Is your computer lagging? Maybe it's a crypto farm run by thieves.

Do you know when your PC suddenly starts working like a turtle, and the processor hums like a blender? Often the reason is a hidden mining virus. It secretly uses your gadget to mine crypto, while you pay for the electricity. Let's figure out how to catch it and remove it from the system.

How to Identify Uninvited Guests

First of all, check these signs:

• GPU like cookies in the oven – is your graphics card making noise and getting hot? Download GPU-Z and check the temperature.
• Proсessor at 60%+ – open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and check the CPU
• The browser is lagging – the connection drops, tabs close by themselves
• RAM sacrifice – the memory is scattered without reason
• Processes with wild names – like Asikadl.exe or just a set of letters

Quick Cleaning

Step 1. Register (really helps)

1. Win+R → regedit → OK
2. Ctrl+F → enter the name of the suspicious process
3. Remove everything that is found.
4. Restarting

Step 2. Task Scheduler

1. Win+R → taskschd.msc → OK
2. Go to the Task Scheduler Library
3. Looking for processes that start when the PC is turned on
4. Right-click on the suspicious → Disable ( or Delete )

Step 3. Heavy artillery

• Run the antivirus ( at least Defender out of the box, better Dr. Web for a deep scan )
• Then Ccleaner for cleaning up junk
• Restart

How to protect yourself with a guarantee

• Do not run programs as an administrator
• Set a strong password on the router
• Block JavaScript in the browser (privacy settings)
• Do not visit suspicious sites without https://
• Chrome has built-in protection against crypto-scripts – enable it in privacy
• Add an ad blocker like uBlock or AdBlock

Emergency Help

If the antivirus does not penetrate and the virus returns – create an image of a clean Windows system and restore every 2-3 months. This saves against really annoying tirades.

Main: do not ignore the early signs. A hidden miner is grinding your hardware 24/7, and a laptop can overheat in just a few hours. It's better to spend 30 minutes cleaning than to buy a new cooler ( or the entire gadget ).