How To Remove Bitcoin Miner Malware from Your PC

A lot of users feel intimidated now as the price of Bitcoin has risen to unprecedented levels.

There is a strong demand for this virtual currency, and it requires massive hardware power rendered by the GPU and the CPU in order to be mined.

While there are large amounts of servers set up around the globe, there are many hackers who make use of unsuspecting users’ computer hardware for their benefit and install Bitcoin miner malware to achieve their directives.

Once the virus manages to find a way in your PC, it will start mining the cryptocurrency, which often leads to slow response times, occasional hanging issues and so on—thereby creating a nightmare as you may not know what’s affecting your hardware resources.

Bitcoin Miner Malware – Why is It Harmful?

The problem with cryptocurrencies is that they don’t have a valid, centralized mining setup which is why they end up in every hardware system available in the world.

Some are paid and monitored by renowned companies; whereas most individuals choose to find illegal ways to make use of all hardware power available among different users, like you.

Compared to a traditional malware, Bitcoin miner may not steal data or demand a ransom but it will literally make your PC unusable.

The program is identified in two major names among users as the CPU miner and the Vnlgp miner.

From a user perspective, all of them are the same because they are designed to slow down your PC and take control of its functions, thereby making it impossible for you to continue your everyday work.

Similar to most other malware programs, it is next to impossible to identify when the Bitcoin miner malware takes control of your system because it will imitate another program—such as a browser or a Windows application—so as to not to be found.

Step-by-Step Guide to Remove Bitcoin Miner Malware

1. Run Windows Defender on your computer which is the first step to remove any malware. While there are hundreds of antivirus and antimalware programs available in the market, the one provided by Microsoft is your first line of defense.
2. After successfully running through it, if it doesn’t find any issues, it is time to install a trusted antimalware or antivirus program.
3. The market is filled with some of the big brands including popular names like Kaspersky, AVG, Malwarebytes, among many others.
4. You don’t have to install them all. Just choose one to install one and run a thorough scan. It might take a couple of hours if you have to scan through your entire computer file by file, especially if you have a huge hard drive to scan.
5. It will most likely find the issue and remove the file, allowing your computer to perform as it already did.

Remove Using Malwarebytes

1. A suggested solution is to download Malwarebytes, one of the most highly trusted software programs, to help get rid of the issue.
2. Make sure to download the latest version of the software.
3. Update the file if required as it always contains latest repository of the virus definitions from around the globe.
4. The updates will often cover newly discovered viruses and Trojans which may also include Bitcoin miner malware definitions in order to identify them easily.
5. Perform a full scan. Make sure all your hard drive folders are ticket for maximum efficiency.
6. Don’t use the computer when the scan is in-progress, and remove all suspicious or malicious items once the scan is complete.
7. Check if the computer runs fine after this process.

Malware that Uses Your Resources

Once the malware completely takes control of your computer, you may not immediately notice it because the Windows operating system will run as usual.

A major problem that security experts have identified with the mining program is that when it starts making cryptocurrencies using your machine, it may eventually start opening up a backdoor, making your system vulnerable as ever.

As the malicious software takes control of all your resources for its own purpose, you may end up being unable to use your computer even for basic tasks.

While multimedia professionals like video editors and server managers may immediately recognize the slowdown in operations, an average user may not recognize it because their activities could be mundane in nature, without demanding so much speed.

Hackers rely on the innocence of such people as they make use of the resources their CPU and GPU have to provide.

Most gaming setups have powerful graphics cards installed in them which works only when a game is running.

However, when it is left switched on for an entire day or week without any demanding applications on it, these malicious programs can take control of it to start mining coins, be it Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum, among other popular digital currencies.

Removing Bitcoin Miner Malware Using Bitdefender

1. Using an internet security program like Bitdefender is more secure because it is designed to find internet-based malware.
2. Run a full scan like all other programs and wait for the results.
3. Remove any unwanted and malicious programs from your computer.

How to Identify if Your System is Infected?

The first and foremost change is that your PC will immediately alter its performance.

It can slow down even the simplest of daily activities—browsing websites, watching a movie, listening to music or using an Excel spreadsheet.

Removing Bitcoin Miner Malware Using RogueKiller

1. In recent times, RogueKiller has created a name for itself by being a reliable solution for finding cryptocurrency-related malware.
2. Download the official version of the software program and run the executable file.
3. It will automatically extract and install on your PC.
4. Use the pre-scan to warm up the software to your computer and later run the full scan to find any leftovers of the malware traces in your PC.
5. Make sure to click on the “Delete” button once it finds a list of malicious codes. Sometimes, they are different than the Bitcoin miner malware, but they are still harmful and should be removed.

Always check processes and ensure there are no malicious programs running. Run a malware scan from time to time to defend yourself against Bitcoin miner malware in the future.