What is Topinambour? How to remove Topinambour Trojan from your PC or Mac?
The Topinambour Trojan is a dangerous malware threat which is designed for Microsoft Windows computers. It can be acquired from various sources, every attack campaign can focus on one specific tactic. Usually virus infections like this one are made by interacting with an infected file — this can be either a macro-infected document or a hacker-made software installer. They are often made by taking the legitimate files from their official sources and modifying them with the necessary virus code. Other data can also be affected. All kinds of other data may be used as well — this includes malicious plugins for web browsers and etc. In other cases the hackers can use a direct attacks that will look for system vulnerabilities and weaknesses. If any are found then the Topinambour Trojan will be installed.
This particular threat is known for being spread using a multitude of weaknesses. It is set against both end users and servers. After the infection has been made the Topinambour Trojan can download other threats, launch multiple dangerous modules and install a cryptocurrency miner which will run a sequence of performance-demanding tasks.
Threat Summary
| Name | Topinambour Trojan |
| Type | Malware, Trojan, Miner |
| Short Description | A dangerous malware which can launch a miner and start a Trojan module. |
| Symptoms | The victims may notice performance issues and can get infected with other malware. |
| Distribution Method | Common distribution tactics and direct web attacks. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Topinambour Trojan. |
Topinambour Trojan – How Did I Get It
The Topinambour Trojan is a Trojan horse infection which comes from the Turla hacking collective, one of the active criminal collectives which are believed to originate from Russia. They are known for conducting large-scale attacks against high-profile targets — they can range from government organisations to private enterprises located across the former Soviet Union nations, the Middle East, Europe, Asia and The Americas. The collective is known for conducting attacks its own tools which they develop from scratch. The newest one is called the Topinambour Trojan which is alternatively called Sunchoke. It has been used in attacks since the beginning of this year.
The main method which is used by the Turla group is to include the dangerous virus installation code in bundle installers of popular applications — they will take the legitimate bundles from their official sources and add in the necessary installation code. The necessary dropper will also include a small .NET-based shell which is used to command the infected host into running certain commands and also installing any third-party modules over the SMB protocol. The reason why this is chosen is because this protocol is widely used for sharing files over internal networks. The virus files can easily be hosted on rented virtual private servers (VPS). The latest samples appear to be hosted on a server located in South Africa.
Other prospective strategies used to deliver the Topinambour Trojan can be the following:
- Email Phishing Messages — The criminals can send messages to the target end users by posing as notifications that have been sent in by popular services or companies. The type of messages that they can include are templates of common emails: password reset reminders, update notifications, login prompts and etc. In any of them the associated infiltration code can be placed.
- Hacker-Made Sites — The criminals can create numerous sites which can lead to the malware infection. They can copy down the design and contents of well-known portals or landing pages and to further confuse visitors into thinking that they are safe the scam pages may be hosted on similar sounding domain names.
Alternatively the Topinambour Trojan may be carried by other malware infections or payload droppers. This would allow the hackers to infect only certain computers which adhere to specific conditions.
Topinambour Trojan – What Does It Do
When the Topinambour Trojan has impacted a given host it will immediately start to execute its built-in sequence of commands. They may be either programmed to do so according to the instructions given by the hackers or after the infection engine has examined the contents and certain operating system values. The Trojan can interact with various modules that can be built on top of JavaScript, .NET or PowerShell code. The main operations can be guided from them — the first actions can be to deliver the required elements in order to manipulate the given host.
The base code is able to establish the basic file operations attributed to most Trojans — downloading of other malicious components and the establishments of a secure connection to a given hacker-controlled server. This gives the hackers the ability to take over control of the given hosts and facilitate other malware actions as well.
To make sure that the Topinambour Trojan will institute all dangerous actions as instructed by its developers it will run every 30 minutes and recheck its configuration file. Some of the interesting characteristics that make it a formidable threat include the following:
- Stealth Deployment — Using a preset command the Topinambour Trojan can spread itself onto the host. This is done by dropping it to to a system location with a suitable name in order to mask the malware as part of the operating system.
- Masquerade Function — The dropped files can appear to the system as being activated by another process.
- Remote Shell Function — The made infections can be programmed to establish a secure tunnel connection to the target hosts. This allows the hackers to conduct all kinds of dangerous activity without making the victims aware.
Having such a Trojan infection will also leads to the execution of a data harvesting process — it can be used to collect sensitive information about both the victims and their machines. The extracted data can be used to carry out crimes such as identity theft and financial abuse.
How to Remove Topinambour Trojan
In order to fully remove Topinambour 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 Topinambour 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 Topinambour 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 Topinambour Trojan from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Topinambour Trojan on Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Topinambour Trojan in Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Topinambour Trojan from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Topinambour Trojan from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Topinambour Trojan from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Topinambour Trojan from Internet Explorer.
- Guide 8: Disable Topinambour Trojan Push Notifications in Your Browsers.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
About the Topinambour Trojan Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Topinambour Trojan how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific, adware-related problem, and restore your browser and computer system.
How did we conduct the research on Topinambour Trojan?
Please note that our research is based on independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, thanks to which we receive daily updates on the latest malware, adware, and browser hijacker definitions.
Furthermore, the research behind the Topinambour Trojan threat is backed with VirusTotal https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.
References
1.Browser Redirect – What Is It?
2.Adware Is Malicious, and It Uses Advanced Techniques to Infect
3.The Thin Red Line Between Potentially Unwanted Programs and Malware
4.The Pay-Per-Install Affiliate Business – Making Millions out of Adware
5.Malicious Firefox Extensions Installed by 455,000 Users Blocked Updates
How to Remove Topinambour Trojan from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Topinambour Trojan
Step 2: Uninstall Topinambour 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 Topinambour 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 Topinambour Trojan 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.
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 Topinambour Trojan with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.
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.
Video Removal Guide for Topinambour Trojan (Windows).
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Get rid of Topinambour Trojan from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Topinambour 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:
2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:
3.In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to Topinambour Trojan:
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 Topinambour Trojan. 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 Topinambour Trojan. 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 Topinambour 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:
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 Topinambour Trojan. 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 Topinambour Trojan files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Topinambour 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.
Video Removal Guide for Topinambour Trojan (Mac)
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Topinambour 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Erase Topinambour 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Uninstall Topinambour 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Topinambour 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 Topinambour Trojan will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Eliminate Topinambour 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.
Remove Push Notifications caused by Topinambour Trojan from Your Browsers.
Turn Off Push Notifications from Google Chrome
To disable any Push Notices from Google Chrome browser, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Settings in Chrome.
Step 2: In Settings, select “Advanced Settings”:
Step 3: Click “Content Settings”:
Step 4: Open “Notifications”:
Step 5: Click the three dots and choose Block, Edit or Remove options:
Remove Push Notifications on Firefox
Step 1: Go to Firefox Options.
Step 2: Go to “Settings”, type “notifications” in the search bar and click "Settings":
Step 3: Click “Remove” on any site you wish notifications gone and click “Save Changes”
Stop Push Notifications on Opera
Step 1: In Opera, press ALT+P to go to Settings.
Step 2: In Setting search, type “Content” to go to Content Settings.
Step 3: Open Notifications:
Step 4: Do the same as you did with Google Chrome (explained below):
Eliminate Push Notifications on Safari
Step 1: Open Safari Preferences.
Step 2: Choose the domain from where you like push pop-ups gone and change to "Deny" from "Allow".
Topinambour Trojan FAQ
What is Topinambour Trojan?
The Topinambour Trojan threat is adware or browser redirect virus. It may slow your computer down siginficantly and display advertisements. The main idea is for your information to likely get stolen or more ads to appear on your device.
The creators of such unwanted apps work with pay-per-click schemes to get your computer to visit risky or different types of websites that may generate them funds. This is why they do not even care what types of websites show up on the ads. This makes their unwanted software indirectly risky for your OS.
What are the symptoms of Topinambour Trojan?
There are several symptoms to look for when this particular threat and also unwanted apps in general are active:
Symptom #1: Your computer may become slow and has poor performance in general.
Symtpom #2: You have toolbars, add-ons or extensions on your web browsers that you don't remember adding.
Symptom #3: You see all types of ads, like ad-supported search results, pop-ups and redirects to randomly appear.
Symptom #4: You see installed apps on your Mac running automatically and you do not remember installing them.
Symptom #5: You see suspicious processes running in your Task Manager.
If you see one or more of those symptoms, then security experts reccomend that you check your computer for viruses.
What types of Unwanted Programs are there?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the threats that can currently affect your Mac can be the following types:
- Rogue Antivirus programs.
- Adware.
- Browser hijackers.
- Clickers.
- Fake optimizers.
What to do if I have a "virus" like Topinambour Trojan?
Do not panic! You can easily get rid of most adware or unwanted program threats by firstly isolating them and then removing them from your browser and computer. One reccomended way to do that is by using a reputable malware removal software that can take care of the removal automatically for you. There are many anti-malware apps out there that you can choose from. SpyHunter is one of the reccomended anti-malware apps, that can scan your computer for free and detect any viruses, tracking cookies and unwanted adware apps and eliminate them quickly. This saves time when compared to doing the removal manually.
How to secure my passwords and other data from Topinambour Trojan?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your e-mail passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activiites with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these reccomendations, your network and all devices will become significantly more secure against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
More tips you can find on our website, where you can also ask any questions and comment underneath the articles about your computer problems. We will try to respond as fast as possible.
