VPNTop CPU Miner
Posted: October 16, 2017
Threat Metric
The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:
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.
Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.
% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.
Threat Level: | 8/10 |
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Infected PCs: | 26 |
First Seen: | October 16, 2017 |
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Last Seen: | May 12, 2023 |
OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
The VPNTop CPU Miner is a stealthy application, which is known for using the CPU resources of its users to mine various cryptocurrencies. The software is not distributed as a miner and, instead, its publisher promotes VPNTop as the Best VPN for China and Best VPN for UAE Dubai. Users who opt to install this application will be asked whether they'd like to take advantage of the free trial that can give them a glimpse at the features and speed that VPNTop possesses immediately. However, what the trial offer might not mention is that all users who opt to participate in the trial will end up allowing a CPU mining utility to run on their computers unknowingly.
The VPNTop CPU Miner is very stealthy, and users might not notice anything suspicious until they try to run an application that requires more hardware resources. Software that requires lots of processing power might underperform because the VPNTop CPU Miner will consume most of the CPU's resources to carry out the cryptocurrency mining operations. Another way to notice this threat is to check the list of processes running currently – the VPNTop CPU Miner is tied to the processes 'Service.exe' and 'winsock.exe.'
Apart from having a negative impact on the computer's performance, the VPNTop CPU Miner may also reduce the lifespan of the CPU and its cooler. This may happen because the software will keep the CPU under constant load, therefore increasing the speed at which the cooler works, as well as increasing the temperature at which the processor operates. The short-term consequences of this are none, but having the miner running for months may reduce the lifetime of the PC components listed above slightly.
If you suspect that the VPNTop CPU Miner utility might be running on your computer, then it is better if youtake the necessary measures to ensure this program's removal. Keep in mind that simply uninstalling VPNTop is unlikely to solve the issue, and you should use a reputable anti-virus scanner to ensure the miner's complete removal.
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