Thunderstrike.exe executable file comes from a malicious program that can properly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer almost unusable because of high CPU usage.
What is Thunderstrike.exe process?
Thunderstrike.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out previously, Thunderstrike.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the consequences are almost always the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you probably want to make use of your machine for other tasks – it will continuously consume over 80% of your CPU power.
Thunderstrike.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Thunderstrike.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can result in sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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 Thunderstrike.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Thunderstrike.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all CPU power is consumed 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 experience incredibly slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Thunderstrike.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Thunderstrike.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Setup5.exe, Bloom.exe, Atieclxx.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Thunderstrike.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your PC. Thunderstrike.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. 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 system to a malicious mining 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 power for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as increase electricity expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Tiny and well-protected processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Thunderstrike.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Thunderstrike.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 prevalent malicious programs among “severe” viruses. Adware frequently functions as a carrier for Thunderstrike.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Thunderstrike.exe is just with them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay 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 program and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Thunderstrike.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 involves using specific tool. Proper antivirus should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is better to have on-run protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the specified characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Thunderstrike.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.
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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Thunderstrike.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 Thunderstrike.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Thunderstrike.exe
Description: The Thunderstrike.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Thunderstrike.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.
