Windowsloader process belongs to a malicious application that can properly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer pretty much nonfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
What is Windowsloader process?
Windowsloader is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually specified in the previous paragraph, Windowsloader is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be different, however, the effects are generally the identical. Considering that coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you probably need to make use of your desktop for other activities – it will always consume over 80% of your processor power.
Windowsloader – Very high CPU as well as GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that instance, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as crucial as CPU for system work, so Windowsloader coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It often can cause unhappy results.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks 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 Windowsloader miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
Initially, Windowsloader virus makes your PC overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is used by a virus. 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 browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.
Windowsloader Technical Summary.
| File Name | Windowsloader |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Officeclicktorun.exe, Gtavmod.exe, Dog.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Windowsloader removal. |
“Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Windowsloader coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious functions properly, it ruins the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your PC to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the initial state in the process of PC recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your machine and increase power expenses. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Little and well-protected processor fan is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if touched while running, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Windowsloader can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when utilized for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely an undesirable situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Windowsloader 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 through “severe” malware. Adware often functions as a carrier for Windowsloader malware injection: it shows you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that approximately 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Windowsloader is just among them.4
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 dubious site as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a very big lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Windowsloader miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
Removing such a virus requires making use of special tool. Proper security tool must have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak computers. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your protection solution – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits all of the specified features.5
Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Windowsloader miner consumes a lot of CPU 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
Remove Windowsloader 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 Windowsloader Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Windowsloader
Description: The Windowsloader is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Windowsloader 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.
