OSX.ppminer

Short bio

OSX.ppminer is Malwarebytes’ detection name for a basic crypto-miner written in GoLang and targeting macOS systems.

Symptoms

This crypto-miner uses a huge amount of resources. Users may experience very active fans and a process named “mshelper” using up a lot of CPU time.

Type and source of infection

A crypto-miner uses resources of the affected system to mine crypto-currency for the threat-actor. This cryptominer uses XMRig and is installed on systems by a Trojan dropper.

Protection

Malwarebytes for Mac detects and removes OSX.ppminer

Remediation

Malwarebytes for Mac will detect and remove the components of this malware.

Download and install the latest version of Malwarebytes for Mac.

Click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan.

If threats are detected during the scan, a count of detected threats is displayed. More detailed threat information is displayed after the scan completes.

Click “Confirm” to move the detected threats to Quarantaine.

If a restart is required to complete remediation of threats detected during a scan, you will be notified. When a restart is required, please remember to save all work before clicking “Restart”.