Vlabtk.exe executable file is related to a malevolent application that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
What is Vlabtk.exe process?
Vlabtk.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, Vlabtk.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the effects are generally the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your personal computer to perform this procedure. This malware doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably want to use your PC for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your CPU power.
Vlabtk.exe – Really high CPU/GPU use
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Vlabtk.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may result in unhappy consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Vlabtk.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, Vlabtk.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is consumed by a virus. 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 browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Vlabtk.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Vlabtk.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Ethminer.exe, Popo.exe, Sxstrace.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Vlabtk.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your PC. Vlabtk.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To complete all malicious functions effectively, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your computer’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device as well as raise electricity bills. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered CPU cooling system is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Vlabtk.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Vlabtk.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 common malevolent programs among “serious” malware. Adware often works as a carrier for Vlabtk.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Vlabtk.exe is just one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
Another way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the untrustworthy website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each setup. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Vlabtk.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 demands making use of specific tool. Proper antivirus must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. Additionally, it is better to have on-run protection in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Vlabtk.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU power, it is needed 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, along with the majority of non-critical operating system 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 Vlabtk.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 Vlabtk.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Vlabtk.exe
Description: The Vlabtk.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Vlabtk.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.
