I've noticed that more and more people are encountering the problem of hidden mining on their computers. This is truly a serious threat that can be easily overlooked if you're not aware of what to pay attention to. Miner viruses are classified as Trojans and infiltrate the system unnoticed, starting to use your PC's resources for cryptocurrency mining. The most unpleasant part is that regular antivirus software doesn't always catch them, and removing them can be more difficult than it seems.

There are two main types of such malware. The first is cryptojacking, where malicious scripts are embedded directly into a website. You visit an infected page, and your processor immediately starts mining. Antivirus cannot remove it because it's not a file but embedded code. The second type is a classic miner virus in the form of an archive or executable file, which is installed covertly and runs every time the computer is turned on. Sometimes these viruses also check wallets, transferring your funds to attackers' accounts.

How to tell if this has happened? If your graphics card starts making strange noises, the cooler spins at maximum, and the case heats up—that's the first sign. You can check the load using the GPU-Z program. The second sign is that your computer begins to slow down, even though you haven't opened anything heavy. Open the Task Manager and look at the CPU load. If it stays at 60% or higher during normal operation—that's a reason to be cautious. Also, pay attention to RAM usage and traffic, strange processes in Task Manager with unclear names, and browser slowdown.

Now, about how to find a miner on your PC. Start with an antivirus scan—that's the first and simplest step. Then run CCleaner or a similar utility to clean the system of junk. But if the virus is clever and has added itself to trusted programs, the antivirus may not notice it. In that case, manual search is needed. Press Win+R, type regedit, and the registry will open. Use Ctrl+F to search for suspicious processes—usually, they have strange names made up of random characters. Delete the found entries and restart your computer.

There's another method—using the Task Scheduler. Press Win+R and type taskschd.msc. Open the Task Scheduler library and look for processes that run every time the computer starts. Check the Triggers and Actions tabs—they will show what each task does. Disable suspicious tasks by right-clicking on them. If after this the CPU starts working normally, you've found the culprit. For deeper analysis of startup items, use AnVir Task Manager. For detecting complex malware, try Dr. Web—it performs a full system scan.

How to find a miner on your PC and protect yourself from it in the future? First, regularly update your antivirus and its databases. Check information about programs before downloading, scan all downloaded files. Work online with the antivirus and firewall enabled. If your browser warns about a dangerous site—close it. Add malicious sites to the hosts file using lists from GitHub. Do not run programs as administrator unless necessary—this gives the virus maximum access. Set policies allowing only verified software to run via the secpol.msc utility.

Additional measures: set a strong password on your router and disable its detection, prohibit other users from installing programs, and protect Windows itself with a password. Avoid suspicious sites without SSL certificates (look for the https icon). Block JavaScript in your browser settings—this prevents malicious code from running through the browser, although interactive site elements may work worse. In Chrome, enable built-in protection against mining in Privacy and Security settings. Install ad blockers like AdBlock or uBlock—they also help against malicious scripts.

If everything is really bad and you can't find the miner on your PC with standard methods, create a backup of important data and restore Windows from a clean image. This can be done prophylactically every 2-3 months if you frequently visit risky sites. The main thing is not to panic and act systematically. Usually, a combination of antivirus, manual registry and Task Scheduler searches solves the problem.