Wpsarm.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Wpsarm.exe executable file belongs to a malevolent program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner 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 utilization.
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What is Wpsarm.exe process?

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

As I have specified earlier, Wpsarm.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, however, the impacts are almost always the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your PC to run this procedure. This malware does not care about the fact that you may want to use your computer for other activities – it will always use over 80% of your CPU power.

Wpsarm.exe Windows Process

Wpsarm.exe – Very high CPU/GPU usage

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

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a high-end desktop 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 GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit 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

  • Extremely bad performance
  • CPU/GPU cooler fan creates a lot of noise
  • High temperature of the device (for laptops)
  • 80-90% consumption of CPU/GPU resources by an unknown process
  • Microsoft Defender is not working
  • How dangerous is the Wpsarm.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, Wpsarm.exe malware makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications anymore, as all CPU power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, all it focuses on is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages can open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Wpsarm.exe Technical Summary.

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

    “Visible” damage is not a single negative activity coin miners do to your personal computer. Wpsarm.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To perform all malicious functions properly, it ruins the security mechanisms 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 load of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes are about to be gone back to the original in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, running at peak power for a long period of time may trigger damage to your device and raise electricity expenses. Hardware elements are designed to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only in case when they are in a good shape.

    Little and well-protected CPU cooling system is not very easy to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Wpsarm.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Video cards are also prone to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an unwanted case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Wpsarm.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 common malicious programs among “major” viruses. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Wpsarm.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which contain a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Wpsarm.exe is just one of 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 dubious site as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked versions of well-known programs (which do not need 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 get a coin for each setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Wpsarm.exe miner from my PC?

    The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software

    Eliminating such a virus requires using specific app. Effective security tool must have high efficiency at scanning and be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that objective. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Wpsarm.exe miner consumes 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.

    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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not started with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Wpsarm.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 Wpsarm.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Wpsarm.exe

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