Unic.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Unic.exe process comes from a malicious application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Unic.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out before, Unic.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your desktop to run this process. This virus does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your machine for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your processor power.

Unic.exe Windows Process

Unic.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Unic.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It often can cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end machine is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Unic.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, Unic.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Unic.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Unic.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Win64.exe, Consulta.exe, Diskmanagment.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Unic.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your system. Unic.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, performing at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your device as well as increase electricity expenses. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Unic.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Unic.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 widespread malevolent programs among “serious” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Unic.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Unic.exe is just among 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 untrustworthy site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Unic.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 demands 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 also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is better to have on-run protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various 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 characteristics.5

    Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Unic.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed to halt 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with 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 Unic.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 Unic.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Unic.exe

    Description: The Unic.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Unic.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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