Xxx.exe executable file comes from a harmful program that can correctly be identified as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware type uses your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, primarily – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your system almost unusable because of high CPU utilization.
What is Xxx.exe process?
Xxx.exe is a malicious process created by coin miner virus
Xxx.exe – Really high CPU and GPU use
Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will struggle also to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is often utilized on 100%. It is not as essential as CPU for system work, so Xxx.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can cause bad effects.
Shortly about cryptocurrency mining
List of the typical coin miner symptoms
How dangerous is the Xxx.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, Xxx.exe malware makes your computer overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, since all processor power is used by a virus. That malware does not care for your demands, all it focuses on is making money on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from incredibly sluggish performance. Pages will open for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a headache for a person who does a job online.
Xxx.exe Technical Summary.
| File Name | Xxx.exe |
| Type | Trojan Coin Miner |
| Detection Name | Trojan:Win32/CoinMiner |
| Distribution Method | Software bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc. |
| Similar behavior | Gpu.exe, Msdwf.exe, Cftmon.exe |
| Removal | Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Xxx.exe removal. |
“Visible” damage is not a single negative activity coin miners perform to your personal computer. Xxx.exe coin miner also deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent functions successfully, it ruins the security mechanisms of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a ton of new notes – they are added by this coin miner to connect your system to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be reverted to the original in the process of system recovery.
Hardware effects of coin miner activity
Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak power for long times can cause damage to your device and increase power bills. PC components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.
Compact and well-protected CPU cooling system is hard to broke. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily broke if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Xxx.exe virus can easily lead to graphic card failure3. Graphic cards are also prone to have increased wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.
How did I get Xxx.exe coin miner virus?
Coin miners are spread through different ways, but their main sources are malicious banners and programs from dubious sources
The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet
An additional way you could get this thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big lure to add in malware to the final package of the hacked app and get a coin for every installation. Prior to criticizing these individuals for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid paying for the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.
How to remove the Xxx.exe miner from my PC?
The best way to get rid of this coin miner virus is to use anti-malware software
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 programs, just like the majority of non-critical system components, are not started with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the PC without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.
References
- Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
- About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
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