Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Trojan.Adylkuzz and other threats.
Threats such as Trojan.Adylkuzz may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
This article aims to help you completely remove the Adylkuzz Monero miner Trojan from your computer, dropping the files msiexev.exe and wuauser.exe in it.
A Trojan horse, named Adylkuzz has been reported to use the same exploits WannaCry ransomware’s worm – EternalBlue and DoublePulsar SMB exploits for infection of computers. But unlike other Trojan viruses, the Adylkuzz miner Trojan aims to use the resources of the infected computer in order to mine for a cryptocurrency, called Monero. In case you have experienced a slow performance on your computer and higher CPU, RAM or GPU usage and have the suspicious processes above running from an unknown user, you have been infected by Adylkuzz. Keep reading this material in order to learn more about this infection and learn how to remove all malicious files belonging to Adylkuzz trojan.
Threat Summary
Name
Trojan.Adylkuzz
Type
Trojan Horse, Miner Malware
Short Description
Aims to use the resources of the infected computer in order to mine for a cryptocurrency, known as Monero.
Symptoms
Extremely high usage of system resources. The files msiexev.exe and wuauser.exe are dropped on the compromised computer.
Distribution Method
The trojan infects a computer via SMB exploit, known as EternalBlue and uses DoublePulsar backdoor to install the malicious files.
Detection Tool
See If Your System Has Been Affected by Trojan.Adylkuzz
These exploits were oriented towards multiple different types of systems, but predominantly these systems are unpatched versions of Windows 7. However, they also work on all other unpatched versions of Windows, it comes down to how the cyber-criminals behind the Trojan.Adylkuzz miner have decided to distribute the infection. It may be conducted via multiple different methods:
The infection file uploaded as a fake updater, installer, or other executable.
The infection file uploaded as a fake document, being a part of massive spam e-mail campaign.
The infection, conducted via a third-party ad-supported program causing a browser redirect or directly infecting the computer
Adylkuzz Trojan – What Does It Do?
Among the primary activities of this Trojan horse after infection your computer is to drop it’s malicious processes and run in in Windows Task Manager. The processes are named as follows:
msiexev.exe
wuauser.exe
These processes are only configured as services of Windows after the malware obtains administrative permissions over the user’s computer. After these permissions are obtained, the Trojan.Adylkuzz threat set’s the processes as legitimate Windows services. This way they can start alongside the operating system’s start-up process.
In addition to it’s primary set of activities, Adylkuzz is a Trojan Horse as well, meaning that it may also:
Steal important files from your computer.
Log the keystrokes you type to steal passwords.
Steal financial credentials and personal information from your web browsers..
Obtain system information and network information..
After this has been done and the executables have already been initiated, the Trojan.Adylkuzz infection begins to perform multiple different types of administrative commands, beginning with the following command, reported by malware researchers:
-a cryptonight -o stratum+tcp://{URL to a mining pool} -u {Unique user ID}-p x
After this command is initiated, the Trojan.Adylkuzz infection begins to use all of the resources of the processor (CPU) of the infected Windows computer. These resources are used to conduct the so-called mining for cryptocurrency. Mining consists of performing complicated calculations and solving mathematical equations to complete an order from someone who is using the cryptocurrency, in this case, Monero.
The cryptocurrency has been reported to see a rise in the past seven days as well:
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
Detect and Remove the Adylkuzz Virus from Your PC
One method to detect this virus is to manually look for the malicious files and remove them, using the manual removal instructions below. However, these may not be the only modifications done by the Trojan.Adylkuzz infection on your computer. The virus may also create additional objects that can reinstall it, even If you have located the msiexev.exe and wuauser.exe files. This is why security experts strongly recommend victims to scan their computers with an advanced anti-malware program to fully remove the Trojan.Adylkuzz threat.
Note! Your computer system may be affected by Trojan.Adylkuzz and other threats. Scan Your PC with SpyHunter SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as Trojan.Adylkuzz. 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.
To remove Trojan.Adylkuzz follow these steps:
1. Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Trojan.Adylkuzz files and objects
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
Boot Your PC Into Safe Mode
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7. 2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
For Windows XP, Vista and 7 systems:
1. Remove all CDs and DVDs, and then Restart your PC from the “Start” menu. 2. Select one of the two options provided below:
– For PCs with a single operating system: Press “F8” repeatedly after the first boot screen shows up during the restart of your computer. In case the Windows logo appears on the screen, you have to repeat the same task again.
– For PCs with multiple operating systems: Тhe arrow keys will help you select the operating system you prefer to start in Safe Mode. Press “F8” just as described for a single operating system.
3. As the “Advanced Boot Options” screen appears, select the Safe Mode option you want using the arrow keys. As you make your selection, press “Enter“.
4. Log on to your computer using your administrator account
While your computer is in Safe Mode, the words “Safe Mode” will appear in all four corners of your screen.
Step 1: Open up the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click on the Power button (for Windows 8 it is the little arrow next to the “Shut Down” button) and whilst holding down “Shift” click on Restart.
Step 3: After reboot, a blue menu with options will appear. From them you should choose Troubleshoot.
Step 4: You will see the Troubleshoot menu. From this menu choose Advanced Options.
Step 5: After the Advanced Options menu appears, click on Startup Settings.
Step 6: From the Startup Settings menu, click on Restart.
Step 7: A menu will appear upon reboot. You can choose any of the three Safe Mode options by pressing its corresponding number and the machine will restart.
Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.
2. Find files created by Trojan.Adylkuzz on your PC
Find files created by Trojan.Adylkuzz
1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. 2. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
For Newer Windows Operating Systems
Step 1:
On your keyboard press + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.
Step 2:
Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.
Step 3:
Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:
N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.
For Older Windows Operating Systems
In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:
Step 1:
Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.
Step 2:
After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.
Step 3:
After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.
Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.
Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs
3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Scan your PC and Remove Trojan.Adylkuzz with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Trojan.Adylkuzz and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Trojan.Adylkuzz. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.
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.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.
Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.
Step 2: 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.
Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.
Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future
IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
This article aims to help you completely remove the Adylkuzz Monero miner Trojan from your computer, dropping the files msiexev.exe and wuauser.exe in it.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
1. For Windows XP, Vista and 7.
2. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Fix registry entries created by malware and PUPs on your PC.
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Trojan.Adylkuzz and remove them.
Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.
