How to Remove Minerd.exe Trojan

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

Minerd.exe is a malicious infection, part of the Trojan family. To be more precise, the cyber threat is a mining Trojan. Minerd.exe is the process of mining for digital currency. That includes a variety of cryptocurrencies. Like, Monero, Bitcoin, DarkNetCoin, and other crypto investments. The tool invades your computer via slyness and subtlety. And, as soon as it slithers its way in, corruption ensues. It begins to perform changes throughout your system, affecting every part of it. Its presence leads to a bunch of reshuffles, you didn’t authorize, or were aware of. Your PC’s performance deteriorates. And, you have Minerd.exe to thank for that. It eats up space and power, when it mines. To perform what it’s programmed to, it overloads your CPU or GPU. Or, even both. It uses your system to generate cryptocurrency tokens for the cyber criminals, behind it. The Trojan connects your PC to a mining pool. If you’re unfamiliar with what that entails, it’s easy. Mining pools serve a simple purpose. They’re created to make it easier for the infected computers to work together. And, calculate the so-called hashes. Hashes are linked to the wallet that harbors the digital currency. And, belongs to the cyber criminals, responsible for the release of Minerd.exe. The strangers behind the tool, generate tokens at the expense of the system resources. Thus, creating a plethora of problems for you. Your system suffers frequent crashes. Your computer’s performance slows down to a crawl. It’s quite the conundrum. But it gets worse. These are the minor consequences. You face much greater ones as time progresses. So, don’t grant the nasty Trojan any more time on your PC. As soon as you discover it, do your best to get rid of it. The sooner it’s gone, the better.

How did I get infected with?

The mining Trojan didn’t pop up out of the blue. Sure, it may seem that way, but it’s not the case. In actuality, you gave the green light to Minerd.exe. Yes, the infection sought your consent on its installment. And, you gave it. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be in this mess. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Yes, the Trojan has to ask if you approve its install. But don’t think it’s outright with its inquiries. It’s rather the exact opposite. Yes, the infection seeks your permission. But it does it in the sneakiest way possible. Freeware, fake updates, spam emails, corrupted links. There’s an array of methods that assist its sneaky invasion. The Trojan preys on your carelessness. It needs you to give into gullibility, and distraction. To rush, and rely on luck. So, don’t! Instead, be extra attentive. And, always do your due diligence. It goes a long way. And, helps to keep infections out of your PC.

Why is this dangerous?

Trojans are a nightmare. Mining Trojans are even worse. They put you through quite the unpleasantness. You face issues and interference, on a daily basis. And, as is the case with most infections, with time, they worsen. You start off suffering frequent lagging, and system crashes. Programs begin to freeze, at random, and refuse to work properly. And, no matter how many times you restart, it happens again. But these seem trivial inconveniences, when compared to the worst issue, you face. The biggest problem that Minerd.exe, brings your way, concerns your privacy. The Trojan jeopardizes your personal and financial details. It follows programming to spy on you. As soon as it invades, that’s what it does. The tool tracks your every move, and records everything you do. Then, when it determines it has collected enough information, proceeds to send it. Yes, it hands it over to the unknown third parties that published it. Let that sink in for a moment. The cyber criminals, who use your system to mine cryptocurrency, also get access to your sensitive data. Data, which after they get their hands on, can use as they see fit. Do you think that ends well for you? Hardly. Do yourself a favor, and don’t allow that scenario to unfold. Keep your privacy private, and don’t let your information get stolen, and exposed. The sooner you act against the Minerd.exe threat, the better.

Manual Minerd.exe Removal Instructions

The Minerd.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 Minerd.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 Minerd.exe related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Minerd.exe startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Minerd.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 Minerd.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 Minerd.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 Minerd.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 Minerd.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 Minerd.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.