What Is Parallax Trojan
Parallax Trojan is a recently discovered computer malware that is spread in active attack campaigns. The targets are high-profile in the detected activity, which means that the hacking group behind it must be experienced in planning viruses. Read our in-depth analysis of the samples and learn how to remove active infections in this article.
Parallax Trojan Summary
| Name | Parallax Trojan |
| Type | Trojan |
| Short Description | Aims to steal data from your computer and run different malware actions. |
| Symptoms | Your computer may behave strangely and new files may be dropped in several Windows Directories. |
| Distribution Method | Common infection methods including phishing messages and malware-infected files. |
| Detection Tool |
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Parallax Trojan – Virus Infection Methods
The Parallax Trojan is a new malware threat which is being distributed by computer hackers. The detected attack campaign leverages a lot of samples which indicates that they are employing a worldwide delivery mechanism. From the analysis of the captured samples it is possible that the hackers are leveraging several delivery tactics at the same time:
- Phishing Emails — The criminals are embedding in the necessary code in both email messages and web sites. The most common way this is done is by using contents and design that resembles well-known companies and services. The actual virus files can be linked in the contents or they can be directly attached to the sent email messages.
- Other Malware Delivery — This infection can be caused by the deployment of viruses which include the Trojan drop as part of their execution sequence. Commonly this is done by browser hijackers which are dangerous extensions made for the most popular web browsers.
- Web Distribution — All virus-related data can be uploaded to various online locations where users frequently download files from. The hackers can prepare the contents in file-sharing networks, as well as posting links to them in different types of online communities: forums, chat rooms and social networks.
At this moment there is information on the identity of the hackers. These virus samples have been captured in a large-scale attack campaign, the captured viruses are signed as MEHANIKUM OOO which is the way the security community has tagged the threat internally. What we know is that there is no code usage from other well-known threats which means that the hackers have created it from scratch by themselves.
Parallax Trojan – Virus Capabilities
One of the distinct characteristics of the Parallax Trojan threat is that the collected samples are signed with a security certificate from GlobalSign — this is a renowned company who is trusted by many. It is very possible that the hackers have used stolen credentials or have forged their own in order to issue it.
The code analysis also shows that the malware engine will start an advanced security bypass feature which will look for installed security programs and disable or completely remove them. This works for most anti-virus programs, firewalls, intrusion detection systems and etc.
The testing also shows that the Parallax Trojan virus code has been created for the 64-bit version of Windows. This shows that it is possible that the virus can be cross-compiled for all recent editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system family.
The process execution of this malware is part of several-stage process — this procedure is done in order to hide from some of the common security scans which oversee that the virus will start directly from a single point of origin.
The Trojan will reserve dynamic memory which makes it an even more dangerous threat. Other viruses of this category have also been observed to cause the following malicious actions:
- Persistent Installation — The virus will be installed in a way which will automatically start it when the computer is powered on. It can also block access to the recovery boot options. This will make manual user recovery much more difficult.
- System Setting Changes — This Parallax Trojan can be programmed to edit Windows Registry values or important configuration files. The consequences of such data modifications can include performance issues, data loss, and the inability to start certain services.
- Data Modification — The malware can remove important files such as backups, shadow volume copies and etc.
- Additional Malware Delivery — This infection can be used as a payload delivery mechanism for other common threats. Examples are cryptocurrency miners which are designed to download and run complex tasks that will place a heavy toll on the computer’s performance. For every completed task the hackers will be rewarded with cryptocurrency assets that will be transferred directly to their wallets.
- Information Gathering — This Parallax Trojan can be programmed to hijack important files from the computer’s hard drive. This includes not only sensitive users data but also can generate a report of the installed hardware components. This can then be fed to another module which will output an unique identifier that is used to calculate the exact number of victims.
The main goal of the Parallax Trojan is to take over control of the machines and establishing a secure connection to a hacker-controlled server. It is used to command the hosts from a distance and monitor all users’ actions. This practice is especially dangerous as it effectively allows the hackers to spy on the users in real-time: they can view what they are doing and can log their mouse movement and key input.
The Parallax Trojan is rated as an extremely dangerous threat and as such, it can be further modified by the criminals in subsequent updates.
Parallax Trojan – Virus Removal GUIDE
In order to fully remove this infection from your computer system, recommendations are to try the automatic removal guidelines below. They are particularly created in order to assist you separate this malware first of all and after that remove it’s destructive files. If you lack the experience in malware removal, the best method and most reliable one according to safety professionals is to use an innovative anti-malware software program. Such will not just immediately get rid of the Parallax infection from your computer system, yet will certainly additionally ensure that your computer system remains shielded versus future infections.
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.
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- Guide 1: How to Remove Parallax Trojan from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Parallax Trojan from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Parallax Trojan from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Parallax Trojan from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Parallax Trojan from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Parallax Trojan from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Parallax Trojan from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Parallax Trojan from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Parallax Trojan
Step 2: Uninstall Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax Trojan from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax Trojan files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax 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 Parallax Trojan will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Parallax 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.
