Removal instructions for the HawkEye keylogger malware

What kind of malware is HawkEye?

HawkEye is high-risk virus designed to record keystrokes, account credentials, and other similar information. In most cases, HawkEye is distributed using spam email campaigns. Developers send thousands of deceptive emails that encourage users to open attached files, however, opening them results in infiltration of HawkEye.

Cyber criminals sometimes infiltrate HawkEye manually, using remote access tools (RATs).

Screenshot of a deceptive email that distributes HawkEye keylogger:

HawkEye malware overview

HawkEye is an unsophisticated keylogger, however, it has basic keylogging features and is relatively cheap. Therefore, any wannabe cyber criminal who has a limited budget can easily purchase the executable and start a "spying" career. Despite its rudimentary nature, HawkEye still poses a significant threat to users' privacy.

This virus is capable of retrieving information from web browsers, email clients, instant messaging applications, and various software and connection protocols. HawkEye can also gather clipboard data (copy/paste), and monitor input to documents (such as txt, doc, docx). The information is stored locally, encrypted, and then sent to a remote server.

Note that immediately after infiltration, HawkEye connects to a Command and Control (C&C) server and sends basic system information (running operating system, IP/MAC addresses, local data/time, keyboard layout, and network type).

In this way, the 'threat actor' (person who distributes this malware) can gain access to your personal accounts on social networks, banks, emails, and so on. These people aim to generate as much revenue as possible and are thus likely to misuse hacked accounts through online purchases, money transfers, etc. Therefore, having HawkEye installed on your computer can lead to significant privacy issues and financial loss.

Fortunately, HawkEye is detectable by anti-virus suites, since its ability to conceal/avoid detection is poor. Therefore, installing a reputable anti-spyware suite, scanning the system and eliminating all detected threats, should be enough. Also check for any dubious executables in the "%APPDATA%" folder, since HawkEye is likely to hide within this folder.

There are hundreds of viruses distributed using remote access tools and spam campaigns, including TrickBot, Adwind, Hancitor, FormBook, NanoCore, and Emotet - the list goes on.

These viruses are developed by different cyber criminals and their behavior also differs - some record information, others cause 'chain infections' (one virus proliferates another) or grant remote access to the system. Despite these differences, all pose a direct threat to your privacy and browsing safety. Therefore, eliminating malware is paramount.

How did HawkEye infiltrate my computer?

As mentioned above, HawkEye is proliferated using spam campaigns and remote access tools. In the case of spam campaigns, spammers send thousands of emails that contain malicious attachments (e.g., MS Office documents, executables [concealed as PDFs, archives, and so on], etc.).

Once opened, they infiltrate HawkEye into the system. If a remote access tool is used, the presence of one virus leads to another.

Cyber criminals proliferate malware that grants remote access to the computer without users' consent and then abuse this vulnerability to inject the system with other viruses (in this case, HawkEye). Note is that remote access tools (RATs) are sometimes also distributed using spam campaigns.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Lack of knowledge of these threats and careless behavior are the main reasons for computer infections. The key to safety is caution. Therefore, pay attention when browsing the internet. Think twice before opening email attachments. If the received attachment (file, link, etc.) seems suspicious or has been received from an unrecognizable sender, do not open it.

Delete these emails without reading. Furthermore, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running - these tools can detect and eliminate malware before any damage is done. If you believe that your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

List of Internet browsers targeted by HawkEye:

• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• SeaMoneky
• SRWare Iron

List of email clients targeted by HawkEye:

• Fox Mail
• Google Talk
• IncrediMail
• Microsoft Outlook
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Windows Live Mail

List of instant messaging applications targeted by HawkEye:

• MSN Messenger
• Miranda
• PalTakScene
• Pidgin
• Skype

List of other applications targeted by HawkEye:

• FileZilla
• Screen capturing programs
• Valve's Steam Platform
• Windows Credential Messenger

List of protocols targeted by HawkEye:

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• HTTP
• IMAP
• POP3
• SMTP

Text presented within a deceptive email that distributes the HawkEye keylogger:

DHL Capability Tool

ATTN:

Your shipment has arrived!

Arrival Information

Your package has been arrived to your local DHL office and it’s ready for pick up.

——————————————
ARRIVAL NOTICE
——————————————

DATE & TIME : 2018-04-19 at 11:40
STATUS : Shipment arrived

************************

Please print the receipt that is attached to this email and visit DHL location indicated in the receipt

DHL WorldWide Delivery

©2018 DHL International

HawkEye keylogger process ("Directory Listing Handler (32 bit)") in Windows Task Manager:

IMPORTANT NOTE - An updated version of HawkEye trojan was released in January, 2019. The updated version goes by the name of HawkEye Reborn v9. This malware is promoted in the dark web/hacker forums as a service allowing computer owners to remotely monitor/control their computers.

The developer (as well as HawkEye Reborn v9's Terms of Service) states that this tool should strictly be used only with the computer owner's permission. The entire purchase model is based on licenses, meaning that each user gets a unique license which is temporary (90/180/365 days) and it can be terminated if Terms of Service are violated.

Nevertheless, cyber criminals still use this tool for malicious purposes and the developer doesn't mind it. The behavior of HawkEye Reborn v9 barely differs from its predecessor - list of targeted software now also includes Beyluxe Messenger, CoreFTP and Minecraft PC game.

However, it is worth mentioning that such updates are typically made in order to enhance the anti-detection functionality and increase the chance of successful infiltration. As with its predecessor, HawkEye Reborn v9 is also proliferated mostly using email spam campaigns.

Screenshot of a post promoting HawkEye Reborn v9 in a hacker forum:

Example of a malicious spam email (targeting Italian users) used to spread HawkEye keylogger:

Text presented within:

Subject: PAGAMENTO BANCA ITALIA

--
Ciao.

Abbiamo trasferito il pagamento sul tuo conto bancario personale.

L'allegato è la conferma bancaria.

I migliori saluti,
Signora Victoria,

BANCA D'ITALIA
via Nazionale 91
00184 Roma
Telefono: +39 06 47921
PEC: bancaditalia@pec.bancaditalia.it
e-mail: email@bancaditalia.it

Update November 19, 2024 – HawkEye is a longstanding malware that has developed significantly throughout the years. Since its initial versions served as a keylogger, it has expanded to feature traits associated with stealers.

HawkEye is an incredibly versatile malicious program that has been widely offered for sale on the Web. It is noteworthy that this malware is modular and can be assembled by the attackers. Hence, there is significant variation between infections.

While HawkEye does not use a sophisticated infection chain, as is commonly observed in stealers, it is nonetheless worthy of note. HawkEye's chain comprises an executable that drops others into temporary paths; afterward, malicious code is injected into one of them or into .NET-related software. The dropped files are, for the most part, copies of itself but with variations in naming. Other files consist of injectors, support files, and ones intended to aid with ensuring persistence.

More information on these developers can be found in an article by Aaron Jornet Sales (RexorVc0) on the ANY.RUN blog website.

How to remove malware manually?

Most trojan infections can be removed by running a full system scan with Combo Cleaner. The full manual procedure below is for cases where automatic removal failed, where you want to verify a scan caught everything, or where the threat has multiple persistence points.

Tools you'll need

Combo Cleaner Antivirus 7-days free trial

Recommended primary scanner. VB100 certified. The 7-day free trial is available.

Microsoft Defender Offline Free · built-in

Built into Windows. Boots to a clean environment to catch rootkits.

Process Explorer Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Better than Task Manager - shows full paths and signatures.

Autoruns Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Lists every place malware can persist on your system.

Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) Free

Official Microsoft on-demand scanner. Always-current signatures - expires every 10 days.

Phase 1~ 5 min

Contain - limit the damage

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1

Disconnect from the network

30 secNo tool needed

Unplug your Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. If you're on a laptop, the airplane-mode key works fastest.

Why this matters

Many trojans exfiltrate data - saved browser passwords, banking sessions, screenshots - and accept remote commands. Cutting the network stops both immediately. Keep it disconnected until Phase 4.

2

Boot into Safe Mode with Networking

3 min

Safe Mode loads a minimal set of drivers and stops most malware from auto-running. "With Networking" lets you download tools - re-enable Wi-Fi only after you've booted in.

Windows 11

Open Settings → System → Recovery. Click Restart now next to Advanced startup.

Your computer will restart into the "Choose an option" menu. Click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. After the second reboot, press 5 or F5.

Windows 10

Click the Windows logo, hold Shift, click the Power icon and choose Restart. In the Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. Press F5.

Windows 8

Go to the Start Screen, type Advanced, select Settings → Advanced startup options → Restart now → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup settings → Restart → F5.

Note: Windows 8 reached end-of-life in January 2023 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Windows 7

Click Start → Shut Down → Restart → OK. As the system boots, press F8 repeatedly until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, then choose Safe Mode with Networking.

Note: Windows 7 reached end-of-life in January 2020 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Phase 2~ 15 min

Identify - find what's hiding

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3

Inspect running processes with Process Explorer

Tool: Process Explorer5 min

Download Process Explorer from Microsoft Sysinternals. Run it as Administrator. Click Options → Verify Image Signatures and View → Lower Pane View → DLLs.

Sort by "Verified Signer." Anything unsigned running from %AppData%, %LocalAppData%, %Temp%, or %ProgramData% is suspicious. Right-click → Properties to see the full image path. Right-click → "Search Online" to look up unfamiliar process names.

Why not just Task Manager

Task Manager hides full file paths, doesn't show digital signatures, and groups processes in ways that make malware easy to miss. Process Explorer is the same tool Microsoft engineers use.

4

Map every persistence point with Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns 14.x10 min

Download Autoruns. Right-click Autoruns.exe and choose Run as administrator - without elevation, Autoruns can't inspect protected registry hives.

In the menu, open Options → Hide Microsoft Entries and Options → Hide Empty Locations, then click Refresh.

Modern trojans don't just live in startup. Walk through these tabs and look for unsigned or unfamiliar entries:

• Logon - classic Run/RunOnce keys
• Scheduled Tasks - frequent hiding spot, especially tasks with PowerShell, MSHTA, or rundll32 actions
• Services - unsigned services in non-Microsoft folders
• WMI - Event Subscriptions are a stealthy persistence mechanism (MITRE T1546.003)
• Image Hijacks - Image File Execution Options "Debugger" abuse
• AppInit - DLLs loaded into every GUI process
• Browser plug-ins - unsigned add-ons across all installed browsers

Pro tip

Right-click any suspicious entry → "Jump to Image" to see the actual file. Right-click → "Search Online" opens VirusTotal for the file hash. Don't delete yet - just write down the file paths and entry names. We'll remove them after the scans.

5

Check the hosts file and DNS settings

3 minBuilt into Windows

Trojans often redirect bank, antivirus, and update domains to attacker-controlled servers by editing the hosts file or DNS settings.

Hosts file: Open Notepad as Administrator and open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Legitimate entries are commented with #. Any uncommented IP-to-domain mapping is suspicious - especially redirects for microsoft.com, windowsupdate, or your bank.

DNS settings: Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run ipconfig /all. Confirm your DNS servers point to your ISP, your router, or a known public resolver (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8). Then open Settings → Network & internet → [your adapter] → DNS server assignment and verify both DNS and DNS over HTTPS (DoH) settings haven't been hijacked.

Why this matters

A clean PC with hijacked DNS is still a compromised PC. You'll think you're at chase.com and you'll be at the attacker's clone.

Phase 3~ 60-90 min

Remove - three scans, one cleanup

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No single antivirus catches everything. The order below is intentional: offline scan first (catches rootkits before Windows fully loads), then on-demand scanners on the running system, then manual cleanup of anything they missed.

6

Run Microsoft Defender Offline

Tool: Built into Windows15 min

Reboot to normal Windows. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options. Select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now. Your computer will restart into a stripped-down environment and scan before the full operating system loads.

Why this comes first

Rootkits and bootkits hide from any scanner running on the same Windows session that's already infected. A pre-boot offline scan sees the disk before the malware can hide itself.

Recommended antivirus

Combo Cleaner

VB100 certified. Includes anti-trojan, registry/persistence scanning, anti-spyware in one pass. The 7-day free trial is available.

Download Combo Cleaner

7

Run Combo Cleaner full system scan

Tool: Combo Cleaner20-40 min

Install Combo Cleaner and run a full system scan (not the quick scan). Let it complete fully, review the detected threats, and apply the recommended actions. Combo Cleaner will quarantine known trojans and registry persistence.

8

Run Microsoft Safety Scanner as a second-opinion scan

Tool: Microsoft Safety Scanner15 min

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT.exe), Microsoft's free on-demand tool. The binary expires every 10 days, which means every download has the latest signatures. Run a full scan after Combo Cleaner to catch anything one engine alone might miss.

Why a second scan

Different scanning engines catch different threats. Running an additional Microsoft scan after Combo Cleaner is the single most underused verification step in malware removal.

9

Manually remove anything still listed in Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns10 min

Reopen Autoruns. Anything you flagged in Step 4 that's still present hasn't been caught by the automated scans. For each remaining suspicious entry: right-click → Delete in Autoruns (this removes the persistence registration), then navigate to the file path and delete the actual file. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Important

Some malware files reappear after deletion because something else on the system recreates them. If you delete a file and it returns within minutes, you have a remaining persistence point that Autoruns didn't show - usually a service or scheduled task running under SYSTEM. Re-run the scans from Steps 6-8 or proceed to a clean install (see end of guide).

Phase 4~ 15 min

Recover - restore browsers and security

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10

Reset browsers and clear notification permissions

5 min

Trojans and adware frequently hijack browsers - change the default search engine, install rogue extensions, or grant themselves notification permissions to keep displaying scam pop-ups even after the malware is gone.

• Chrome: visit chrome://settings/reset and click "Restore settings to their original defaults." Then visit chrome://settings/content/notifications and remove any unfamiliar sites.
• Edge: visit edge://settings/reset. Then check edge://settings/content/notifications.
• Firefox: open about:support and click Refresh Firefox (Firefox uses "Refresh," not "Reset"). Then check Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Notifications.

Review installed extensions in each browser and remove anything you don't recognize, especially extensions you didn't install yourself.

11

Re-enable Defender, Tamper Protection, and update everything

10 min

Many trojans disable security software. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings and confirm Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection, and Tamper Protection are all turned on. Tamper Protection prevents malware from disabling Defender silently.

Then run Windows Update (Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates) and update your browsers and applications. The infection vector that let the trojan in originally usually involves outdated software.

Phase 5~ 15 min + 7 days

Verify & secure

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12

Change passwords from a clean device

20 min⚠ Critical

If the trojan was an info-stealer (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar, and similar are extremely common), assume every password saved in your browser is compromised. Change them from a different, known-clean device - your phone is fine if it's not infected.

Recommended order:

1. Primary email first - it's the recovery hub for everything else
2. Banking and financial accounts
3. Password manager master password (if you use one)
4. Social media, shopping, and remaining accounts

Where available, enable phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (passkeys / FIDO2 hardware keys / authenticator apps) - SMS-based MFA is bypassable by sophisticated attackers.

13

Verify the clean and monitor for 7 days

5 min + 1 week monitoring

Reconnect to the network and run one final full scan with Combo Cleaner. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and switch to the Startup apps tab - confirm nothing suspicious has reappeared.

Over the next 7 days, watch for symptom recurrence: unexpected high CPU usage, unknown processes returning, browser redirects, or pop-ups. If anything returns, you missed a persistence point and the procedure needs to be repeated - or you may have a deeper compromise that requires a clean install.

When to clean install Windows instead

Manual removal isn't always the right answer. Reinstalling Windows from scratch is the only way to be 100% certain when:

• The malware reappears after every removal attempt
• A bootkit or UEFI rootkit was detected (this class of threat sits below the operating system and survives a normal Windows reinstall)
• A confirmed credential-theft trojan ran with administrator privileges (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar) - the system likely has multiple unknown payloads
• The PC is used for online banking, business email, or anything where partial doubt isn't acceptable

A clean install is a 30-60 minute process: Windows 11 reinstall via Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything → Cloud download. Back up documents to external storage first, scan the backup with Combo Cleaner before restoring it, and reinstall applications fresh - never restore them from a backup of the infected system.

Important: Manual removal requires advanced computer skills. If you're not confident identifying system files from malicious files, run an automated scan with Combo Cleaner and Windows Defender and stop there - that path catches the vast majority of consumer trojans without the risk of breaking Windows by deleting the wrong file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

My computer is infected with HawkEye malware, should I format my storage device to get rid of it?

Malware removal rarely requires formatting.

What are the biggest issues that HawkEye malware can cause?

The dangers associated with an infection depend on the malware's abilities and the cyber criminals' modus operandi. HawkEye is a modular malware, the functionalities of which can differ between attacks (commonly including data collection, keylogging, and information extraction from installed apps). Generally, such infections can lead to severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

What is the purpose of HawkEye malware?

Malware is mainly used to generate revenue. However, malicious programs can also be used to amuse cyber criminals, carry out personal vendettas, disrupt processes (e.g., sites, services, companies, etc.), engage in hacktivism, and launch politically/geopolitically motivated attacks.

How did HawkEye malware infiltrate my computer?

Malware is primarily distributed via drive-by downloads, trojans, untrustworthy download channels (e.g., freeware and third-party sites, P2P sharing networks, etc.), online scams, spam emails/messages, malvertising, illegal software activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates. Some malicious programs can self-spread through local networks and removable storage devices.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. It must be stressed that performing a full system scan is paramount since sophisticated malicious software typically hides deep within systems.