Smassvc.exe process is related to a malicious application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Smassvc.exe process?
Smassvc.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Smassvc.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Smassvc.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can cause sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Smassvc.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Smassvc.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.
Smassvc.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Smassvc.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Travel.exe, Gallery.exe, Izteys.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Smassvc.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Smassvc.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton 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 gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your device and increase electricity costs. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs 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 malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Smassvc.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an undesirable case when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Smassvc.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 item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. For this reason, there is a huge lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Before 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 figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Smassvc.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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor 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.
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