Windowsformsapp3.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Windowsformsapp3.exe process comes from a malevolent application that can accurately be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much nonfunctional because of high CPU use.
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What is Windowsformsapp3.exe process?

Windowsformsapp3.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus

As I have actually mentioned in the introduction, Windowsformsapp3.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the consequences are generally the same. Because coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to perform this procedure. This malware doesn’t care about the fact that you may want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will consistently consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Windowsformsapp3.exe Windows Process

Windowsformsapp3.exe – Extremely high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their operations. In that situation, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Windowsformsapp3.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize it all. It sometimes may result in bad consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the operation 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 high-end PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. 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’ computers instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Microsoft Defender is stopped;
  • CPU and GPU is loaded at 80-90% exactly after the system start
  • Cooling fans are running at high speed and create a lot of noise
  • A single process in Task Manager consumes all CPU and GPU power
  • How dangerous is the Windowsformsapp3.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, Windowsformsapp3.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, because all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience extremely slow efficiency. Pages will open up for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.

    Windowsformsapp3.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Windowsformsapp3.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Wcdsemgr.exe, Dhuzt.exe, Winservices.virus/
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Windowsformsapp3.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Windowsformsapp3.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To execute all malicious operations properly, it ruins the protection mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of PC recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device as well as increase power bills. Hardware components are designed to easily get along with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Little and well-protected CPU fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if touched while working, for example, by the user much before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Windowsformsapp3.exe virus can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Windowsformsapp3.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 prevalent malevolent programs among “serious” malware. Adware sometimes works as a carrier for Windowsformsapp3.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Windowsformsapp3.exe is just with them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    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 versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus program and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Windowsformsapp3.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 making use of special tool. Effective security tool should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak computers. In addition, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection tool – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is an ideal option that fits each of the discussed qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Windowsformsapp3.exe miner consumes 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.

    Boot into Windows Safe Mode

    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.

    windows safe mode boot option with command prompt

    When your PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Windowsformsapp3.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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware free trial

    After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

    Scanning in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

    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.

    GridinSoft Anti-Malware after the scan process

    Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

    Remove Windowsformsapp3.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Windowsformsapp3.exe

    Description: The Windowsformsapp3.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Windowsformsapp3.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

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    References

    1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
    2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
    3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
    4. Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
    5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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    About the author

    Robert Bailey

    I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

    As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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