WDF.exe CryptoMiner Malware – How to Remove It

by Ventsislav Krastev | November 2, 2017 | 0 Comments malware, Miner

Threat Summary WDF.exe Crypto Miner – How Does It Infect WDF.exe Miner Virus – More Information How to Remove WDF.exe Crypto Miner from Your Computer

This article aims to help you by explaining how to remove the WDF.exe CryptoMiner malware completely from your computer system and protect your CPU fin the future as well.

New minining malware has been reported by cyber-security experts. The virus is from the cryptocurrency mining kind, meaning that it uses the CPU of your computer system in order to mine for cryptocurrencies, like BitCoin or Monero. While WDF.exe pretends to be Windows Desktop Firewall, it is nothing like that and may use over 90% of your CPU, thus resulting in your computer slowing down in performance. In the event that you PC has been infected by WDF.exe miner malware we recommend that you read the following article in order to learn how to remove WDF.exe from your computer and restore your encrypted files

Threat Summary

Name	WDF.exe
Type	Ransomware, Cryptovirus
Short Description	Aims to use your computer to mine for cryptocurrencies by using cryto mining software embedded in it.
Symptoms	Elevated CPU usage. Slow PC. Your computer may freeze at times.
Distribution Method	Comes from visiting malicious websites or via clicking on e-mail spam attachments or web links.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss WDF.exe.

WDF.exe Crypto Miner – How Does It Infect

The primary method which is used to infect computers with WDF.exe malware has been reported to be via malicious web links. Such may be advertised to you by having adware or other PUP installed on your computer. Furthermore, since mining malware has spread all across the globe, you may also encounter a JavaScript infection by simply visiting a website which has this JavaScript embedded in it. Such sites have so far been detected to be torrent sites, online vlogs, blogs and other forms of sites that are generally with low reputation rating.

Besides this, other methods of infection could also be a likely scenario. One of those is if you have opened a malicious e-mail spam attachment. Such attachments are primarily disguised as legitimate ones and their primary purpose is to convince the victim that they are important documents, like invoices, receipts and others.

In addition to those methods, you may also become a victim of the WDF.exe files virus if you open a fake setup, key generator, software license activator or other type of file disguised as a legitimate file.

WDF.exe Miner Virus – More Information

Once the WDF.exe malicious process is dropped on your computer after infection, it may be ran in the background of your Task Manager. The process Is not hidden, but it name resembles the Windows Desktop Firewall process. The difference here is that the original Windows Firewall does not take over 90% of your central processor all the time, so if you have seen this happen to you, it is likely caused by the WDF.exe miner malware.

Futhermore, since the WDF.exe malware may obtain administrative permissions on your computer, the virus may also perform different types of activities on your computer that may cause a lof of headaches to you, such as:

Steal your passwords and login information.
Steal any information about cryptocurrency account.
Obtain network information about other computers on your network.
Obtain your system information.

After the WDF.exe process has been ran, it may be configured to access a third-party host via an unsecured port from your computer. Then, the malware may transfer information from the site it has connected to and even update itself to remain undetected for as long as possible by any security software installed on your computer.

In addition to this, the malware, also connects to a mining pool, which is basically a network of many computers that mine for a cryptocurrency, like BitCoin for example. From there, it begins to use your computer in order to generate tokes for the wallet of the cyber-criminal who has infected your computer with it.

How to Remove WDF.exe Crypto Miner from Your Computer

In order to remove this cryptocurrency mining software from your PC, we recommend you to follow the removal instructions at the end of this article. They are divided in manual and automatic removal instructions and they aim to help you remove WDF.exe either manually or automatically from your computer. For maximum effectiveness during the removal process, experts strongly advise to use an advanced anti-malware software whose primary purpose is to scan for and detect all intrusions on your PC and secure it 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.

How to Remove WDF.exe from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove WDF.exe

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter's malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall WDF.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:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by WDF.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 WDF.exe there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

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.

IMPORTANT!
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.

Step 4: Scan for WDF.exe with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the 'Next' button.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Get rid of WDF.exe from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall WDF.exe and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to WDF.exe:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to WDF.exe. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to WDF.exe. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

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 WDF.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:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as WDF.exe. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

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 WDF.exe files from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as WDF.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.

Click the button below below to download SpyHunter for Mac and scan for WDF.exe:

Download

SpyHunter for Mac

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove WDF.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 WDF.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 WDF.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 WDF.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 WDF.exe will be removed.

How to Reset Safari
IMPORTANT: Before resetting Safari make sure you back up all your saved passwords within the browser in case you forget them.

Start Safari and then click on the gear leaver icon.

Click the Reset Safari button and you will reset the browser.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Eliminate WDF.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.