WmiPrvSE.exe CryptoCurrency Miner – How to Detect and Remove It

This article has been created in order to explain what is the WmiPrvSE.exe cryptocurrency miner and how to detect and remove it completely from your computer system.

A new cryptocurrency mining malware has been reported to take advantage of a fake process, named WmiPrvSE.exe in order to mine for cryptocurrencies on the victim’s computer. While the original WmiPrvSE.exe process is a Windows® Management Instrumentation component, the malware uses the name as a pretext to conduct it’s malicious operations. This happens by running the process in the background and using heavily the CPU and GPU resources of the victim’s computer system. This may result in your computer to overheat and if the virus remains on it for longer periods of time, several of your PC’s important components may break down. If you have detected the wmiprfvse.exe on your computer system, it is strongly advisable to read the following article and learn how to remove it plus restore your computer back to normal working state.

Threat Summary

Name	WmiPrvSE.exe Virus
Type	CryptoCurrency miner program.
Short Description	Aims to mine for various cryptocurrencies at the expense of the victim’s computer resources.
Symptoms	General slowing down of the computer’s performance. The PC may even freeze at times. Wmiprvse.exe runs in the background.
Distribution Method	Via bundled installers, fake setups or via other PUP that has already been installed on your PC.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by WmiPrvSE.exe Virus Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss WmiPrvSE.exe Virus.

WmiPrvSE.exe Miner – How to Detect and Remove It from your computer

The WmiPrvSE.exe miner may create multiple different files in the following Windows directories:

• %AppData%
• %Local%
• %LocalLow%
• %Roaming%
• %Windows%
• %Temp%

In addition to this, the WmiPrvSE.exe cryptocurrency miner may also create various objects in the following Windows Registry entries that may point out the actual location of the files:

→ 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
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveTimeOut
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Furthermore, the malware may run an active process, WmiPrvSE.exe which only pretends to be a legitimate one. The process runs in the background in Windows Task Manager, similar to what the image below displays:

You can start by stopping the miner process in order to normalize the functioning of your computer system. But make sure it is the fake process, since the original one is ran under the user name SYSTEM. So if this one is not ran via SYSTEM, it is likely to be the malicious one. The process stopping can happen if you right-click on it via the Windows Task Manager and then click on End Process. If that does not work, you can end it by ending the process tree. If you want to find the location of the file, you can right-click on it, before you end it as a process and then click on Open File location. After you stop it as a process, you can go ahead and delete the executable itself to stop the virus from functioning.

Then, you can go ahead and follow the removal instructions down below to remove the rest of the WmiPrvSE.exe miner‘s malicious files and objects. The instruction steps are divided in manual and automatic removal methods below and we recommend following the manual removal only if you have experience with malware removal and can feel confident that you will remove all of the files and objects completely. Otherwise, it is strongly advisable to remove this malware automatically, as experts would suggest by downloading an advanced anti-malware software. Such will automatically scan for and remove all the malicious objects of the WmiPrvSE.exe cryptocurrency miner on your computer and make sure other malware which may be downloaded is also gone as well and your system stays protected against future infections.

Manually delete WmiPrvSE.exe Virus from your computer

Note! Substantial notification about the WmiPrvSE.exe Virus threat: Manual removal of WmiPrvSE.exe Virus requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus files and objects

Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode

1. For Windows 7,XP and Vista. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by WmiPrvSE.exe Virus on your PC.

For Windows XP, Vista, 7 systems:

1. Remove all CDs and DVDs, and then Restart your PC from the “Start” menu.
2. Select one of the two options provided below:

– For PCs with a single operating system: Press “F8” repeatedly after the first boot screen shows up during the restart of your computer. In case the Windows logo appears on the screen, you have to repeat the same task again.

– For PCs with multiple operating systems: Тhe arrow keys will help you select the operating system you prefer to start in Safe Mode. Press “F8” just as described for a single operating system.

3. As the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears, select the Safe Mode option you want using the arrow keys. As you make your selection, press “Enter“.

4. Log on to your computer using your administrator account

While your computer is in Safe Mode, the words “Safe Mode” will appear in all four corners of your screen.

Step 1: Open the Start Menu

Step 2: Whilst holding down Shift button, click on Power and then click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, the aftermentioned menu will appear. From there you should choose Troubleshoot.

Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu you can choose Advanced Options.

Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.

Step 6: Click on Restart.

Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You should choose Safe Mode by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries of your computer to change different settings. This is why manual clean up of your Windows Registry Database is strongly recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit lenghty, we recommend following our instructive article about fixing registry entries.

2. Find malicious files created by WmiPrvSE.exe Virus on your PC

Find malicious files created by WmiPrvSE.exe Virus

1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows 7,XP and Vista.

For Newer Windows Operating Systems

Step 1:

On your keyboard press  + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.

Step 2:

Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.

Step 3:

Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:

N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.

For Older Windows Operating Systems

In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:

Step 1:

Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.

Step 2:

After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.

Step 3:

After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.

Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.

Automatically remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus.

Step 1:Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is highly 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.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.

Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button.

Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any WmiPrvSE.exe Virus files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently.

Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove WmiPrvSE.exe Virus.
Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here.
Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards.

Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it.
Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again.

Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.

2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all WmiPrvSE.exe Virus associated files completely.
Step 1: Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install.
Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button.

Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.

WmiPrvSE.exe Miner Malware – How Do I Protect Myself

In order to build a protection mechanism against the WmiPrvSE.exe malware, it is important to learn how does it infect. So in order for this virus to slither past your computer’s defenses it may use tools that may hide it from conventional antivirus programs, for example:

• Malware obfuscators.
• Malicious injectors.
• Droppers.
• Macros.
• Archives as obfuscation tool.

The methods by which wmiprvse.exe propagates may vary, but the malware may generally come as a fake executable, such as:

• Fake setup of a program you may be attempting to download.
• Fake key generator.
• License activators for software or games.
• Crack fixes for games.
• Fake patches or updates.

In addition to this, the virus may also come to you in the form of a malicious e-mail attachment of some sort. Such pretend to be legitimate type of documents from the likes of order receipts, order confirmations, invoices, etc. The most clever spam e-mails may often pretend to come from legitimate companies, like Dropbox, FedEx, DHL, eBay, PayPal, Amazon, etc. While WmiPrvSE.exe‘s infection file may be contained as an attachment within an archive in those e-mails, the malware may also exist in external file-sharing sites, like Dropobox that may be linked within the e-mail as a fake download button of some sort. Furthermore, cyber-criminals have also begun using malicious macros, contained in Microsoft Word documents whose primary purpose is to get the victim to click on the “Enable Content” button once they open the document in order to allow them to see what’s inside the file. This button triggers the macros and the victim is infected afterwards.

WmiPrvSE.exe Miner Virus – Activity Report

The main purpose of this miner malware is to conduct a cryptocurrency mining activity on your computer system. For WmiPrvSE.exe specifically this means that once the file is ran, the miner has been pre-coded in order to connect your computer to a cryptocurrency mining pool, most likely for Monero or BitCoin or other anonymous cryptocurrencies. This results in the virus beginning to overheat the CPU or GPU (or Both) components, which in turn results to your computer becoming to perform slow, freeze at times and it’s fan will run on high speeds while trying to cool down the components. The mining pool(example shown in the figure below) to which the wmiprvse.exe connects your computer uses the common hashing power of all the computers in it to mine for a designated cryptocurrency faster. In turn, each miner account is rewarded based on how much hashing power is invested. If the hacker behind the wmiprvse.exe miner has infected a lot of computers, he will generate income according to this. This is why more and more computers may become infected with miners, like wmiprvse.exe in the future as well.

In addition to being a cryptocurrency miner, the malware may also perform other activities on your computer, since WmiPrvSE.exe is partially a Trojan horse. The malware may also:

• Steal credentials like passwords and ID’s from your computer.
• Obtain your private financial data.
• Log your keystrokes.
• Update itself.
• Create copies of itself.
• Make sure to propagate on other computers by activating spam malware on yours.

Vencislav Krustev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

More Posts - Website