G_jugk.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

What is G_jugk.exe process?

As I have actually specified in the introduction, G_jugk.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the .exe file may be diverse, however, the consequences are almost always the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they use all possible hardware capacity of your personal computer to run this process. This virus does not take note of the fact that you probably want to make use of your PC for other tasks – it will always consume over 80% of your CPU power.

G_jugk.exe – Extremely high CPU as well as GPU use

Besides CPU consumption, some of the coin miners additionally utilize GPU power for their tasks. In that case, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as vital as processor for system work, so G_jugk.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and use it all. It sometimes can cause unhappy consequences.

Cryptocurrency mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the graphic card is better for this task, because they have more cores available. Cryptocurrency mining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to complete their task efficiently. Such systems are not usable for “usual” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ hardware instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.²

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

How dangerous is the G_jugk.exe miner?

Firstly, G_jugk.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, because all CPU power is consumed by a virus. That malware does not care for your wants, all it pays attention to is generating income on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely suffer from exceptionally sluggish efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will take about a minute – just a horror story for a person who does a job online.

G_jugk.exe Technical Summary.

“Visible” damage is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your computer. G_jugk.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your OS. To complete all malevolent operations effectively, it wrecks the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware stops it to prevent recognition. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a load of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your system to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments are about to be reverted to the original in the process of system recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides decreasing your system’s performance, performing at peak level for a long period of time can trigger damage to your machine as well as increase power costs. Hardware elements are created to easily get along with high load, but they can do so only when they are in a good shape.

Compact and well-protected CPU fan is quite hard to broke. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while spinning, for instance, by the user much before the malware injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the really high load caused by G_jugk.exe virus can easily lead to GPU failure³. Graphic cards are also tend to have increased wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely a bad case when your GPU’s performance plunges 20-30% only after several weeks of being exploited in such a way.

How did I get G_jugk.exe coin miner virus?

Coin miners are the most widespread malicious programs among “severe” viruses. Adware often acts as a carrier for G_jugk.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any kind – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that about 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and G_jugk.exe is just one of them.⁴

The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

An additional way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the dubious web page as a part of a program. Users who spread hacked variants of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Therefore, there is a very big lure to add malware to the final package of the hacked application and receive a coin for every setup. Before criticizing these guys for hacking and malware distribution, ask yourself – is it OK to avoid purchasing the program in such a way? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 at once than to pay a much greater sum for antivirus software and new parts for your desktop.

How to remove the G_jugk.exe miner from my PC?

Getting rid of such a virus needs the use of special program. Proper security tool should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to create no problems with usage also on weak systems. In addition, it is better to have proactive security in your protection tool – to halt the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for various factors. That’s why I’d suggest you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the specified characteristics.⁵

Prior to the virus removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since G_jugk.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is required to halt it before launching the security program. Otherwise, your scan will last for years, even though the GridinSoft program is pretty lightweight.

Booting the PC into Safe Mode with Networking

Press the Start button, then choose Power, and click on Reboot while holding the Shift key on the keyboard.

Windows will reboot into recovery mode. In that mode, choose Troubleshoot→ Startup Settings→ Safe Mode with Networking. Press the corresponding button on your keyboard to choose that option.

When your computer is in Safe Mode, all third-party applications, along with the majority of non-crucial system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the computer without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

Remove G_jugk.exe coin miner virus with GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware. You can use this anti-malware program for free during its 6-day trial period. In that term, all functions are available, and it takes no payments to remove malware from your system.

After activating your free trial, start Full scan. It may last up to 10 minutes. You may use the PC as usual.

When the scan is finished, press the Clean Now button to remove all detected elements from your system. This procedure takes less than a minute.

Now, you are good to go. Reboot your PC into a normal Windows mode and use just as there was nothing malicious.

References

1. Read about why Monero and DarkCoin are so popular amongst cybercriminals.
2. Detailed explanation of how does cryptomining work.
3. About unwanted effects for GPUs in the process of cryptomining.
4. Read more about various malware type on GridinSoft Threat Encyclopedia.
5. Our review on GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

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