Vkise.exe executable file is related to a malevolent application that can properly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unusable as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Vkise.exe process?
Vkise.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Vkise.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Vkise.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It often may result in sad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer 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
How dangerous is the Vkise.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First off, Vkise.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from extremely slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.
Vkise.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Vkise.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Tskschd.exe, Factor.exe, Ks_bridge.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Vkise.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single negative activity coin miners perform to your computer. Vkise.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To complete all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time can cause damage to your machine and increase electricity expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily get along 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 hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Vkise.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Vkise.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 malicious programs through “serious” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Vkise.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Vkise.exe is just with them.
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every installation. Prior to blaming these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Vkise.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 apps, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
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.
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