This article has been created in order to help explain what is the hostXmrig.exe CPU miner malware and how to remove it and prevent it from mining for cryptocurrencies on your computer system.
New cryptocurrency miner malware which uses the executable hostXmrig.exe to mine for cryptocurrencies has been identified by security experts. The cryptocurrency miner aims to use the resources of your computer, primarily the CPU and GPU power in order to calculate the so called hashes, which add up to generate cryptocurrency tokens. The main two cryptocurrencies which hostXmrig.exe could mine for are known as BitCoin and Monero at the time of writing this, since they are anonymous. If you want to remove the hostXmrig.exe malware from your computer in the event that you believe your PC has been infected, reccomendations are to read this article.
Threat Summary
| Name | hostXmrig.exe |
| Type | CryptoCurrency Miner |
| Short Description | Aims to infect your computer and use it’s CPU, GPU and other resources to turn it into a miner for cryptocurrencies. |
| Symptoms | Hightened CPU and GPU usage and overheating. The victim PC may break if this virus mines for longer periods of time. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss hostXmrig.exe. |
hostXmrig.exe –
Infection
Being a typical miner malware, that is associated with a Trojan Horse infection, the process of infecting computers used by hostXmrig.exe is performed via series of exploits for Windows that may be used by malware authors to spread the virus itself. Those exploits are usually contained in an infection file which is spread via a multitude of ways, including via:
- E-mail.
- Malicious websites.
- Spammed web links on social media.
- Facebook Messenger and other type of online chat software.
The most often used method among all is the conventional infection via e-mail spam messages. Such e-mails often pretend to come from a legitimate vendor, like PayPal, DHL, Fed Ex, etc, and they often contain messages within them that aim to get the vicitm to open the malicious attachment. The attachment is often in a .zip or .rar file and may pose as:
- Order confirmation.
- Receipt for purchase that the victim hasn’t made.
- Banking statement.
- Other types of important documents.
In the event that you want to prevent future infections, you should always update your Windows plus disable some services which are known to have exploits that are used to infect your computer.
hostXmrig.exe Miner – More Information
After your computer has become infected by the hostXmrig.exe miner, it may begin to experience interruptions, slow-downs, system freezes and other types of anomalous occurrences. These are primarily due to the fact that two files are dropped on your computer that are automatically ran in the background of your PC:
- %AppData%\hostXmrig.exe
- %AppData%\NsCpuCNMiner.exe
After the payload of the hostXmrig.exe miner malware is dropped on your computer, the virus may begin to perform various of unwanted activities, beginning with connecting your computer to a mining pool. This results in you being connected to the account of the cyber-criminals who are behind the infection. This may immediately result in your computer beggining to experience performance issues, due to insufficient CPU and GPU power, because most of it is taken by the miners. While the hostXmrig.exe may mine for cryptocurrencies that are minable via a GPU card, the NsCpuCNMiner may use the CPU to try and mine for other cryptocurrencies from the likes of BitCoin, that are only mineable, using CPU power.
In addition to performing it’s mining operations, which may not only slow down your PC, but may also break it’s components, if the virus stays on it for longer periods of time, the malware may also perform other malicious activities. Since it’s partially a Trojan horse, the hostXmrig.exe miner may also:
- Log your keystrokes.
- Obtain vital financial information on your computer.
- Steal passwords, login credentials.
- Steal your files.
- Self-update and migrate to other processes, only tricking you that you have deleted it to remain persistent.
How to Detect and Remove hostXmrig.exe Miner
In order to fully detect and get rid of this malicious software, recommendations are that you focus on following the removal instructions which we have created down below. They are specifically divided in manual and automatic removal manuals so that if you lack the experience in removing hostXmrig.exe manually and it reappears, you may solve the issue automatically. In addition to this, malware researchers strongly recommend that you focus on removing hostXmrig.exe miner automatically to fully delete this virus with maximum effectiveness plus protect your PC against future infections as well.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove hostXmrig.exe from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of hostXmrig.exe on Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove hostXmrig.exe in Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase hostXmrig.exe from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall hostXmrig.exe from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove hostXmrig.exe from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate hostXmrig.exe from Internet Explorer.
- Guide 8: Disable hostXmrig.exe Push Notifications in Your Browsers.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove hostXmrig.exe from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove hostXmrig.exe
Step 2: Uninstall hostXmrig.exe and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by hostXmrig.exe on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by hostXmrig.exe there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Get rid of hostXmrig.exe from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall hostXmrig.exe and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove hostXmrig.exe via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove hostXmrig.exe files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as hostXmrig.exe, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove hostXmrig.exe from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Erase hostXmrig.exe from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Uninstall hostXmrig.exe from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove hostXmrig.exe from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the hostXmrig.exe will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Eliminate hostXmrig.exe from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
Remove Push Notifications caused by hostXmrig.exe from Your Browsers.
Turn Off Push Notifications from Google Chrome
To disable any Push Notices from Google Chrome browser, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Settings in Chrome.
Step 2: In Settings, select “Advanced Settings”:
Step 3: Click “Content Settings”:
Step 4: Open “Notifications”:
Step 5: Click the three dots and choose Block, Edit or Remove options:
Remove Push Notifications on Firefox
Step 1: Go to Firefox Options.
Step 2: Go to “Settings”, type “notifications” in the search bar and click "Settings":
Step 3: Click “Remove” on any site you wish notifications gone and click “Save Changes”
Stop Push Notifications on Opera
Step 1: In Opera, press ALT+P to go to Settings
Step 2: In Setting search, type “Content” to go to Content Settings.
Step 3: Open Notifications:
Step 4: Do the same as you did with Google Chrome (explained below):
Eliminate Push Notifications on Safari
Step 1: Open Safari Preferences.
Step 2: Choose the domain from where you like push pop-ups gone and change to "Deny" from "Allow".
