Cryptominer malware (high CPU/GPU usage)

What is CRYPTOMINER-HIGH-CPU?

Cryptominer malware (high CPU/GPU usage) is a high-severity malware/security issue. A cryptocurrency mining malware is silently consuming CPU and GPU resources. Symptoms include unexplained 100% CPU or GPU utilization, elevated electricity consumption, fan noise during idle periods, and system slowdowns. Miners often disguise themselves as system processes or inject into legitimate processes like svchost.exe or browser extensions. It's also often linked to trojanized software download. Use the steps below to track down and fix the cause.

Common Causes

• Malicious browser extension installing miner
• Trojanized software download
• Drive-by mining script via compromised website

Step-by-Step Fix Guide

• 1
  Run full scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

  Malwarebytes Free effectively detects and removes most common cryptocurrency miners that standard Windows Defender may miss.

• 2
  Check Task Manager for unknown high-CPU processes

  Browser-based miners can be eliminated by removing all extensions and resetting browser settings to default.

• 3
  Remove suspicious browser extensions

  This step, "Remove suspicious browser extensions", specifically rules out malicious browser extension installing miner.

Commands & Diagnostics

Frequently Asked Questions