Yam.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

Written by Robert Bailey
Yam.exe process comes from a harmful application that can accurately be recognized as a coin miner trojan virus. That malware form utilizes your PC components to mine cryptocurrencies, generally – Monero or DarkCoin1. It makes your personal computer roughly unfunctional because of high CPU usage.
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What is Yam.exe process?

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

As I have actually pointed out previously, Yam.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file may be diverse, however, the consequences are usually the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all available hardware capacity of your PC to run this process. This malware does not take note of the fact that you probably need to use your device for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Yam.exe Windows Process

Yam.exe – Really high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU utilization, some of the coin miners additionally use GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will likely struggle also to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as crucial as processor for system work, so Yam.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes may cause unhappy consequences.

Shortly about cryptocurrency mining

Crypto mining means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a integral element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very strong computer is needed. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms are usually constructed of tens and hundreds of graphic cards to complete their task efficiently. Such computer systems are not usable for “classic” purposes, like gaming or web browsing. Fraudsters who gain money via this coin miner use someones’ hardware 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 Yam.exe miner?

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

    Initially, Yam.exe virus makes your computer overloaded. It is not able to run your applications anymore, as all processor power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it pays attention to 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 likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person who does a job online.

    Yam.exe Technical Summary.

    File NameYam.exe
    TypeTrojan Coin Miner
    Detection NameTrojan:Win32/CoinMiner
    Distribution MethodSoftware bundling, Intrusive advertisement, redirects to shady sites etc.
    Similar behaviorAntivirus.exe, Ver.exe, Wincludes.exe
    RemovalDownload and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware for automatic Yam.exe removal.

    “Visible” damage is not a solitary bad thing coin miners perform to your system. Yam.exe coin miner also deals damage to your operating system. To complete all malicious operations effectively, it wrecks the security features of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to prevent recognition. If you open the HOSTS file, you will likely see a number of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the initial state in the process of computer recovery.

    Hardware effects of coin miner activity

    Besides making your computer slow, performing at peak power for long times may cause damage to your machine and raise power bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they are good with it only when they are in a good shape.

    Tiny and covered processor fan is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Yam.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure3. Video cards are also prone to have very fast wearing when utilized for crypto mining. It is surely a bad situation when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.

    How did I get Yam.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 “severe” viruses. Adware frequently works as a carrier for Yam.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – yet another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics show that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Yam.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 untrustworthy web page as a part of a program. People that spread hacked variants of popular programs (which do not require the license key) have small chances to make money. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every installation. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is much cheaper to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger sum for antivirus software and new parts for your computer.

    How to remove the Yam.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 the use of special program. Effective antivirus must have high capability at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage even on weak systems. Furthermore, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a great option that fits all of the mentioned qualities.5

    Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Yam.exe miner takes a lot of CPU power, it is required 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 computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party programs, just like the majority of non-crucial 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 Yam.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 Yam.exe Virus ⛏️ Trojan Coin Miner

    Name: Yam.exe

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