Windeg.exe executable file comes from a malicious application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unusable because of high CPU usage.
What is Windeg.exe process?
Windeg.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned previously, Windeg.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, but the effects are almost always the same. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this procedure. This malware does not take note of the fact that you may need to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will continuously consume over 80% of your CPU power.
Windeg.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably 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 Windeg.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is needed. Exactly, the video card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. 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 Windeg.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Windeg.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.
Windeg.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Windeg.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | M_inst.exe, Spmm.exe, Churkaebanaya.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Windeg.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant activity coin miners perform to your system. Windeg.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To execute all malevolent operations correctly, it wrecks the protection features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides decreasing your system’s performance, running at peak level for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine and raise electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Windeg.exe miner can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Video cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad situation when the performance of your graphic card plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Windeg.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 malicious programs through “severe” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Windeg.exe malware infiltration: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Windeg.exe is just among them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the unreliable web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a huge temptation to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Windeg.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Eliminating such a virus demands using special app. Effective antivirus should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak computers. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security solution – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different reasons. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits all of the mentioned features.5
Before the virus removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Windeg.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the computer without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Windeg.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 Windeg.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Windeg.exe
Description: The Windeg.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Windeg.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.
