PUP.Cgminer

Posted: February 11, 2014

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Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

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Ranking:	16,384
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	206

First Seen:	February 11, 2014
Last Seen:	February 7, 2025
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

PUP.Cgminer is a BitCoin-mining utility that maintains a portion of the currency's block chain record in exchange for generating 'new' currency for the wallet of the utility's user. Although PUP.Cgminer isn't a threat, malware researchers often see PUP.Cgminer and other BitCoin miners being bundled with threats that may use them to create money for their designers – by exploiting the infected PC. Since PUP.Cgminer has been distributed by backdoor Trojans and other high-level PC threats, its presence when you haven't installed PUP.Cgminer is a potential security crisis, and anti-malware software should be deployed to remove PUP.Cgminer and all related Trojans ASAP.

The Miner that Mine Your PC Empty

While the BitCoin industry has had its ups and downs, ill-minded persons have been consistent in their willingness to take advantage of the digital currency by any means necessary. PUP.Cgminer is a showcase of how even a legitimate application may be turned towards harmful intentions, and, like other BitCoin miners, has a history of being installed by threats. Trojan.Tbot is one example of a Trojan that has been known to install PUP.Cgminer. Malware researchers have found that PUP.Cgminer may include typical security issues, such as opening a backdoor connection for remote control, the possibility of Tbot installing additional threats and the potential for the theft of your privileged information. Trojan.Tbot also is associated with Zbot or Trojan Zeus, an especially invasive and sophisticated spyware program.

Whether PUP.Cgminer was installed by a Trojan or installed by the PC's real user, PUP.Cgminer's functions remain the same: PUP.Cgminer uses the host PC's resources to generate currency in the BitCoin format. Ideally, PUP.Cgminer may be used to enrich the wallets of legitimate users who allow PUP.Cgminer onto their systems consensually. However, PUP.Cgminer is often used by unscrupulous people that compromise PCs remotely. In the process, PUP.Cgminer may cause system slowdowns or, in very extreme cases, permanently harm your PC's hardware.

Outing the Miner Before Your PC Collapses

When used appropriately, there shouldn't be any harm from allowing PUP.Cgminer onto your computer. However, a PUP.Cgminer that's installed automatically is a major breach of your PC's security, and one that may not display visible symptoms. Malware experts have noted that most PC threats associated with unwanted installations of PUP.Cgminer (or other miners) often inject themselves into unrelated memory processes and use other methods to conceal themselves.

With the degree of stealth and sophistication used by PUP.Cgminer-installing threats, you should respond to this threat by making immediate use of a reliable anti-malware program. While Tbot Trojans had most of their distribution in 2012, other Trojans are installing PUP.Cgminer and other BitCoin miners even as of 2014. Neglecting the potential damage that may occur from an unseen program could cost you the lifespan of your GPU – or your entire computer.

Technical Details

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