I just recently realized a pretty serious thing—your computer that you use to browse the internet right now might be secretly being used for mining by a malware infection. This isn’t alarmist talk; it’s really happening.

I just learned that these types of malicious programs can quietly infiltrate Windows systems, and then start using your hardware resources to mine cryptocurrencies. Even worse, ordinary antivirus software often doesn’t work very well against them, and removing them can be especially troublesome.

Mining malware mainly comes in two types. One hides in online scripts on websites—when you go to an infected page, it activates and starts secretly using your computer’s resources. The other is installed as files in your system, and it automatically starts every time you boot up. Sometimes, this kind of virus also checks your wallets and directly transfers funds to the hacker’s account—just thinking about it is terrifying.

The signs that your computer is infected are actually quite obvious. Your graphics card will spin at full speed, making huge noises, and it will feel extremely hot to the touch. Or your computer suddenly becomes extremely slow, with CPU load in Task Manager staying above 60% all the time. There’s also a sudden surge in memory usage—your browser gets laggy, and even files might be deleted without any reason. If you see an unfamiliar process name in Task Manager, like “asikadl.exe”, then you’ve basically been hit.

If you discover your system is infected with mining malware, the first step is to scan the entire system with antivirus software. After the scan, run CCleaner again to clean up junk files, and then restart your computer. But there’s a catch—some crafty mining malware adds itself to the system’s list of trusted programs, so antivirus software can’t find it.

If the automatic scan doesn’t completely remove it, you can check manually. Press Win+R to open the Run window, type regedit to open the Registry, and use Ctrl+F to search for suspicious process names. Usually, the virus process names are random combinations of characters, which are especially easy to identify. After you find them, delete all suspicious entries and then restart. Another method is to use the Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc) to check automatically started processes—go to the “Triggers” and “Actions” tabs, and disable or delete any suspicious tasks.

But honestly, when dealing with complex mining malware, using deep-scanning tools like Dr.Web will be more thorough. It can find malicious software that’s hidden particularly deeply. Before clearing it out, it’s best to back up your system first, just in case.

To protect yourself from mining malware, the most important thing is prevention. Regularly restore your system using a clean Windows image (every 2-3 months), install antivirus software, and keep it updated. Before downloading any program, check the information first, and scan again after downloading. When browsing, make sure antivirus and firewall protection are enabled, and if you encounter a dangerous website, shut it down. Add suspicious websites without SSL certificates to your hosts file blacklist.

Also, don’t perform operations as an administrator—once mining malware gains administrator privileges, it can fully control your PC resources, making removal much harder. Set strong passwords to protect your Windows system, and also set strong passwords on your router, disabling remote access. In your browser settings, you can disable JavaScript. In Chrome, you can enable the built-in mining detection feature in the privacy and security settings. Installing ad blockers such as AdBlock or uBlock Origin can also help block some malicious scripts.

Plainly put, mining malware is a threat that shouldn’t be ignored—but as long as you stay vigilant, check regularly, and put protective measures in place, you can minimize the risk. Don’t wait until your computer becomes someone else’s mining machine before regretting it.