What is Lampion? How to remove Lampion Trojan from your PC or Mac?
The Lampion Trojan is a banking virus which aims to hijack sensitive information, manipulate infected computers and be used for various crimes. A new attack carrying a new version of it is being operated against users in Portugal by sending out fake tax email notifications carrying the virus code. If the victims interact with it they will download the initial stage loader which will install the Trojan. Read our article to learn what the Lampion Trojan is capable of and to read instructions on safely removing active infection.
Threat Summary
| Name | Lampion Trojan |
| Type | Trojan Malware, Banking Trojan |
| Short Description | A very dangerous banking Trojan capable of advanced data theft. |
| Symptoms | The victims may notice performance issues and can get infected with other malware. |
| Distribution Method | Mainly via phishing email messages. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Lampion Trojan. |
The Lampion Trojan is one of the latest malware creations of an unknown hacking group that is currently set against victims located in Portugal. The available information shows that it derives from the code base of a malware family that primary consists of banking Trojans — advanced threats aiming to monitor the actions of the victims and manipulating web and application fields resulting in financial abuse.
What we know about the ongoing attack is that it is performed by an experienced group of criminals. Their identity is not known at this moment, we anticipate that they might be from Portugal or from another Brazilian-speaking country. What is evident from the phishing campaign is that the hackers are using a common and effective strategy of manipulating victims into opening up phishing email messages. They impersonate the Government Finance & Tax agency asking them to open and submit financial documents. To fool the victims into interacting with them the criminals have hijacked the design and style layout of similar messages. This ongoing campaign has recently been launched during the holiday season.
When the victims click on one of the received messages they will be led into downloading a file attachment, one of the sample messages is called FacturaNovembro-4492154-2019-10_8.zip and when it is unpacked by the user they will see three files — a PDF, VBS and a text file. When the users open up the script file (VBS) this will start the Lampion Trojan infection chain which starts by downloading the rest of the virus data from an Amazon S3 bucket. The related data which are retrieved from the remote server will not trigger any firewalls or Intrusion detection systems (IDSs) as the Amazon cloud service is treated as legitimate and safe. The second stage of the infection is the delivery of the main Trojan files — an EXE and a DLL file. A security bypass will be triggered which will stop any running anti-virus programs and security software that can potentially block the proper virus execution. The code analysis also shows that the virus engine will additionally modify the victim system by creating shortcuts, placing the files in system locations and etc.
The actual Lampion Trojan operations feature advanced capabilities that are typical for this type of viruses. Some of the features that are part of the captured Lampion samples include the following actions:
- Remote Connection Startup
- Network Resources Retrieval
- Network Resources Manipulations and Redirect
- Folder Path Retrieval
- Messages Communications
- Communications Parameters Changes
- Custom Functions
- Dialog Box Spawning
- Code Logic Storage
Lampion Trojan infected hosts will have been found to conduct extensive information gathering of data belonging both to the users and also giving details on the machines. The collected information is retrieved from the system information pages, the installed software, web browser history, clipboard, the file system and etc. Alongside other information everything will be forwarded to the hacker controllers via a secure network connection.
The Trojan allows the hackers to access and manipulate the infected machines via a specially designed web interface. It allows them to monitor the status of the computers and also filter them by applying the following sorting options:
country, date and hour of access, operating system, computer name, installed antivirus engine, version and plugin information
How to Remove Lampion Trojan
In order to fully remove Lampion from your computer system, we recommend that you follow the removal instructions underneath this article. If the first two manual removal steps do not seem to work and you still see Lampion or programs, related to it, we suggest what most security experts advise – to download and run a scan of your comptuer with a reputable anti-malware program. Downloading this software will not only save you some time, but will remove all of Lampion files and programs related to it and will protect your computer against such intrusive apps and malware in the future.
Martin Beltov
Martin graduated with a degree in Publishing from Sofia University. As a cyber security enthusiast he enjoys writing about the latest threats and mechanisms of intrusion.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove Lampion Trojan from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Lampion Trojan from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Lampion Trojan from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Lampion Trojan from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Lampion Trojan from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Lampion Trojan from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Lampion Trojan from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Lampion Trojan from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Lampion Trojan
Step 2: Uninstall Lampion Trojan 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:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Lampion Trojan 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 Lampion Trojan there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
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.
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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Lampion Trojan from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Lampion Trojan and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- 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 Lampion Trojan 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:
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 Lampion Trojan files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Lampion Trojan, 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Lampion Trojan 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
Erase Lampion Trojan 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
Uninstall Lampion Trojan 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
Remove Lampion Trojan 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 Lampion Trojan will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Lampion Trojan 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.
