What Is Qbot Trojan
Qbot Trojan is one of the best known banking Trojan which has been used in more than a decade by different hacking groups. It is mainly delivered to the victims via virus-infected files and is always updated with new components. It can not only overtake control of the computers, but also hijack user data and commit dangerous actions on the hosts.
Qbot Trojan Summary
| Name | Qbot Trojan also known as Trojan.Qbot.A |
| Type | Trojan/Banking 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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Qbot Trojan – Virus Infection Methods
The Qbot banking Trojan is one of the most popular infections of this category of malware threats. As one of the oldest and most widely used viruses it has been used by many hacking groups around the world over the years. Qbot is best known for receiving constant updates and modifications to its core all the time. For this reason computer security researchers tend to focus on the current iterations when describing it.
The current attack is focused on using an updated distribution technique. The new Trojan engine is now programmed to hijack Microsoft Outlook email threads with the intention of creating and personalizing phishing email messages. The start of the campaign appears to be in March this year and continues to this day, so far 100,000 victims have been targeted in the USA, Italy, India and Israel.
The first detected instances of Qbot were detected back in 2008, the threat it also known as Qakbot among the security community. Current versions are very likely to spread using the Emotet malware. It is one of the most common infection vectors especially for Trojan threats and email SPAM messages. The Qbot-infected virus messages contains URLs or ZIP archives that all include Visual Basic Scripts which serve as the initial payload carriers. When the associated files are run the built-in code will trigger the virus deployment. The malware will be downloaded from a hardcoded URL contained in the script.
At the moment Qbot/Qakbot is being sent to the target users by relying on phishing messages related to the COVID-19 pandemic, tax payment reminders and job recruitment offers and procedures. The majority of attacks are against companies and organizations which are located in the United States of America and Europe.
Qbot Trojan – Virus Capabilities
The Qbot Trojan will start by running an email collector module — it will locate the locally installed Microsoft Outlook client and extract all email threads. They will be collected in a batch which will be sent to the hackers and reused in further email SPAM campaigns. This means that any further messages which are sent by hackers will appear as organic replies in their inboxes. In practice this will make differentiating between the legitimate and phishing content very difficult.
While the main Trojan engine is configured to take over control of the machines as well as steal any user and system files the recent updates to Qbot/Qakbot also add in other capabilities. Some of the added new modules include the following:
- Information Retrieval — The main engine can command a component to steal device information including sensitive users data and machine metrics. This can include the scanning of locally installed applications data which may contain sensitive users data: web browsers, email clients and password managers. The target data includes also email and web services login information and payment card details.
- Malware Installation — The Trojan can be used as payload carrier for other types of viruses. The most common ones which are delivered using such methods are file encrypting ransomware. They are designed to infiltrate the machines and process users data with a special cipher. The data types which are to be affected will be chosen from a built-in list of extensions. The processed data will renamed with a special extension and therefore made inaccessible to the computer owners. Ransomware notes or other means will be used to manipulate the victims into paying the hackers a designated decryption fee.
- Banking Trojan activities — This is one of the most important modules which have been integrated into the malware threat. It will monitor the users behavior and if they access an online bank or financial service a phishing overlay will be started. This means that every inserted character will be sent to the hackers which will allow them to take over control of the posted accounts. An alternative is the uploading of a keylogger script which will constantly keep record the keyboard input and mouse movement of the users. This is done in order to capture any entered in two-factor authentication codes.Banking Trojan activities — This is one of the most important modules which have been integrated into the malware threat. It will monitor the users behavior and if they access an online bank or financial service a phishing overlay will be started. This means that every inserted character will be sent to the hackers which will allow them to take over control of the posted accounts. An alternative is the uploading of a keylogger script which will constantly keep record the keyboard input and mouse movement of the users. This is done in order to capture any entered in two-factor authentication codes.
Many of the recent versions have also been found to be compatible with virtual machine hosts which can include not only guest operating systems, but also sandbox environemnts and development tools. Given the circumstances that Qbot (Qakbot) is one of the most widely used tools for more than a decade now, more and more updates are expected to be implemented by various hacking groups. For this reason we strongly suggest that every computer user will install adequate malware protection suites. If you have been infected by the Qbot Trojan we recommend that you try our removal instructions below.
Qbot 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 Qbot 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.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove Qbot Trojan from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Qbot Trojan from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Qbot Trojan from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Qbot Trojan from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Qbot Trojan from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Qbot Trojan from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Qbot Trojan from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Qbot Trojan from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Qbot Trojan
Step 2: Uninstall Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot Trojan from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot Trojan files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot 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 Qbot Trojan will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Qbot 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.
