Winginx.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Winginx.exe executable file comes from a malevolent application that can correctly be defined as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer pretty much nonfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Winginx.exe process?

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

As I have pointed out in the introduction, Winginx.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the impacts are generally the same. Because coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this process. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your device for other tasks – it will consistently use over 80% of your CPU power.

Winginx.exe Windows Process

Winginx.exe – Very high CPU/GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often used on 100%. It is not as vital as CPU for system work, so Winginx.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes can result in unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the action 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 machine is needed. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.2

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

  • Your device overheats (system unit/laptop body is very hot)
  • You are not able to open your apps or they are opening for ages
  • Unknown process is running in the background and consumes your PC resources
  • Windows Defender does not respond
  • How dangerous is the Winginx.exe miner?

    Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system

    First of all, Winginx.exe malware makes your PC 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 focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly slow performance. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who works online.

    Winginx.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameWinginx.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorSgmain.exe, Mnolyk.exe, Nbveek.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Winginx.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners perform to your computer. Winginx.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malicious functions properly, it ruins the protection components 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 ton of new entries – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be reverted to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for long times may trigger damage to your machine as well as raise power bills. PC elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and covered CPU fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for instance, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Winginx.exe can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have very fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Winginx.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 widespread malicious programs through “severe” viruses. Adware often works as a carrier for Winginx.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all malware spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Winginx.exe is just among them.

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    Another way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to earn money. Thus, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each setup. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and 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 and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Winginx.exe 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 needs making use of specific app. Effective anti-malware program should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage also on weak PCs. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these features for different factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits all of the specified qualities.4

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Winginx.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, 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.

    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 applications, just like the majority of non-critical operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Winginx.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 Winginx.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Winginx.exe

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