An infection with the dangerous ProxyGate virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove ProxyGate virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of ProxyGate virus
The ProxyGate 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 ProxyGate 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 labeled 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 ProxyGate virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the ProxyGate 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 ProxyGate 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 ProxyGate virus
The ProxyGate virus is a dangerous malware that is being used in a large-scale worldwide hacker attack. Ever since its initial development it has targeted both end users and corporate networks in Europe, North/South America and Asia.
One of the most dangerous characteristics that the analysts discovered is the fact that it uses a varied delivery mechanism. The hackers behind it utilize different mainly social engineering tricks that advertise malicious executable files as a product that offers anonymous and protection services. By definition it is a software-based proxy server that routes all network traffic through the company’s servers.
And while the network traffic may be encrypted and secured malicious instances that may contain hacker-modified copies of it can be found on download sites and sent via email messages. The security and privacy implications are rather alarming. The security analysis has shown that such threats are very likely to carry other payloads as well.
Security The actual infection process actually begins by the installation of the ProxyGate virus into the system. It copies itself to several system locations and sets up the relevant values in the Windows registry and other operating system components. The captured samples associated with malware activity were found to create these values:
- Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, value: ProxyGate
- Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\MyPPI
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}
{1EC095EE-8CA3-43D6-B9F5-0C55B82ED3D7}}_is1
Once it has been placed on the victim computers the main application will start itself automatically. There are three separate modules that have been identified — one of it is associated with the runtime execution commands, the next one is the graphical user interface and the last one is related to the operating system interaction. A total of 233 registry keys have been observed during the active virus replication. Folders and files are also being created by the infection service.
Some of the dangerous security and privacy implications associated with the use of such viruses are the following:
- Data Capture — All transmitted data goes through the servers behind the relevant ProxyGate virus instance. This means that its operators can retrieve the records at any given time.
- Hacker Attacks — Infection with these type of applications leads to the possibility of launching complex man-in-the-middle attacks that cannot be countered unless the threat has been completely eliminated.
- Persistent Installation — As the ProxyGate virus installs itself as a regular software application and contains several infection modules it can effectively block manual user removal attempts.
Note that a browser hijacker carrying the ProxyGate virus codecan also be contacted. It operates in a similar way to other redirects and its main goal would be to infect the most widely used browsers. All popular malware target the following list of apps: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Usually these kind of infections begin with the modifications of important parameters: the default home page, new tabs page and search engine. The operators also receive access to all sensitive information stored in the browsers: form data, bookmarks, history, passwords and account credentials.
Proxygate virus copies do exist and they can cause further damage to the infected computers. And while the legitimate ProxyGate software can be easily removed using the ordinary uninstall instructions provided on the vendor’s official site, this may not work with the malware instances. This is the reason why we recommend that everyone utilize a quality anti-spyware solution to protect themselves from possible intrusions and infections.
An important aspect of this type of virus infections is that they can build a complete profile of the victims based on their web interactions, interests and personal preferences. This is done using tracking cookies, malware code placed in their respective web browsers as well as machine analysis done on the routed network traffic. Malware modifications of the ProxyGate virus have been found to generate malware instances based on the received data — pop-ups, banners and ads that match their interest.
The use of malicious ProxyGate apps and related software can block the normal functioning of games like Diablo III, League of Legends, World of Warcraft and etc. Some communication software can also stop functioning as they rely on a direct and secure connection to their servers.
Remove ProxyGate virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the ProxyGate 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.
SpyHunter anti-malware tool will diagnose all current threats on the computer. By purchasing the full version, you will be able to remove all malware threats instantly. Additional information about SpyHunter / Help to uninstall SpyHunter
ProxyGate 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 ProxyGate 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 ProxyGate 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.
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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”.
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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
