Task16minerstarter.exe Virus (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Task16minerstarter.exe process belongs to a malicious application that can properly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.

What is Task16minerstarter.exe process?

Task16minerstarter.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Task16minerstarter.exe Windows Process

Task16minerstarter.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Task16minerstarter.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

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 Task16minerstarter.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, Task16minerstarter.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly slow performance. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.

    Task16minerstarter.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Task16minerstarter.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Dhcpsvchostdllcommon.exe, Microsoftconhost.exe, Temp.working
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Task16minerstarter.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your computer. Task16minerstarter.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent functions properly, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your machine and increase power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Little and well-protected CPU fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Task16minerstarter.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Task16minerstarter.exe coin miner virus?

    Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
    Unwanted banners adware

    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 unreliable site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Task16minerstarter.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.

    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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    Security engineer focused on malware behavior, removal workflows, and Windows hardening. Robert reviews threat articles for practical accuracy, checking detection names, symptoms, and cleanup steps before publication.

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