An infection with the dangerous Vulkaninfo Virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove Vulkaninfo Virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of Vulkaninfo Virus
The Vulkaninfo Virus is a new virus which has been sighted in a limited attack campaign. At the moment the security researchers cannot determine the primary infection strategy. We presume that the most widely used tactics are going to be employed.
Among them are the email messages created in an automated way and sent to large lists of potential victims. The Vulkaninfo Virus can be directly attached to the messages. This is one of the easiest way for the criminals to attempt the infection. However a lot of email hosting providers usually capture the signatures of the virus and as such discard such messages or label them as dangerous or spam. Other infection methods related to this one is the option of inserting hyperlinks in the body content of the messages. The links are usually labelled as leading to a familiar website or a file of user interest. Redirects can redirect to hacker-controlled sites, infected payloads or other instances that can lead to an Vulkaninfo Virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the Vulkaninfo Virus. A popular option is the use of infected documents which may be of different types ‒ spreadsheets, rich text documents, presentations and databases. They are modified to initiate the virus once the built-in scripts are run. Usually when the files are opened a notification will ask the users to run the macros (scripts). If this is done the infection follows.
The hacker-controlled sites are specialist portals that have been created either manually or automatically by the criminals behind the Vulkaninfo Virus. They can either directly distribute the threat by initiating various scripts or automated operations or link to such instances. Redirects are usually caused by email interaction, ad networks or other browsing activity. However one of the main sources is the availability of browser hijackers. They are malicious addons made for the most popular web browsers ‒ Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Once installed they not only infect the users with the malware, but also redirect the victims to a hacker-controlled site. Depending on the configuration the browser hijackers can also steal sensitive information such as any stored passwords, account credentials, history, bookmarks, form data and settings.
Impact of Vulkaninfo Virus
Computer users have complained of an unknown file called Vulkaninfo.exe or Vulkaninfo32.exe that may appear as strange. Usually it is contacted from Internet downloads or torrent sites. It is actually a component of the graphics drivers made by vendors such as NVIDIA, Intel and AMD (ATI). Security experts note that the Vulkainfo file is an integral part of a API that allows computer developers to create games. This is an adddition to the graphics drivers that allows the technology to be enabled on the graphics hardware.
It is possible that the Vulkaninfo virus strains are actually renamed malware threats that are disguised to appear as a legtimate file. This is a popular strategy that is among the most widely used among computer criminals. And while some security companies report that the detected infections may be false positives, a large part of the warnings are legitimate threats. Due to the fact that the Vulkaninfo virus samples can include different kind of threats — ransomware, Trojans and etc.
Each vulkaninfo virus infection can be a different threat which it very hard to specify the exact characteristics of it. However a general threat behavior pattern can be observed with nearly all of them.
If it is a Trojan then remote control of the infected host is presumed. The hacker operators can vew the target’s screens at any given time as well as record their mouse moveement and keystrokes. If it is configured properly it can take over control of the machines and allow the execution of arbitrary commands with escalated privileges.
Vulkaninfo virus files can also be used to profile the infected hosts in order to gain in-depth information about the victims and their machines. Such options include the installed hardware components, available applications and the relevant user configuration. Many generic threats have been identified to harvest data from software such as the web browsers. Usually the criminals include code that harvests information from the most popular ones: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Opera. Extracted contents can include the stored cookies, bookmarks, history, account credentials and passwords.
Some of the security reports indicate that the vulkaninfo virus instances install themselves as a legitimate applications, creates its own shortcuts and registry values. Such cases are used to make the users think that it is a legitimate application and not raise suspicion.
Several reports indicate that the Vulkaninfo virus can install itself as a persistent threat or a rootkit which menas that it will actively prevent manual user removal. This is done by causing system changes relate to the Windows registry. The malware engine can create its own registry values, remove recovery options and manipulate the system’s security configuration. In some cases it can also prevent data recovery by deleting the found Shadow volume copies on the hosts.
If the vulkaninfo virus ataches itself to the Microsoft Windows services it can also take over control of the mount manager and access removable devices and network shares. This can either be used to affect files there as well or replicate itself along the internal network.
Nowadays cryptocurrency miners are a very popular threat to all end users. It is possible that these instances are used to install such threats. They take advantage of the available computer resources to generate income for the hacker operators.
The vulkaninfo virus can can be used as a primary malware delivery mechanism. When combined with the stealth protection it can be used to infect the target computeres with different kinds of viruses including ransomware. In such cases the encrypting module can be bundled in the vulkainfo virus code itself or it can be another threat. Like all ransomware families it will use a built-in list of target file type extensions targeting the most popular user data: images, videos, music, archives, documents, databases and configuration files.
After this is done the hacker operators display a ransomware note that uses blackmail tactics to scare the victims into paying a ransomware fee.
The vulkaninfo virus can also institute a browser hijacker to the computer users. This means that the malware can modify important settings of the installed web browsers, its aim would be to redirect the victims to a hacker-controlled site. The modified settings include the default home page, search engine and new tabs page. As a result tracking cookies can be instituted onto the victims that are a serious security and privacy threat. Effectively this means that they can also be impacted by pop-ups, redirects and etc.
Remove Vulkaninfo Virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the Vulkaninfo Virus requires being familiar with system files and registries. Removing important data accidentally can lead to permanent system damage. If you don’t feel comfortable with manual instructions, download a powerful anti-malware tool that will scan your system for malware and clean it safely for you.
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Vulkaninfo Virus – Manual Removal Steps
Start the PC in Safe Mode with Network
This will isolate all files and objects created by the ransomware so they will be removed efficiently. The steps bellow are applicable to all Windows versions.
1. Hit the WIN Key + R
2. A Run window will appear. In it, write msconfig and then press Enter
3. A Configuration box shall appear. In it Choose the tab named Boot
4. Mark Safe Boot option and then go to Network under it to tick it too
5. Apply -> OK
Remove Vulkaninfo from Windows
Here’s a way to remove the program. This method will work regardless if you’re on Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP. Simply selecting the program and pressing delete won’t work, as it’ll leave a lot of small files. That’s bad because these leftovers can linger on and cause all sorts of problems. The best way to delete a program is to uninstall it. Here’s how you can do that:
1. Hold the “Windows” button (It’s between CTRL and Alt on most keyboards) and press “R”. You’ll see a pop-up window.
2. In the textbox, type “appwiz.cpl”, then press“ Enter ”.
3. The “Programs and features” menu should now appear. It’s a list of all the programs installed on the PC. Here you can find the program, select it, and press “Uninstall“.
Remove Vulkaninfo Virus From Your Browser
Before resetting your browser’s settings, you should know that this action will wipe out all your recorded usernames, passwords, and other types of data. Make sure to save them in some way.
- 1. Start Mozilla Firefox. In the upper right corner, click on the Open menu icon and select “Add-ons“.
2. Inside the Add-ons Manager select “Extensions“. Search the list of extensions for suspicious entries. If you find any, select them and click “Remove“.
3. Click again on the Open menu icon, then click “Options“.
4. In the Options window, under “General” tab, click “Restore to Default“.
5. Select “Search” in the left menu, mark the unknown search engine and press “Remove”.
- 1. Start Google Chrome. On the upper-right corner, there a “Customize and Control” menu icon. Click on it, then click on “Settings“.
2. Click “Extensions” in the left menu. Then click on the trash bin icon to remove the suspicious extension.
3. Again in the left menu, under Chrome, Click on “Settings“. Go under “On Startup” and set a new page.
4. Afterward, scroll down to “Search“, click on “Manage search engines“.
5. In the default search settings list, find the unknown search engine and click on “X“. Then select your search engine of choice and click “Make default“. When you are ready click “Done” button in the right bottom corner.
2. In the “Manage add-ons” window, bellow “Add-on Types“, select “Toolbars and Extensions“. If you see a suspicious toolbar, select it and click “Remove“.
3. Then again in the “Manage Add-ons” window, in “Add-on Types“, Select “Search Providers“. Chose a search engine and click “Set as default“. Select the unknown search engine and click “Remove and Close”.
4. Open the Tools menu, select “Internet Options”.
5. In the “General” tab, in “Home page”, enter your preferred page. Click “Apply” and “OK”.
Repair Windows Registry
1. Again type simultaneously the WIN Key + R key combination
2. In the box, write regedit and hit Enter
3. Type the CTRL+ F and then write the malicious name in the search type field to locate the malicious executable
4. In case you have discovered registry keys and values related to the name, you should delete them, but be careful not to delete legitimate keys
Click for more information about Windows Registry and further repair help
