The Ground.exe process is part of a Trojan that utilizes a victim’s computer processor to mine digital currency.
What is Ground.exe?
The Ground.exe process is part of a Trojan Horse that uses the infected computer’s resources to mine for digital currency without user permission. This Trojan Miner uses the Ground.exe process name to disguise itself as a legitimate process.
When this malicious program is installed, the Ground.exe process will use more than 90% of your CPU’s power and graphics card power. What this means, is that when the miners are running you will find that your computer is running slower and games are stuttering or freezing because the Ground.exe Miner is using your computer’s resources to generate revenue for themselves. This will cause your CPU to run at very hot temperatures for extended periods of time, which could shorten the life of the CPU.
When infected with the Ground.exe CPU Miner Trojan, other common symptoms include:
- Very high CPU and graphics cards usage
- Ground.exe and other suspicious processes will run in the background.
- Windows minimize and maximize slowly, and programs run slower.
- Programs don’t launch as quickly.
- General slowness when using the PC.
How did Ground.exe get on my computer?
Ground.exe Trojan is installed by the users, whether that is knowingly or not. Often, this type of program is offered through advertisements or bundled with other programs, leaving the user puzzled about where this software came from.
You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.
To remove the Ground.exe Trojan and check your computer for other malicious programs, please use the free malware removal guide below.
Removal Instructions for Ground.exe Trojan
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, stop and ask for our assistance.
- STEP 1: Uninstall malicious programs from Windows
- STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove Ground.exe Trojan
- STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for Ground.exe Trojan and other malware
- STEP 4: Use AdwCleaner to remove malicious browser policies
- STEP 5: Remove malware from your browser
STEP 1: Uninstall malicious programs from Windows
In this first step, we will manually check if any unknown or malicious programs are installed on the computer. Sometimes Trojan Miners can have a usable Uninstall entry that can be used to remove them.
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Open Windows Settings.
First, open Windows Settings by pressing Windows+I on your keyboard. You can also right-click your Start button and select “Settings” from the list.
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Click on “Apps”, then select “Apps and Features“.
When Settings opens, click “Apps” in the sidebar, then select “Apps & Features”.
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Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.
In Apps & Features settings, scroll down to the app list and search for unknown or suspicious programs. To make things easier, you can sort all installed programs by their installation date. To do this, click “Sort by” and select “Install date”.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. When you find a malicious program, click the three dots button beside it and select “Uninstall” in the menu that appears.If you are having issues while trying to uninstall a program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove it from your computer.If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide. -
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall program.
In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Uninstall, then follow the prompts to uninstall the malicious program.
Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read them closely.
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Open the “Settings” menu.
Click the Start button on the taskbar, then select “Settings” (gear icon).
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Click on “Apps”, then on “Apps and Features”.
When the “Windows Settings” window opens, click on “Apps“. By default, it should open “Apps and Features” but if it doesn’t, select it from the list on the left.
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Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.
In Apps & Features settings, scroll down to the app list and search for unknown or suspicious programs. To make things easier, you can sort all installed programs by their installation date. To do this, click “Sort by” and select “Install date”.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. When you find a malicious program, click the three dots button beside it and select “Uninstall” in the menu that appears.If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide. -
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.
In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Uninstall, then follow the prompts to uninstall the malicious program.
Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.
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Go to “Program and Features”.
Right-click on the Start button in the taskbar, then select “Programs and Features”. This will take you directly to your list of installed programs.
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Search for malicious program and uninstall it.
The “Programs and Features” screen will be displayed with a list of all the programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the list until you find any unknown or suspicious program, then click to highlight it, then click the “Uninstall” button.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
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Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.
In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Yes, then follow the prompts to uninstall malicious program. Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.
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Open the “Control Panel”.
Click on the “Start” button, then click on “Control Panel“.
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Click on “Uninstall a Program”.
When the “Control Panel” appears, click on “Uninstall a Program” from the Programs category.
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Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.
The “Programs and Features” screen will be displayed with a list of all the programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the list until you find any suspicious or unknown program, then click to highlight it, then click the “Uninstall” button.
The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
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Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.
In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Yes, then follow the prompts to uninstall malicious program. Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.
STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove Ground.exe Trojan
In this second step, we will download, install and run a scan with Malwarebytes to remove Trojans, malicious extensions, adware, and other malware that may be responsible for the Ground.exe redirect.
Malwarebytes is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
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Download Malwarebytes for Windows.
You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.
MALWAREBYTES FOR WINDOWS DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes) -
Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.
When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the MBSetup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the Malwarebytes installation.
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Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes setup wizard which will guide you through the installation process. The Malwarebytes installer will first ask you on what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
On the next screen, click “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your computer.
When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
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Click on “Scan”.
To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for Trojans and other malicious programs.
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Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will scan your computer for the Ground.exe Trojan and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
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Click on “Quarantine”.
When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the Trojans and other malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
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Restart computer.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.
STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for Ground.exe Trojan and other malware
In this next step, we will scan your computer with HitmanPro to ensure that no other malicious programs (Trojans, adware, or browser hijackers) are installed on your PC or browser.
HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner that takes a unique cloud-based approach to malware scanning. HitmanPro scans the behavior of active files and also files in locations where malware normally resides for suspicious activity. If it finds a suspicious file that’s not already known, HitmanPro sends it to its clouds to be scanned by two of the best antivirus engines today, which are Bitdefender and Kaspersky.
Although HitmanPro is shareware and costs $24.95 for 1 year on 1 PC, there is actually no limit in scanning. The limitation only kicks in when there is a need to remove or quarantine detected malware by HitmanPro on your system and by then, you can activate the one time 30-days trial to enable the cleanup.
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Download HitmanPro.
You can download HitmanPro by clicking the link below.
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro) -
Install HitmanPro.
When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on “hitmanpro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “hitmanpro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows) to install this program on your PC. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
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Follow the on-screen prompts.
When HitmanPro starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Click on the “Next” button to perform a system scan.
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Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete.
HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for the Ground.exe Trojan and other malicious programs.
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Click on “Next”.
When HitmanPro has finished the scan, it will display a list of all the malware that the program has found. Click on the “Next” button to remove the malware that it has found.
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Click on “Activate free license”.
Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your PC.
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK
STEP 4: Use AdwCleaner to remove malicious browser policies
In this fourth step, we will use AdwCleaner to remove the malicious browser policies that were set by malware on your computer and delete malicious browser extensions.
AdwCleaner is a free popular on-demand scanner that can detect and remove malware that even the most well-known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to find. This on-demand scanner includes a lot of tools that can be used to fix the side effects of malware.
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Download AdwCleaner.
You can download AdwCleaner by clicking the link below.
ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download AdwCleaner) -
Double-click on the setup file.
Double-click on the file named “adwcleaner_x.x.x.exe” to start AdwCleaner. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
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Enable “Reset Chrome policies” to remove browser policies.
When AdwCleaner starts, on the left side of the window, click on “Settings” and then enable “Reset Chrome policies“.
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Click on “Scan Now”.
On the left side of the window, click on “Dashboard” and then click “Scan Now” to perform a system scan.
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Wait for the AdwCleaner scan to complete.
AdwCleaner will now scan your computer for the Ground.exe Trojan and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes.
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Click on “Clean & Repair”.
When AdwCleaner has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found. Click on the “Clean & Repair” button to remove the Ground.exe Trojan and other malicious programs from your computer.
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Click on “Clean & Restart Now”
When the malware removal process is complete, AdwCleaner may need to restart your device. Click on the “Clean & Restart Now” button to finish the removal process.
When the malware removal process is complete, you can close AdwCleaner and continue with the rest of the next step from this guide.
STEP 5: Remove malware from your browser
In this final step, we will reset your browser settings back to their default settings to remove malicious browser extensions, spam notifications, and unwanted search engines.
Please note that this method will remove all extensions, toolbars, and other customizations but will leave your bookmarks and favorites intact. For each browser that you have installed on your computer, please click on the browsers tab below and follow the displayed steps to reset that browser.
Remove Ground.exe Trojan from Chrome for Windows
To remove Ground.exe Chrome for Windows, we will reset the browser settings to their original defaults. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.
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Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.
Open Chrome and click on the menu button (represented by three vertical dots) in the window’s top right corner. In the dropdown menu that opens, click “Settings“.
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Click “Advanced”.
Chrome’s “Settings” should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration. In the left sidebar, click on the “Advanced” link.
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Click “Reset and clean up”.
In the left sidebar, under the “Advanced” section, click on “Reset and clean up“.
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Click “Reset settings to their original defaults”.
In the main window, the “Reset and clean up” section is visible, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on “Reset settings to their original defaults“.
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Click “Reset settings”.
A confirmation dialog will now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset settings” button.
Remove Ground.exe Trojan from Firefox for Windows
To remove the Ground.exe Trojan from Firefox we will reset the browser settings to its default. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history, and open tabs.
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Click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and then click on “Help”.
Click on Firefox’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled “Help“.
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Click “More troubleshooting information”.
From the Help menu, click on “More troubleshooting information“.
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Click on “Refresh Firefox”
When the “Troubleshooting Information” page opens, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
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Confirm that you want to reset your browser settings.
To finish the reset process, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
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Click “Finish”.
Firefox will now close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on “Finish“.
Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.
Remove Ground.exe Trojan from Microsoft Edge
To remove the Ground.exe Trojan from Microsoft Edge we will reset the browser settings to their default. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.
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Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.
In the top right corner, click on Microsoft Edge’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal dots. When the drop-down menu appears, click on “Settings“.
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Click on “Reset Settings”.
On the left side of the window, click on “Reset Settings“.
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Click on “Restore settings to their default values”.
In the main window, click on “Restore settings to their default values“.
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Click “Reset”.
A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset” button.
Microsoft Edge will now erase all your personal data, browsing history, and disable all installed extensions. Your bookmarks, though, will remain intact and still be accessible.
Remove Ground.exe Trojan from Internet Explorer
To remove the Ground.exe Trojan from Internet Explorer we will reset the browser settings to its default. You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your computer.
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Go to “Internet Options”.
Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon in the upper-right part of your browser, then select “Internet Options“.
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Select the “Advanced” tab, then click “Reset”
In the “Internet Options” dialog box, select the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
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Click on “Reset”.
In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” checkbox, then click on the “Reset” button.
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Click on “Close”.
When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box.
Close your browser and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
- Run a computer scan with ESET Online Scanner
- Ask for help in our Windows Malware Removal Help & Support forum.
