I recently ran into a problem that many people underestimate. It turns out that during ordinary internet browsing, your computer can become infected with a hidden miner virus, and antivirus software doesn’t always help detect it. The malware starts using the processing power of your PC to mine cryptocurrency, and you don’t even realize it.

These programs belong to the Trojan virus group and stealthily infiltrate the Windows system. There are two main types of such threats. The first is cryptojacking, when a malicious script is embedded directly into a website. When you visit an infected page, the script activates and begins using your computer’s resources. The second type is a classic mining virus in the form of a file or archive, which installs secretly and runs every time the PC is powered on.

How can you tell that an infection has occurred? There are several obvious signs. If your graphics card starts making a lot of noise and overheating, if the CPU is loaded at 60% and above without any visible reason, if the computer slows down and freezes—it’s time to check. Also, pay attention to increased RAM usage and internet traffic. The browser may start working more slowly, and tabs may close by themselves.

Now let’s talk about how to find a miner on your PC yourself. The first step is to run a full scan using your antivirus. After that, use Ccleaner to clean junk from the system. But there are viruses that are smarter and add themselves to the list of trusted programs, hiding from scanning.

For manual searching, open the Registry via Win+R, enter regedit, and press OK. Using Ctrl+F, look for suspicious processes with strange names. If you find something that looks like a random string of characters, it might be it.

Another way to find a miner on your PC is through Task Scheduler. Enter Win+R, then type taskschd.msc. In the Task Scheduler library, look for processes that start when the computer powers on. Check their triggers and actions. If anything looks suspicious, disable that task by right-clicking it.

For deeper scanning, I recommend Dr. Web or AnVir Task Manager. They search for and check tasks that start automatically. Before deleting the virus, it’s better to create a system backup.

As for protection, a comprehensive strategy is important here. Create an image of a clean Windows installation and periodically restore the system every 2-3 months. Regularly update antivirus databases. Before downloading files, check the information about programs. Always run with antivirus and firewall enabled.

Block JavaScript in your browser settings—this removes the possibility of executing malicious code through the browser. In Chrome, enable detection and protection against mining in the privacy section. Add dangerous sites to the hosts file using lists from GitHub. Set a reliable password on your router and disable remote access.

Don’t perform actions as an administrator unless it’s necessary—if the miner runs with such privileges, getting rid of it will be much harder. Use the secpol.msc utility to create a restricted application policy. Set permissions only for specific ports in the antivirus settings.

Don’t forget about AdBlock and uBlock—they will help filter out malicious scripts. The main thing is not to visit dubious sites without ssl certificates (https). Security requires constant attention, but if you follow these recommendations on how to find a miner on your PC and protect your system, you’ll be able to work calmly.