Wndows driver.exe process belongs to a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner trojan. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly nonfunctional as a result of high CPU use.
What is Wndows driver.exe process?
Wndows driver.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have specified previously, Wndows driver.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the executive file can be different, however, the consequences are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you may need to make use of your machine for other activities – it will consistently use over 80% of your CPU power.
Wndows driver.exe – Very 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 even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Wndows driver.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can result in sad consequences.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Crypto mining term means the activity of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Crooks who gain money 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
How dangerous is the Wndows driver.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, Wndows driver.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is consumed by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.
Wndows driver.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Wndows driver.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 Wndows driver.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a solitary bad activity coin miners perform to your computer. Wndows driver.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious operations correctly, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this trojan 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 system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times may cause damage to your device and increase electricity expenses. Hardware components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Small and well-protected CPU cooling system is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for example, by the user much earlier before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by Wndows driver.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. GPUs are also tend to have fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely a bad case when the performance of your GPU decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Wndows driver.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 common malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Wndows driver.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which include a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Wndows driver.exe is just among 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 website as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Before blaming these individuals for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.
How to remove the Wndows driver.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 the use of specific app. Appropriate anti-malware program must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have proactive security in your security tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect option that fits each of the mentioned features.5
Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Wndows driver.exe miner takes a lot of processor power, it is needed 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, just like the majority of non-critical Windows components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Wndows driver.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 Wndows driver.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Wndows driver.exe
Description: The Wndows driver.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Wndows driver.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.
