Poqexec.exe Virus ⛏️ (Coin Miner Trojan) Removal

What is Poqexec.exe process?

As I have actually specified in the introduction, Poqexec.exe is a coin miner trojan. The names of the executive file can be diverse, but the impacts are generally the same. Since coin miners focus on cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your personal computer to conduct this operation. This virus doesn’t care about the fact that you may need to use your system for other activities – it will constantly take over 80% of your processor power.

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

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners also make use of GPU power for their operations. In that case, you will struggle even to see the mouse cursor moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as critical as CPU for system work, so Poqexec.exe coin miner viruses don’t waste time on trifles and use all of it. It sometimes can lead to sad effects.

Cryptocurrency mining means the operation of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic part of anything based on the blockchain technology. Since this operation takes a lot of calculations, a very powerful machine is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of video cards to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Fraudsters who make profit via this coin miner use someones’ PCs instead, even if they are used for the regular activity.²

List of the typical coin miner symptoms

How dangerous is the Poqexec.exe miner?

Initially, Poqexec.exe virus makes your PC overloaded. It is not able to run your applications now, as all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your necessities, all it focuses on is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until web browser is open, you will likely struggle with extremely sluggish efficiency. Pages can open up for years, any sort of logins will take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that works online.

Poqexec.exe Technical Summary.

“Visible” damage is not a solitary unpleasant activity coin miners do to your computer. Poqexec.exe coin miner additionally deals damage to your operating system. To perform all malevolent operations successfully, it ruins the protection components of your system. You will likely see your Microsoft Defender disabled – malware halts it to avoid detection. If you check the HOSTS file, you will likely see a lot of new entries – they are added by this coin miner to connect your computer to a malicious cryptomining network. All these changes shall be thrown back to the original in the process of system recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides slowing down your computer, performing at peak level for a long period of time may trigger damage to your machine as well as raise electricity expenses. Hardware components are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

Tiny and covered processor fan is not very easy to damage. Meanwhile, graphic cards have large and easy-to-access fans, which can be easily cracked if affected while running, for instance, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the very high load caused by Poqexec.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure³. Graphic cards are also prone to have fast wearing when used for crypto mining. It is likely an undesirable case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% just after several weeks of being used in such a way.

How did I get Poqexec.exe coin miner virus?

Coin miners are one of the most prevalent malicious programs through “severe” viruses. Adware sometimes acts as a carrier for Poqexec.exe malware injection: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Sure, this abstract “malware” can belong to any type – an additional adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. But the statistics say that approximately 30% of all viruses spread with the malevolent banners are coin miners – and Poqexec.exe is right one of them.⁴

The example of malicious banners you can see in the Internet

One more way you could get this item on your computer is by downloading it from the untrustworthy site as a part of a program. Users that spread hacked versions of popular programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to earn money. Therefore, there is a huge lure to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for every setup. Before blaming these people for hacking and also malware distribution, ask yourself – is it okay to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much bigger figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your desktop.

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

Getting rid of such a virus demands using special tool. Proper antivirus must have high performance at scanning and be lightweight – in order to create no problems with utilization also on weak PCs. In addition, it is better to have on-run security in your protection tool – to prevent the virus even before it launches. Microsoft Defender lacks these functions for different factors. That’s why I’d advise you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that purpose. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a perfect choice that fits all of the discussed qualities.⁵

Before the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Poqexec.exe miner consumes a lot of CPU capacity, it is needed to stop 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 software, along with the majority of non-critical system components, are not launched with the system start. That gives you the ability to clean the system without dealing with high CPU usage of the coin miner.

Remove Poqexec.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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