Vncutil.exe process is related to a malicious application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer almost unfunctional because of high CPU usage.
What is Vncutil.exe process?
Vncutil.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned in the previous paragraph, Vncutil.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the impacts are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your PC to run this process. This virus does not pay attention to the fact that you probably need to use your desktop for other tasks – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.
Vncutil.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as critical as processor for system work, so Vncutil.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can cause unhappy consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining is a term that means the action 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 very strong machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money 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 Vncutil.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Vncutil.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 struggle with incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.
Vncutil.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Vncutil.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Nod42.exe, Health.exe, Cvc.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Vncutil.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your PC. Vncutil.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent functions successfully, it wrecks the protection mechanisms 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 lot of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your PC’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine as well as increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered CPU fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Vncutil.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely a bad case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Vncutil.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 prevalent malevolent programs through “major” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Vncutil.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Vncutil.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. For this reason, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Vncutil.exe 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 demands using specific tool. Effective anti-malware program must have high efficiency at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for various reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the discussed characteristics.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Vncutil.exe miner takes 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.
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 applications, along with the majority of non-critical 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 Vncutil.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 Vncutil.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Vncutil.exe
Description: The Vncutil.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Vncutil.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.
