Vbhost.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Vbhost.exe process comes from a malicious application that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional due to high CPU utilization.
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What is Vbhost.exe process?

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

As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, Vbhost.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, but the effects are almost always the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your desktop to perform this process. This malware does not pay attention to the fact that you may want to use your computer for other activities – it will constantly consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Vbhost.exe Windows Process

Vbhost.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Vbhost.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may cause sad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation 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. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Vbhost.exe miner?

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

    Firstly, Vbhost.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 struggle with exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.

    Vbhost.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameVbhost.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorXservicegpu.exe, Kthmimu.exe, Serviceks.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Vbhost.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single negative thing coin miners perform to your PC. Vbhost.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be gone back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak level for long times may trigger damage to your machine as well as increase electricity costs. PC elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Compact and covered CPU cooling system is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Vbhost.exe miner can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

    How did I get Vbhost.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 widespread malicious programs through “major” viruses. Adware frequently serves as a carrier for Vbhost.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Vbhost.exe is right one of 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 PC is by downloading it from the unreliable site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to make money. Thus, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your desktop.

    How to remove the Vbhost.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Removing such a virus needs making use of special app. Effective security tool should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak PCs. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your protection solution – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the mentioned features.5

    Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Vbhost.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Vbhost.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 Vbhost.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Vbhost.exe

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