Vid.dat process is related to a malevolent program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Vid.dat process?
Vid.dat is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified in the introduction, Vid.dat is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, however, the consequences are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware power of your desktop to conduct this process. This virus does not take note of the fact that you may need to use your machine for other activities – it will continuously take over 80% of your processor power.
Vid.dat – Very high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Vid.dat coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a strong computer is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money 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
How dangerous is the Vid.dat miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First of all, Vid.dat malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow performance. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.
Vid.dat Technical Summary.
| File Name | Vid.dat |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Soundservice.exe, Strongix.exe, Servicegetnartez.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Vid.dat removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative activity coin miners perform to your system. Vid.dat coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for long times can trigger damage to your machine as well as raise electricity bills. PC 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.
Compact and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Vid.dat miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Vid.dat 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 “serious” viruses. Adware often serves as a carrier for Vid.dat malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – yet 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 Vid.dat is just with them.4
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 unreliable website as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Vid.dat 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 requires making use of specific app. Proper anti-malware program must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak PCs. Additionally, it is better to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits all of the specified characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Vid.dat miner takes 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.
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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Vid.dat 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 Vid.dat Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Vid.dat
Description: The Vid.dat is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Vid.dat 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.
