Sword2.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Sword2.exe process is related to a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Sword2.exe process?

Sword2.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually specified in the previous paragraph, Sword2.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the effects are generally the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to conduct this process. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your processor power.

Sword2.exe Windows Process

Sword2.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Sword2.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often may cause bad effects.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very strong desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • 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
  • How dangerous is the Sword2.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Sword2.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, 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 suffer from incredibly slow performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.

    Sword2.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Sword2.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior 8.exe, Exe.virus, Gui.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Sword2.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Sword2.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops 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 PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your device as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and well-protected processor cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Sword2.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Sword2.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 prevalent malevolent programs among “severe” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Sword2.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Sword2.exe is right one of them.4

    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 unreliable website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Sword2.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 specific tool. Effective antivirus should have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization also on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned features.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Sword2.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, 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 operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Sword2.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 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 Sword2.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Sword2.exe

    Description: The Sword2.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Sword2.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. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. 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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