Windows service.exe process comes from a malicious program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unusable as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Windows service.exe process?
Windows service.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, Windows service.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the effects are almost always the identical. Considering that coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all possible hardware capacity of your PC to run this procedure. This malware does not take note of the fact that you may need to use your desktop for other tasks – it will consistently use over 80% of your processor power.
Windows service.exe – Extremely high CPU/GPU usage
Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Windows service.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes may lead to sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong computer is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. 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 Windows service.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Windows service.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, as all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with incredibly slow performance. Pages can open for years, any type of logins will likely take about a minute – just a horror story for a person that works online.
Windows service.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Windows service.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Entertainment.exe, Hxoutlook.exe, Roclin.click |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Windows service.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary negative activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Windows service.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To complete all malicious operations properly, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as raise power expenses. PC components are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.
Little and covered CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while spinning, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Windows service.exe can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Windows service.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 malicious programs through “major” malware. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Windows service.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Windows service.exe is just one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
One more way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious site as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Thus, there is a huge temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Before criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Windows service.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 needs using specific software. Proper anti-malware program must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak computers. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have 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 each of the specified characteristics.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Windows service.exe miner takes a lot of processor capacity, 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Windows service.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 Windows service.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Windows service.exe
Description: The Windows service.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Windows service.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.
