How to Remove Monero Miners (Virus Removal Guide)
Monero miners connect to a pool to mine for digital currency on your computer and use over %90 of your CPU which can cause your computer to overheat.
Monero is an open-source cryptocurrency created in April 2014 that focuses on privacy and decentralization. It runs on WIndows, macOS, Linux, Android, and FreeBSD. Although Monero is a legitimate digital currency, the feasibility of CPU mining Monero has made it viable for malicious actors to covertly distribute miners embedded in malware and website scripts.
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A Monero miner (also known as a CPU Miner) is a malicious program, or Trojan, that infects a computer to mine for Monero currency. The currency is not malicious, but the unwanted miner is.
When mining for Monero digital currency the miner will connect to an online pool. The miner will use a large amount of your CPU which can damage your CPU or cause it to overheat.
The Monero miner is usually difficult to identify and locate once it has been introduced to an infected machine. The most common ways to notice the Monero miner is to recognize the miner’s process running in Windows Task Manager. You will typically see a process using 90%+ of the CPU running in task manager.
How are Monero miners distributed?
Monero miners are primarily distributed by exploit kits on websites that have been hacked. The websites will install malware onto the machine when you visit the site. In other cases, malicious advertising networks will direct users to a compromised webpage that essential downloads the miner without user knowledge or consent.
Remove Monero miner with Malwarebytes
It is recommend to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware software to remove Monero miners, trojans, malware, computer viruses, and other malicious files from your computer. Malwarebytes will remove Monero miners and other threats that are present on your machine for free.
1. Open your browser window and download Malwarebytes 3.0 Premium or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free.
2. Double click the executable file (mb3-setup.exe or other) to begin installing Malwarebytes.
3. In some versions of the installation file you can simply select your language and click Next to install the program; Otherwise, select your language, click Next, then select “I accept the agreement,” click the Next button several times, and then click the Install button to install Malwarebytes. Click Finish once the install process is complete.
4. Open Malwarebytes and click the Scan Now button on the Dashboard to begin scanning your computer.
5. Click the Quarantine Selected button once the scan is finished.
6. If Malwarebytes says “All selected items have been removed successfully. A log file has been saved to the logs folder. Your computer needs to be restarted to complete the removal process. Would you like to restart now?” click the Yes button to restart your computer.
Clean up and repair settings with CCleaner
Malware and potentially unwanted programs can ruin your system settings and leave junk files throughout your machine. CCleaner can repair your system settings and clean up your machine to get it up to shape.
1. Open your browser window and download CCleaner Professional or CCleaner Free.
2. Double click the executable file (ccsetup.exe or other) to begin installing CCleaner.
3. Click the Install button to begin stalling the program.
4. Click Run CCleaner to open the program when installation is complete.
5. Select the Cleaner tab and click the Analyze button.
6. When the Analyze process is complete click the Run Cleaner button to clean all files.
7. Next, select the Registry tab and click the Scan for Issues button to scan for issues in your registry.
8. When the scan is complete click the Fix selected Issues button and Fix All Selected Issues button to fix the issues.
9. Next, select the Tools tab and click Startup. Examine each area, search for suspicious entries, and delete any suspicious startup entries by selecting the entry and clicking the Delete button.
10. Next, click Browser Plugins and search each internet browser for unwanted browser add-ons and extensions. Click the extension you want to delete and click the Delete button to remove it.
