How to Remove Xmrig.exe Trojan

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

The Xmrig.exe process is not essential for your OS. It is started by a coin miner. If it wasn’t you the one who installed the utility, we have bad news for you. This miner is also used by a Trojan horse. The nasty parasite sneaks into your computer unnoticed. It modifies your System Registry and corrupts essential for your OS files and processes. All these operations happen in complete and utter silence. You will not be able to detect the parasite. Not until it’s too late. Once successfully installed, the Trojan discontinues its stealthiness and takes full control of your system. It starts the mining process and leaves you with a sluggish and unresponsive device. The coin mining process is very heavy. The Trojan steals your computer resources. It forces your machine to perform accounting processes for a coin platform. In exchange for its services, your device gets rewarded with fractions of the digital coin. Yet, the money is not transferred to you, but to the hackers’ wallet. The crooks are making a mint while you suffer the side effects. But it is not just your discomfort that is a problem here. The coin mining process shortens your hardware’s life. It also consumes a lot of electricity. The Xmrig.exe Trojan causes your computer to consume double, even triple the amount of electricity it normally does. The mining process is profitable if you don’t use your own resources. The crooks are stealing yours. You have paid for the hardware, you will pay the electricity bill too. Yet, it is the crooks that will get the coins. Do not put up with this. Don’t sponsor cybercriminals. Delete the Xmrig.exe Trojan as soon as possible.

How did I get infected with?

As sophisticated as Xmrig.exe Trojan is, it is still using the classic distribution techniques. Torrents, spam emails, software bundles, fake updates, and corrupted software copies. Yet, it is not the techniques that are the key to its success. It is you the one that made this infection possible. The Trojan wouldn’t have infected your device if you were just a bit more vigilant. Let this infection be a lesson you learn well. From now on, make sure you don’t allow such parasites on board. Avoid using torrents. Download your software from reliable sources only. Whenever you are installing a program, opt for the Advanced option in the Setup Wizard. Software developers often attach additional apps to the payload files of their programs. If you use the Standard installation, these extras will be installed automatically. Your explicit approval won’t be needed, so, you won’t be asked. Under the Advanced setup, you will be presented with a list of all additional tools. You can deselect all extras and still install the app you originally planned to set up. Other tricks you should keep an eye out for involve the good old spam emails. You know how dangerous an attached file can be. Yet, did you know that links can also be malicious? That is right, the crooks often embedded corrupted hyperlinks in their messages. Do not follow questionable links. One click is all it takes for a virus to be downloaded.

Why is this dangerous?

The Xmrig.exe Trojan is very intrusive. The parasite prevents you from using your computer normally. It causes your apps to freeze and crash frequently, slows down your Internet Connections, and makes your system unstable. To top it all off, the Xmrig.exe Trojan causes your computer to radiate heat. As you know, heat is bad for your hardware. If your cooling system is not efficient enough, your machine will overheat frequently. This leads to system crashes, data loss, and the blue screen of death. Furthermore, by using your CPU at high temperatures, the virus shortens its life significantly. And meanwhile, you are stuck with an unusable device. The Trojan causes your PC to underperform. Even high-end machines struggle to keep up with the infection. The Trojan takes everything your device has to offer. It doesn’t limit its resource usage, and thus, prevents you from loading heavier applications. Even lighter ones take forever to load. The nasty parasite is robbing you of your own machine. Do not let this continue a minute longer.  The sooner you remove the Trojan, the better.

Manual Xmrig.exe Removal Instructions

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

STEP 2: Locate Xmrig.exe startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Xmrig.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 Xmrig.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 Xmrig.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 Xmrig.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 Xmrig.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 Xmrig.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.