Wpsupdate.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Wpsupdate.exe executable file belongs to a malicious program that can properly be defined as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system pretty much unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
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What is Wpsupdate.exe process?

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

As I have specified before, Wpsupdate.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file may be different, however, the consequences are generally the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your desktop to conduct this process. This malware doesn’t take note of the fact that you probably need to make use of your system for other activities – it will constantly consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Wpsupdate.exe Windows Process

Wpsupdate.exe – Really high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so Wpsupdate.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may result in bad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a strong PC is required. Exactly, the video card is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of graphic cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks 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

  • 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 Wpsupdate.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, Wpsupdate.exe virus 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 profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person that does a job online.

    Wpsupdate.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Wpsupdate.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Wpsnotify.exe, Caudiofilteragent64.exe, Sacpl.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Wpsupdate.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary negative activity coin miners perform to your system. Wpsupdate.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To carry out all malevolent operations effectively, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes are about to be thrown back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

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

    Compact and covered processor cooling system is quite hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while running, for example, by the user much earlier before the virus injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Wpsupdate.exe malware can easily lead to graphic processing unit failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is surely an undesirable situation when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Wpsupdate.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 “major” viruses. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Wpsupdate.exe malware injection: it shows you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any kind – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that around 30% of all malware spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Wpsupdate.exe is just one of them.4

    Unwanted banners adware

    The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

    One more way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the dubious 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 earn money. Therefore, there is a huge lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and acquire a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for 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 program and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Wpsupdate.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 needs making use of specific app. Effective antivirus should have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have proactive protection in your security solution – to halt the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these elements for different reasons. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb choice that fits all of the specified characteristics.5

    Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Wpsupdate.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 software, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Wpsupdate.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 Wpsupdate.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Wpsupdate.exe

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