Socketheciserver.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey

Socketheciserver.exe process comes from a harmful program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost nonfunctional due to high CPU usage.

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What is Socketheciserver.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned before, Socketheciserver.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to conduct this operation. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you may need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will constantly use over 80% of your CPU power.

Socketheciserver.exe Windows Process

Socketheciserver.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as important as CPU for system work, so Socketheciserver.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to sad effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • |

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • |

  • 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 Socketheciserver.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Socketheciserver.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who works online.

    Socketheciserver.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameSocketheciserver.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorGpunv.exe, Hellminer.exe, Fwplayer.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Socketheciserver.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your PC. Socketheciserver.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your device and raise electricity expenses. PC components are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Socketheciserver.exe miner can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure2. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Socketheciserver.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 among “serious” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Socketheciserver.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Socketheciserver.exe is right among them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable website as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Socketheciserver.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 involves the use of special program. Effective anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the specified qualities.3

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Socketheciserver.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, it is required 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-critical Windows 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 Socketheciserver.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 for Socketheciserver.exe

    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 Socketheciserver.exe process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Socketheciserver.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Socketheciserver.exe

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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    3. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    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.

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