Windowsdriver.exe executable file is related to a harmful application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Windowsdriver.exe process?
Windowsdriver.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have mentioned earlier, Windowsdriver.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the impacts are almost always the identical. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your desktop to run this procedure. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to use your PC for other activities – it will consistently use over 80% of your CPU power.
Windowsdriver.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Windowsdriver.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can result in bad results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful desktop is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. 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 Windowsdriver.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Firstly, Windowsdriver.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all processor power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Windowsdriver.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Windowsdriver.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Ground.exe, Adasdasdae.exe, Energy.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Windowsdriver.exe removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a single unpleasant thing coin miners perform to your personal computer. Windowsdriver.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malevolent functions successfully, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to avoid recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, running at peak power for a long period of time may cause damage to your machine as well as raise electricity costs. Hardware components 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 cooling system is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Windowsdriver.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case when the performance of your video card plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Windowsdriver.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 widespread malevolent programs among “major” viruses. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Windowsdriver.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that about 30% of all malware spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Windowsdriver.exe is right with 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 dubious web page as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to get paid. For this reason, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and acquire a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals 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 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus program as well as new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Windowsdriver.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 requires the use of special software. Proper anti-malware program should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization even on weak PCs. Additionally, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security tool – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the mentioned characteristics.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Windowsdriver.exe miner consumes a lot of processor capacity, 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, along with the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Windowsdriver.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 Windowsdriver.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Windowsdriver.exe
Description: The Windowsdriver.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Windowsdriver.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.
