Soundflowpicker.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Soundflowpicker.exe executable file belongs to a malicious application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin. It makes your computer almost unusable as a result of high CPU utilization.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review
It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!
When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.
Gridinsoft Anti-Malware 6-day trial available.
EULA | Privacy Policy | 10% Off Coupon
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to know about news and our exclusive materials on information security.

What is Soundflowpicker.exe process?

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

As I have pointed out in the previous paragraph, Soundflowpicker.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the effects are usually the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this operation. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may want to make use of your machine for other activities – it will constantly consume over 80% of your processor power.

Soundflowpicker.exe Windows Process

Soundflowpicker.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Soundflowpicker.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can lead to sad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via Soundflowpicker.exe coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.1

List of the typical Soundflowpicker.exe coin miner symptoms

  • 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 Soundflowpicker.exe miner?

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

    First off, Soundflowpicker.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because 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 browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally sluggish performance. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who works online.

    Soundflowpicker.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameSoundflowpicker.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorLoadm.exelator, Loadm.exelator, Vin001.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Soundflowpicker.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your PC. Soundflowpicker.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are brought in by Soundflowpicker.exe trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be gone back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine as well as increase electricity costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered CPU cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Soundflowpicker.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failur2. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when {your GPU’s performance|the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Soundflowpicker.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 common malevolent programs through “serious” viruses. Adware often functions as a carrier for Soundflowpicker.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include 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 malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Soundflowpicker.exe is right one of them.3

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    An additional way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Soundflowpicker.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of Soundflowpicker.exe virus is to use anti-malware software

    Getting rid of such a virus needs the use of specific app. Effective anti-malware program should have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run security in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various reasons. That’s why I ‘d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits each of the discussed characteristics.4

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Soundflowpicker.exe miner consumes 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.

    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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of Soundflowpicker.exe miner process.

    Remove Soundflowpicker.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 trial license

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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 process

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

    Remove Soundflowpicker.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Soundflowpicker.exe

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

    Sending
    User Review
    3.67 (6 votes)
    Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)

    References

    1. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    3. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    4. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

    Spanish Turkish

    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.

    Leave a Reply

    Sending