Coinhive Monero Virus

Coinhive

Browser hijackers are known to be extremely irritating and hardly anyone who’s ever had to deal with one will tell you otherwise. However, dealing with this particular software type can also be pretty frustrating. For one, its behavior is also often misjudged by users, who wrongly assume they’ve been infected by a virus. Things like the changed Chrome, Firefox, or other browser homepage and newly set default search engine, as well as the parade of online ads that just keeps on going and covering your screen – all of this can very well arouse suspicion of something far more sinister going on. Luckily, that’s not the case and we’ll prove it to you on the example of Coinhive “Virus” – a browser hijacker that’s been bothering a number of users lately. In this article we will aim to explain exactly what this type of software is capable of and whether or not you really should be concerned about your system’s safety. Furthermore, we will also provide those of you who’ve already ended up with Coinhive “Virus” on their computers with a set of removal instructions. You will find them below this article, but before you head over to them, we would advise you to read through the following few paragraphs first.

What do browser hijackers generally do?

Software like Coinhive “Virus” exists for the sole purpose of generating profit for its developers by displaying paid ads on the screens of hundreds and thousands of users, who install it. In doing so, the software also ensures the exposure of various products, services, websites, etc. This is to say that Coinhive “Virus” and other browser hijackers do not run any malicious scripts and have no harmful intentions, which is a major difference between them and actual viruses like ransomware and Trojans, for example. Nevertheless, security experts identify hijackers and similar software as potentially unwanted due to a number of factors. In fact your system resources might have been used to mine the Monero cryptocurrency.

For one, hijackers often like to snoop around the browsing history of the computers they’re on. As a result, they gain information that has to do with the browsing preferences of each individual user. And this, in turn, they need in order to optimize their advertising campaigns. However, as strictly business-driven as this activity may be, most users have no idea about it. Another factor that contributes to programs like Coinhive “Virus” being dubbed PUPs is the manner in which they get distributed. Do you recall ever downloading or installing this particular browser hijacker of your own free will? Did you go online and actually type in the name of the software and then follow a download link to get it? Chances are, you didn’t. But we’ve got some news for you: you still downloaded and installed it on your own.

This happens with the help of a simple, yet very clever invention known as program bundling. It means that you downloaded some other piece of programming and attached to its installer was Coinhive “Virus”. Most users skip reading the EULA or even at least the individual installation steps of the wizard and rush through it by repeatedly clicking on ‘Next’. What makes matters worse is that they often choose the Default or Automatic installation option, which gives them little say in the whole process. If you were to select the Advanced or Custom settings, you would have most likely been given the opportunity to opt out of any undesired software that may have been added by the developers. So this is something to keep in mind when installing new programs in the future.

Besides that, there’s also the fact that programs like Coinhive “Virus” don’t generally offer any usefulness for regular users. As a matter of fact, for the most part they just sit there generating ads in the background and collecting data about your browsing habits, and all the while using your PC’s resources. As a result, your system can become much slower over time and you will end up having less free disk space. Not to mention that as a result of the resource consumption, your computer might begin to lag, leading programs to malfunction and crash. Last but not least, browser hijackers can also make your computer more vulnerable to external threats. Moreover, the numerous links and ads that are generated and well as the frequent page redirects could potentially land you on insecure web locations and put you at risk of infection.

SUMMARY:

Name Coinhive
Type  Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

anti-malware offerOFFER *Read more details in the first ad on this page, EULA, Privacy Policy, and full terms for Free Remover.

Remove Coinhive Virus 

You are dealing with a malware infection that can restore itself unless you remove its core files. We are sending you to another page with a removal guide that gets regularly updated. It covers in-depth instructions on how to:
1. Locate and scan malicious processes in your task manager.
2. Identify in your Control panel any programs installed with the malware, and how to remove them. Search Marquis is a high-profile hijacker that gets installed with a lot of malware.
3. How to clean up and reset your browser to its original settings without the malware returning.
You can find the removal guide here.


About the author

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Violet George

Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

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