An infection with the dangerous Killbot Virus leads to serious security issues. Victims can restore and protect their computers by following our complete removal guide.
Remove Killbot Virus and Restore PC
Manual Removal Guide
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Distribution of Killbot Virus
The Killbot Virus is a new virus which has been sighted in 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 Killbot 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 Killbot Virus infection.
The computer criminals behind the malware can create malicious sites or download portals which distribute malware of different kinds, including the Killbot 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 Killbot 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 Killbot Virus
The security community has alerted us of this malware. The Killbot Virus is a test ransomware that at the moment does not contain many of the advanced features that are associated with other similar viruses.
At the moment the origins of the virus are not known. It may be created solely by its creator or criminal group or purchased somewhere on the underground hacker markets. Usually beginner users tend to use the code of famous malware families as there are many guides on customizing them. However in this case the signatures do not match any of them.
The analysts note that the code is written in a modular way and can be extended further. It is very possible that future versions of it can be modeled after the behavior patterns of the famous malware families. Such infections usually begin by harvesting sensitive information from the victim hosts. The security experts note that there are two main types of data types:
- Anonymous Data — Information such as hardware components, installed software and other related information is harvested and sent to the hackers for statistical purposes.
- Personally-Revealing Information — Such information comes under the form of names, phone numbers, addresses and etc.
The next step would be to look out for any installed security software. The so-called stealth protection feature can be integrated which automatically looks for any installed products such as anti-virus programs, sandboxes, virtual machines, debugging environments and etc.
Once the hackers have access to the machines they can set up a network connection to a C&C command servers. It would allow the criminal operators the ability to further manipulate the system. For example this can can lead to malware delivery with other viruses. In such cases the primary KillBot virus infection is used as an intermediate delivery stage. The target systems can be modified in different ways including the Windows registry. As a consequence the victims may experience performance issues and find out that certain services may fail to start.
In other cases the Killbot virus can lead a Trojan instance infection. It may be used by the hackers to spy on the victims in real time. This also gives them the ability to overtake control of the machines at any given time.
Once all components have succeeded the ransomware process is started. The captured strains utilize a built-in list of target file type extensions. Most of the viruses of this type tend to target the most widely used data: archives, backups, images, music, videos, databases and etc. A Killbot virus specific extension may be assigned to the processed files.
A ransomware note is generated in a text file and placed in various locations depending on the exact user configuration. A lockscreen instance has been detected in the captured samples which reads the following:
Oops your important data was encrypted with an AES encryption algorithm!!
If you see this banner then all of your important files have been encrypted and the executable format files were infected
What is this?
Killbot is a virus that encrypts files and data and infects them
As you became it’s victim please make sure to read all the info below.
WARNING!: THIS IS NOT SOME JOKES EVERYTHING IS REAL!
ALSO DO NOT TRY TO CLOSE OR EVEN DELETE THE SOFTWARE IF YOU DO YOUR PC WILL BE DESTROYED!
Your files cannot be restored, however there are some steps to follow if you donft want it on your computer.
Step 1: Please get a windows reinstallation CD and reinstall windows on your computer.
Step 2: Get a powerful antivirus software and update it to the latest version.
Please do everything as it was written if you want to get your PC back
Remove Killbot Virus and Restore PC
WARNING! Manual removal of the Killbot 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
Killbot 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 Killbot 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 Killbot 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
