Remove Precomp.exe Trojan (Win.CoinMiner.PRECOMP)

This article can help you to remove Precomp.exe Virus. The step by step removal works for every version of Microsoft Windows.

The Precomp.exe process could be legitimate. Yet, if it causes troubles, it might not be safe. A nasty Trojan horse uses this same process name to camouflage itself. The Precomp.exe Trojan is not a virus you should underestimate. It enters your OS in complete silence and corrupts everything. The parasite alters your system settings and modifies your Registry. It inserts and camouflages its files and process. And most importantly, it forces them to load on system boot-up. The nasty parasite has no visualization. You cannot see it, but it runs in the background and causes troubles. The Precomp.exe Trojan is not a regular virus. It is a miner. The parasite steals your computer resources and uses them to make money for its owner. It forces your machine to perform accounting services for a cybercoin platform. In exchange, it gets rewarded with fractions of the coin. The longer it serves, the bigger the profit. Yet, the money is not transferred to you, but to the crooks’ wallet. These people are criminals. They steal from you. They steal your computer’s resources. The coin mining process is very heavy and resource-consuming. It causes your device to underperform and to radiate heat. Other side effects of the infection are program failures and errors, frequent system crashes, and unstable Internet connection. If you do not stop the Trojan promptly, it may also damage your hardware. The mining process is very intense. So intense that it wears out your hardware. If you do not take action against the parasite, you are very likely to end up with a useless machine.

How did I get infected with?

The Precomp.exe Trojan did not hack your computer. To enter your OS, it used a far more mundane method. It tricked you into installing it. That is right! You were deceived. The parasite lured you into allowing it access. This nasty parasite lurks behind software bundles, torrents, and fake updates. Of course, the good old spam emails are also used for the Trojan distribution. Yet, they are not what they used to be. Yes, you know how dangerous an attached file can be. But, did you know that the crooks do not rely on these attachments? They embed malicious links in their messages. One click is all it takes for a virus to be downloaded. You can prevent this. Your caution can keep your machine virus-free. All you need to do is to keep your guard up. Especially when you are about to install a new program. Download your software from reputable sources only. Do not rush through the installation process. Read the Terms and Conditions/EULA or use an online EULA analyzer. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, abort the installation immediately. And, of course, do not open suspicious emails. Take your time to verify them. You can simply enter the questionable email address into some search engine. Or, if the message is supposed to be sent from an organization, go to their official website. Compare the addresses listed there with the one you’ve received a message from. If they don’t match, delete the pretender immediately.

Why is this dangerous?

The Precomp.exe Trojan is not safe. If it was, it wouldn’t have to enter your OS in complete silence. This parasite kills your device. It uses both your CPU and GPU at their limits. On top of that, it uses them at very high temperatures. The parasite causes your machine to overheat. This leads to frequent system crashes and potential data loss. Unfortunately, the high temperature may cause more than that. It may ruin your hardware. The system crash is like a defense mechanism which protests the hardware to some extent. Unfortunately, this is not an effective strategy. Besides, it’s very frustrating. Speaking of heat, we ought to mention that this heat was originally electricity. To operate, your computer needs electricity. And when its busy, it needs a lot of it. The Precomp.exe Trojan keeps it busy. Very busy. So, do not be too surprised when your next electricity bill arrives. Do not put up with this situation. The coin mining process is profitable if you don’t use your own resources. The crooks are using yours. You paid for the hardware, you will have to pay for the electricity. They are making a mint at your expense. Don’t allow this to continue a minute longer! Clean your computer ASAP!

Manual Precomp.exe Removal Instructions

The Precomp.exe infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Precomp.exe infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Precomp.exe related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Precomp.exe startup location

STEP 3: Delete Precomp.exe traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Precomp.exe related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Precomp.exe startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Precomp.exe virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

Step 4: Undo the possible damage done by Precomp.exe

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Precomp.exe, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

 

• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Precomp.exe Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible virus leftovers or temporary files.