A refined version of a computer virus infected half a million computers and made them acquire the cryptocurrency Monnero (HMR).
The virus is called WinstarNssmMiner and it is cryptocurrency-mining malware, based on the open-source and legitimate Monero mining utility named XMRig. In addition to mining, if a user ever detects the hidden mining operations and tries to shut down the svchost.exe process associated with XMRig, the malware crashes the user's PC, which would then require a restart.
After infection, the malware searches for the Avast and Kaspersky Lab's antivirus programs. If it finds such programs, the virus stops working. And if it does not find it - launches two "ѕvсhоѕt.ехе" process. One is the currency miner and the other one continuously checks for running antivirus programs.
According to Qihoo 360 researchers, the group behind this operation has managed to make 133 Monero with WinstarNssmMiner, which is around $28,000.
I hope this was helpful to you!
Image source: 360totalsecurity