Updatesyswow.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Updatesyswow.exe process belongs to a harmful application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU usage.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review
It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!
When we talk about the intrusion of unfamiliar programs into your computer’s work, the proverb “Forewarned is forearmed” describes the situation as accurately as possible. Gridinsoft Anti-Malware is exactly the tool that is always useful to have in your armory: fast, efficient, up-to-date. It is appropriate to use it as an emergency help at the slightest suspicion of infection.
Gridinsoft Anti-Malware 6-day trial available.
EULA | Privacy Policy | 10% Off Coupon
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to know about news and our exclusive materials on information security.

What is Updatesyswow.exe process?

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

As I have pointed out before, Updatesyswow.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the consequences are usually the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this operation. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your PC for other tasks – it will constantly consume over 80% of your processor power.

Updatesyswow.exe Windows Process

Updatesyswow.exe – Really high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Updatesyswow.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to sad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters 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 Updatesyswow.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    Firstly, Updatesyswow.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely slow performance. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that does a job online.

    Updatesyswow.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameUpdatesyswow.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorAggregatorhost.exe, Windows.security, Drive.watchdog
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Updatesyswow.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your computer. Updatesyswow.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open 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 cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of system 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 as well as raise power bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Little and covered processor cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Updatesyswow.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an unwanted situation when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Updatesyswow.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 “severe” malware. Adware frequently acts as a carrier for Updatesyswow.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Updatesyswow.exe is just among them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Updatesyswow.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 requires the use of special app. Proper anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. In addition, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits all of the discussed features.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Updatesyswow.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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 launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Updatesyswow.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 Updatesyswow.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Updatesyswow.exe

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

    Sending
    User Review
    3.25 (4 votes)
    Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)

    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.

    Spanish Turkish

    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.

    Leave a Reply

    Sending