Useraccountsetting.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey

Useraccountsetting.exe executable file comes from a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.

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What is Useraccountsetting.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out earlier, Useraccountsetting.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the consequences are generally the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will consistently take over 80% of your CPU power.

Useraccountsetting.exe Windows Process

Useraccountsetting.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Useraccountsetting.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can lead to unhappy results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.

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 Useraccountsetting.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Useraccountsetting.exe malware makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Useraccountsetting.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameUseraccountsetting.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorSym.exe, Davonevur.exe, Jokerpos.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Useraccountsetting.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your PC. Useraccountsetting.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To conduct all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid recognition. 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 system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of system 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 increase electricity costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and well-protected CPU cooling system is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Useraccountsetting.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure. GPUs are also prone to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Useraccountsetting.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 “major” viruses. Adware often functions as a carrier for Useraccountsetting.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Useraccountsetting.exe is right with them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 unreliable site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for every installation. Before blaming these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper 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 Useraccountsetting.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 the use of specific tool. Effective anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the specified features.2

    Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Useraccountsetting.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Useraccountsetting.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 for Useraccountsetting.exe

    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 Useraccountsetting.exe process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. 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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