Updgt.exe process is related to a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unusable because of high CPU utilization.
What is Updgt.exe process?
Updgt.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have pointed out before, Updgt.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the impacts are usually the same. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your PC to perform this process. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your machine for other tasks – it will continuously take over 80% of your CPU power.
Updgt.exe – Very high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of 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 Updgt.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause sad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong desktop is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “normal” 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
How dangerous is the Updgt.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Updgt.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Updgt.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Updgt.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Sas.exe, Programinstaller.exe, Wdfaf.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Updgt.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad activity coin miners do to your computer. Updgt.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malicious functions correctly, it ruins the security components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, running at peak power for long times can cause damage to your machine and raise power expenses. Hardware components 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 CPU cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Updgt.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Updgt.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 through “major” malware. Adware often acts as a carrier for Updgt.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Updgt.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 site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Updgt.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 specific app. Effective antivirus should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. Additionally, it is recommended to have on-run security in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these features 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 each of the mentioned features.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Updgt.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 software, along with the majority of non-crucial Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Updgt.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 Updgt.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Updgt.exe
Description: The Updgt.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Updgt.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.
