by Ventsislav Krastev | September 26, 2017 | 0 Comments Monero, Trojan horse

Threat Summary How Does Moloko miner Trojan Infect Your PC Moloko Trojan.Miner – Further Information

This article aims to show you how to fully remove the Moloko Trojan.Miner threat from your computer and secure it against future infections as well.

The Moloko Miner Trojan is the type of threat you do not want on your computer. It’s primary purpose is to run a process on your Windows Task Manager which connects you in a cryptocurrency mining pool and begins to mine for the currency Monero. This crypto is well known for being one of the most private cryptocurrencies out there, preventing authorities from tracking down who is actually performing the mining process. So the result of having this Trojan on your PC is a very slow performance and heightened usage of your CPU. If this Trojan is on your computer for a long time, it is likely that it may even damage your computer, preventing it from turning on again. This is why it is advisable to read this article and learn how to detect and remove the Moloko miner Trojan from your computer effectively.

Threat Summary

Name	Moloko Trojan.Miner
Type	Miner Trojan
Short Description	Infects your computer after which begins mining for the crypto currency Monero by using your CPU resources.
Symptoms	A suspicious or hidden process, named moloko.exe running on your computer in a stealthy manner.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files, Malicious browser redirects
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Moloko Trojan.Miner.

How Does Moloko miner Trojan Infect Your PC

Just like other miner Trojans, such as the Bitcoin miner, the Moloko Trojan may infect your computer in a multitude of ways. Latest reports are that some torrent websites, like ThePirateBay may use such scripts to mine your computer for cryptocurrencies, so one possible method is to infect your computer by visiting a suspicious web site which may cause a malicious redirect to a web page which infects the machine automatically.

Another method of infection, which accounts to a big percentage of Trojan infections is known as malspam and features fake e-mails with malicious e-mail attachments embedded within them. Such messages may contain the infection file of the Moloko Trojan.Miner, which may pretend to be a legitimate infection file, such as:

Invoice.
Banking Statement.
Receipt.
Purchase letter.

An example of such malicious message can be the e-mail from the image below:

In addition to this, the malware may also infect your computer via fake setups, program installers, key generators or license activators.

Moloko Trojan.Miner – Further Information

Once this malware infects your computer, it drops the malicious file of the virus, called moloko.exe. It has the following location:

→ %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Vatico\moloko.exe

Then, the miner may connect to one of many Monero mining pools. Mining pool is an inner network which brings together multiple different devices in order to use their processing power to mine more of the cryptocurrency. Moloko may connect you to such mining pool, reported by malware researchers to be via port 8050 (tcp/udp).

Immediately after doing so, the moloko.exe process can be seen on your Windows Task Manager. The program may begin to take over 90% of your system’s resources.

After doing so, your computer may become extremely slow, since it is calculating complex mathematical problems in order to mine the crypto currencry Monero. It is known for being used by many criminals who do their business online, primarily because it is completely private.

So, the bottom line is that while this Trojan steals from your system’s resources, it generates profits to the cyber-criminal who has infected you with it. This plus the fact that the infection is a Trojan Horse and can also steal information from your computer are the primary reasons why you should immediately take actions to remove Moloko Trojan.Miner it permanently.

How to Remove Moloko Trojan.Miner from Your Computer

Even though there many be many methods that help to remove this virus, we advise you to follow the removal instructions below. They are specifically designed to firstly isolate the Moloko virus and then remove it. However, if manual removal may represent difficulty for you and you do not know If you have removed Moloko entirely, experts strongly recommend using an advanced anti-malware software which will automatically deal with Moloko miner Trojan.

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.

How to Remove Moloko Trojan.Miner from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Moloko Trojan.Miner

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter's malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall Moloko Trojan.Miner and related software from Windows

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Moloko Trojan.Miner on your computer.

The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Moloko Trojan.Miner there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.

IMPORTANT!
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.

Step 4: Scan for Moloko Trojan.Miner with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the 'Next' button.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Get rid of Moloko Trojan.Miner from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall Moloko Trojan.Miner and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to Moloko Trojan.Miner:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to Moloko Trojan.Miner. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to Moloko Trojan.Miner. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

Go to Finder.
In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.

In case you cannot remove Moloko Trojan.Miner via Step 1 above:

In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as Moloko Trojan.Miner. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:

→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.

Step 2: Scan for and remove Moloko Trojan.Miner files from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Moloko Trojan.Miner, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.

Click the button below below to download SpyHunter for Mac and scan for Moloko Trojan.Miner:

Download

SpyHunter for Mac

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove Moloko Trojan.Miner from Google Chrome.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"

Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Erase Moloko Trojan.Miner from Mozilla Firefox.

Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.

Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Uninstall Moloko Trojan.Miner from Microsoft Edge.

Step 1: Start Edge browser.

Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".

Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove Moloko Trojan.Miner from Safari.

Step 1: Start the Safari app.

Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.

Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".

Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.

Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.

Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Moloko Trojan.Miner will be removed.

How to Reset Safari
IMPORTANT: Before resetting Safari make sure you back up all your saved passwords within the browser in case you forget them.

Start Safari and then click on the gear leaver icon.

Click the Reset Safari button and you will reset the browser.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Eliminate Moloko Trojan.Miner from Internet Explorer.

Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'

Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.

Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.

Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.