Wsappx.exe is a process that runs in the background on your Windows 11, Windows 10 computer as a part of the Windows Store and the Universal app platform of Microsoft. But in some cases, wsappx is related to a harmful program that can correctly be recognized as a coin miner virus. That malware form uses your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, basically – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional because of high CPU utilization.
What is Wsappx.exe process?
Wsappx.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
As I have actually mentioned before, Wsappx.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the .exe file may be different, but the effects are generally identical. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware power of your PC to run this procedure. This virus does not care about the fact that you may need to use your computer for other tasks – it will always take over 80% of your CPU power.
Wsappx.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU usage
Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Wsappx.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use it all. It often may lead to unhappy effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of tens and hundreds of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such systems are not usable for “general” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for regular activity.2
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Wsappx.exe miner?
Coin miners does not deal damage to your files. However, they make a lot of unpleasant things with the whole system
First, Wsappx.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, since all processor power is used by malware. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until the web browser is open, you will likely struggle with exceptionally slow performance. Pages will open up for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a headache for a person that works online.
Wsappx.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Wsappx.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Displayhelp.exe, Pup.optional, Ohgodanethlargementpill.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Wsappx.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single bad activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Wsappx.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your operating system. To carry out all malicious operations successfully, it wrecks the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are brought in by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these changes shall be gone back to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides making your PC slow, performing at peak level for long times can cause damage to your machine and increase electricity bills. Hardware elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.
Small and covered processor fan is hard to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much earlier before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Wsappx.exe can easily lead to GPU failure3. GPUs are also prone to have increased wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is surely a bad case when the performance of your video card decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being exploited in such a way.
How did I get Wsappx.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 prevalent malicious programs among “severe” malware. Adware often works as a carrier for Wsappx.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics show that about 30% of all malware spread through the malicious banners are coin miners – and Wsappx.exe is right one of them.4
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this item on your PC is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. People who spread hacked variants of well-known programs (which do not demand the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a huge temptation to add malware to the final package of the hacked app and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid buying the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.
How to remove the Wsappx.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 needs using specific app. Appropriate antivirus should have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with utilization also on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have proactive security in your security solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that goal. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits each of the mentioned characteristics.5
Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Wsappx.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.
Remove Wsappx.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 Wsappx.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner
Name: Wsappx.exe
Description: The Wsappx.exe is a Trojan Coin Miner that uses the infected computer’s sources to mine electronic money without your authorization. This Wsappx.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 crypto mining work.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of crypto mining.
- Read more about various malware type on Cybersecurity Glossary.
- Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
