Xmreth.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Xmreth.exe executable file is related to a malicious program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner virus. That malware form utilizes your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your computer roughly unfunctional as a result of high CPU usage.
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What is Xmreth.exe process?

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

As I have actually mentioned earlier, Xmreth.exe is a coin miner virus. The names of the .exe file can be diverse, but the impacts are usually the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware power of your PC to run this procedure. This virus doesn’t pay attention to the fact that you may want to make use of your computer for other activities – it will continuously consume over 80% of your CPU power.

Xmreth.exe Windows Process

Xmreth.exe – Very high CPU and GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their operations. In that instance, you will likely struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually used on 100%. It is not as essential as processor for system work, so Xmreth.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It sometimes may lead to bad results.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining term means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful PC is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of video cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” 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

  • 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 Xmreth.exe miner?

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

    First, Xmreth.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your needs, 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 experience incredibly slow efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any type of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

    Xmreth.exe Technical Summary.

    File Name Xmreth.exe
    Type Trojan Coin Miner
    Detection Name Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution Method Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behavior Xmrig99new.exe, Pua.msil, Top.exe
    Removal Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Xmreth.exe removal.

    “Visible” harm is not a solitary unpleasant thing coin miners do to your system. Xmreth.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent functions effectively, it wrecks 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 notes – they are brought in by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the initial state in the process of system recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides slowing down your computer, running at peak level for long times can cause damage to your device and increase electricity costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

    Small and covered CPU fan is hard to crack. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily cracked if touched while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the unusually high load caused by Xmreth.exe malware can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely an unwanted situation when the performance of your GPU plunges 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Xmreth.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 prevalent malicious programs through “serious” viruses. Adware sometimes functions as a carrier for Xmreth.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that around 30% of all viruses spread through the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Xmreth.exe is right with 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 computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy 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 earn money. For this reason, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Prior to blaming these guys for hacking and also malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus program and new parts for your PC.

    How to remove the Xmreth.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 requires making use of special software. Effective antivirus must have high performance at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run security in your protection tool – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great choice that fits each of the mentioned qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to reboot your operating system into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Xmreth.exe miner takes a lot of processor 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 system is in Safe Mode, all third-party software, just like 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 processor usage of the coin miner.

    Remove Xmreth.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 Xmreth.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Xmreth.exe

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