Tasklist.exe executable file comes from a malevolent program that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU utilization.
What is Tasklist.exe process?
Tasklist.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified previously, Tasklist.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the consequences are almost always the identical. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to run this operation. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to make use of your device for other activities – it will constantly use over 80% of your processor power.
Tasklist.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Tasklist.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes can result in bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the action 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 PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Tasklist.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Tasklist.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely slow performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Tasklist.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Tasklist.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Postinstall.exe, Anydesk.exe, Vmsa.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Tasklist.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary bad thing coin miners do to your personal computer. Tasklist.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious functions successfully, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – 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 PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for a long period of time can cause damage to your device as well as raise power expenses. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and covered processor fan is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Tasklist.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Tasklist.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 malicious programs among “serious” viruses. Adware sometimes works as a carrier for Tasklist.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Tasklist.exe is right one of them.4
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 suspicious web page as a part of a program. People who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Tasklist.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 software. Proper anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits each of the discussed features.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Tasklist.exe miner takes a lot of CPU 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.
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 programs, just like the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Tasklist.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.
After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.
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.
Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.
Remove Tasklist.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Tasklist.exe
Description: The Tasklist.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Tasklist.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
User Review
( votes)References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
