Remove SearchApp.exe Virus. What is SearchApp in Task Manager?

What is Searchapp.exe process?

As I have specified in the introduction, Searchapp.exe is a coin miner trojan virus. The names of the executive file can be diverse, however, the impacts are almost always the same. Since coin miners aim at cryptocurrency mining, they utilize all available hardware capacity of your PC to conduct this operation. This virus does not care about the fact that you probably want to make use of your machine for other activities – it will continuously use over 80% of your CPU power.

Searchapp.exe – Really high CPU and GPU usage

Besides CPU usage, some of the coin miners additionally make use of GPU power for their tasks. In that situation, you will probably struggle even to see the mouse arrow moving – GPU is usually utilized on 100%. It is not as important as processor for system work, so Searchapp.exe coin miner viruses do not waste time on trifles and utilize all of it. It often can lead to unhappy effects.

Crypto mining is a term that means the action of calculating the transaction block hash. That is a basic element of any project based on the blockchain technology. Since this action takes a lot of calculations, a high-end computer is required. Exactly, the GPU is better for this purpose, because they have more cores available. Cryptomining farms usually consist of dozens of GPUs to conduct their activity effectively. Such computer systems are not usable for “normal” purposes, like gaming or browsing the Web. Crooks who gain money 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 Searchapp.exe miner?

First off, Searchapp.exe virus makes your system overloaded. It is unable to run your applications now, because all CPU power is used by a malware. That malware does not care for your demands, all it pays attention to is generating profits on you. Even if you are patient, and you waited until browser is open, you will likely experience exceptionally slow efficiency. Pages will open for years, any kind of logins will likely take about a minute – just a nightmare for a person that does a job online.

Searchapp.exe Technical Summary.

“Visible” harm is not a single bad thing coin miners do to your system. Searchapp.exe coin miner likewise deals damage to your OS. To execute all malicious operations successfully, it ruins the protection mechanisms 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 number of new notes – they are added by this trojan miner to connect your computer to a malicious mining network. All these adjustments shall be thrown back to the original in the process of computer recovery.

Hardware effects of coin miner activity

Besides slowing down your PC, performing at peak level for long times can trigger damage to your device and increase electricity bills. PC elements are created to easily deal with high load, but they can do so only in case when they are in a good shape.

Compact and covered CPU cooling system is quite hard to damage. Meanwhile, GPUs have big and easy-to-access rotors, which can be easily broke if affected while working, for example, by the user much before the coin-miner injection. Malfunctioning cooling system, together with the extremely high load caused by Searchapp.exe malware can easily lead to GPU failure³. Graphic cards are also tend to have fast wearing when used for cryptocurrency mining. It is likely a bad case when your GPU’s performance decreases on 20-30% only after 1-2 weeks of being used in such a way.

How did I get Searchapp.exe coin miner virus?

Coin miners are the most widespread malevolent programs through “severe” malware. Adware sometimes serves as a carrier for Searchapp.exe malware infiltration: it demonstrates you the banners, which have a link to malware downloading. Yes, this abstract “malware” may belong to any type – another adware, spyware, rogue or backdoor. However, the statistics say that around 30% of all viruses spread with the malicious banners are coin miners – and Searchapp.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 thing on your computer is by downloading it from the suspicious website as a part of a program. People that spread hacked versions of favored programs (which do not need the license key) have small chances to get paid. Hence, there is a very big temptation to include malware to the final package of the hacked application and get a coin for each installation. Prior to criticizing these people for hacking and malware spreading, ask yourself – is it alright to avoid purchasing the program in this manner? It is more affordable to pay $20-$30 one time than to pay a much greater figure for antivirus software as well as new parts for your PC.

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

Removing such a virus needs making use of specific program. Proper security tool should have high capability at scanning and also be lightweight – in order to make no problems with usage even on weak systems. On top of that, it is recommended to have on-run protection in your protection solution – to stop the virus even before it starts. Microsoft Defender does not have these elements for various factors. That’s why I’d recommend you to use a third-party anti-malware program for that reason. GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a superb option that fits all of the discussed characteristics.⁵

Prior to the malware removal, it is important to boot your Windows into Safe Mode with Networking. Since Searchapp.exe miner consumes a lot of processor power, 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 PC is in Safe Mode, all third-party apps, just like the majority of non-crucial operating system components, are not launched with the system start. That allows you to clean the system without dealing with high processor usage of the coin miner.

Remove Searchapp.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.

Spanish Turkish