The W32/CoinMiner is an unwanted software. Technically, the W32/CoinMiner trojan is not a virus. It is designed to make a money. Once started, the W32/CoinMiner malware will perform a highly complex computations by using your computer’s CPU resources to mine digital money.
The W32/CoinMiner trojan that uses your CPU’s resources to generate cryptocurrency, can attack your system’s internet browsers such as the Edge, Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. The worst is, it has the ability to collect your surfing history and user information, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, your private info can be transferred to third parties.
A malware like the W32/CoinMiner trojan is usually spreads via malicious web-sites or as a part of free applications. This happens especially when you are installing a free software. The program setup file tricks you into accepting the install of optional programs, that you don’t really want. Moreover, some paid apps can also install bundled applications which you don’t want! Therefore, always download free software and paid programs from reputable download web sites. Use ONLY custom or manual installation option and never blindly press Next button.
The guide below explaining steps to remove W32/CoinMiner virus problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware that may attack Internet Explorer, MS Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome and other popular web browsers. The step by step guide will help you delete this virus.
How to remove W32/CoinMiner virus
There are a few ways which can be used to get rid of W32/CoinMiner virus. But, not all potentially unwanted apps such as this trojan can be completely removed utilizing only manual methods. In many cases you’re not able to remove any virus using standard Windows options. In order to remove W32/CoinMiner virus you need complete a few manual steps and run reliable removal tools. Most experienced security specialists states that Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware or HitmanPro tools are a right choice. These free programs are able to scan for and delete W32/CoinMiner adware from your PC and return your web browser settings to defaults.
To remove W32/CoinMiner, perform the steps below:
- Manual W32/CoinMiner adware removal
- Scan your computer and remove W32/CoinMiner trojan with free tools
- Run AdBlocker to block W32/CoinMiner and stay safe online
- Finish words
Manual W32/CoinMiner adware removal
The tutorial will help you get rid of W32/CoinMiner trojan. These W32/CoinMiner removal steps work for the IE, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and MS Edge, as well as every version of MS Windows operating system.
Delete potentially unwanted applications using Windows Control Panel
Some of PUPs, trojan and hijackers can be removed using the Add/Remove programs utility that is located in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel. So, if you are using any version of Windows and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to get rid of it through Add/Remove programs.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then click “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will open the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, press “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will open a list of all software installed on the PC.
- Scroll through the all list, and uninstall suspicious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort apps by date.
See more details in the video instructions below.
Get rid of W32/CoinMiner from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will keep your personal information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill data, recover preferences and security settings, remove W32/CoinMiner trojan and malicious add-ons.
Launch the Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the browser screen. Next, press the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will display the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as on the image below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation dialog box. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the W32/CoinMiner trojan that generates crypto currency by leveraging the GPU of affected system. Once, it is done, click the “Finish” button.
Remove W32/CoinMiner virus from IE
The Internet Explorer reset is great if your browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your internet browser, which installed by a malicious software.
First, launch the IE. Next, click the button in the form of gear (
). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” like below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window like below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
Remove W32/CoinMiner trojan from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings is a simple way to get rid of the browser hijackers, harmful and ‘ad-supported’ extensions, as well as to restore the browser’s settings that have been replaced by W32/CoinMiner trojan.
- First run the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the addon labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and press the “Reset” button.
- The Chrome will display the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this task is finished, your web-browser’s start page, newtab page and default search engine will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks
If the W32/CoinMiner trojan starts automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and get rid of all tasks that have been created by this virus.
Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard at the same time. This opens a dialog box that titled as Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and press OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown on the image below.
Task scheduler
In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please choose the first task, its properties will be open just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your machine. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it is a component of the ‘ad-supported’ software, then this task also should be removed.
Having defined the task that you want to remove, then click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete like below.
Delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks which have been created by the W32/CoinMiner trojan. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.
Scan your computer and remove W32/CoinMiner trojan with free tools
Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely get rid of W32/CoinMiner malware that generates digital currency by leveraging the GPU of affected PC. So, we suggest to scan your PC for any remaining malicious components with free malware removal applications below.
How to automatically delete W32/CoinMiner malware with Zemana Anti-malware
Zemana Anti-malware is a tool which can remove ‘ad supported’ software, potentially unwanted applications, browser hijacker infections and other malware from your computer easily and for free. Zemana Anti-malware is compatible with most antivirus software. It works under Windows (10 – XP, 32 and 64 bit) and uses minimum of PC resources.
Now you can install and use Zemana Free to delete W32/CoinMiner malware from your personal computer by following the steps below:
Visit the page linked below to download Zemana installation package named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your computer. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Run the setup file after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this tool on your computer.
During installation you can change certain settings, but we recommend you don’t make any changes to default settings.
When install is complete, this malicious software removal utility will automatically run and update itself. You will see its main window as on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out W32/CoinMiner trojan that can use your personal computer to mine digital money. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your machine and the speed of your PC. While the Zemana Anti-Malware utility is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software.
As the scanning ends, Zemana Free will show you the results. Review the report and then click “Next” button.
The Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will delete W32/CoinMiner virus and other security threats. After disinfection is done, you can be prompted to restart your PC system to make the change take effect.
Remove W32/CoinMiner trojan and malicious extensions with Hitman Pro
Hitman Pro will help remove W32/CoinMiner adware which uses your GPU to mine digital money that slow down your personal computer. The browser hijacker infections, ad supported software and other potentially unwanted programs slow your browser down and try to trick you into clicking on malicious advertisements and links. Hitman Pro removes the trojan and lets you enjoy your computer without W32/CoinMiner malware.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of Hitman Pro for Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
Once the downloading process is done, open the file location and double-click the Hitman Pro icon. It will start the Hitman Pro utility. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to run the program, press Yes button to continue.
Next, click “Next” to perform a system scan with this utility for the W32/CoinMiner trojan which can use your personal computer to mine digital money. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the Hitman Pro tool is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
As the scanning ends, Hitman Pro will show a list of all threats found by the scan as shown below.
Review the results once the tool has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next” button. It will show a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button. The Hitman Pro will get rid of W32/CoinMiner malware and move threats to the program’s quarantine. After finished, the tool may ask you to reboot your PC.
How to delete W32/CoinMiner with Malwarebytes
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your PC of the trojan. The free utility is an advanced malware removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you get rid of the W32/CoinMiner virus, PUPs, malware, hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.
- Installing the MalwareBytes is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware on your PC system by clicking on the following link.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will display the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once the downloading process is finished, please close all software and open windows on your computer. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup.
- This will open the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes onto your PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes will launch and show the main window.
- Further, press the “Scan Now” button to scan for W32/CoinMiner malware which may use your PC system’s resources to generate crypto currency blocks. This task can take some time, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
- After finished, the results are displayed in the scan report.
- Review the scan results and then click the “Quarantine Selected” button. After the clean-up is finished, you may be prompted to restart the machine.
- Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
Run AdBlocker to block W32/CoinMiner and stay safe online
If you want to get rid of unwanted ads, web-browser redirects and pop ups, then install an ad-blocker program such as AdGuard. It can block W32/CoinMiner, advertisements, pop ups and stop sites from tracking your online activities when using the Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome. So, if you like surf the World Wide Web, but you don’t like intrusive advertisements and want to protect your machine from malicious sites, then the AdGuard is your best choice.
Download AdGuard by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
26658 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown in the following example.
Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown in the figure below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop pop-up ads, W32/CoinMiner websites, as well as other harmful or misleading webpages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which is located on your desktop.
Finish words
Now your PC system should be free of the W32/CoinMiner virus which can mine digital currency using GPU. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your computer for new trojans and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block intrusive popup advertisements and malicious sites). Moreover, to prevent any trojan, please stay clear of unknown and third party software, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to search for potentially unwanted software.
If you need more help with W32/CoinMiner adware related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
