Smartstandby.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 the most widespread malicious programs among “serious” viruses. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Smartstandby.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Smartstandby.exe is just among them.
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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Smartstandby.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus requires making use of special tool. Proper security tool must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have proactive security in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb choice that fits all of the mentioned features.3
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Smartstandby.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Smartstandby.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 Smartstandby.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Smartstandby.exe
Description: The Smartstandby.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Smartstandby.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.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
