Top.exe executable file comes from a malicious application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Top.exe process?
Top.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Top.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Top.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often may lead to sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Top.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, Top.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.
Top.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Top.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Coinhelper/., Js.miner, Regsvr32.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Top.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Top.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To perform all malevolent operations properly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent 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 system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine and increase electricity bills. Hardware components are created to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected CPU cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Top.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad 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 Top.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Top.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.
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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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