Vidar Trojan

Vidar virus removal guide

What is Vidar?

Vidar (also known as Vidar Stealer) is a trojan (a malicious program) commonly used by cyber criminals. The program steals various personal information from users who have computers infected with the virus. Vidar is distributed mainly through Fallout exploit kit, however, there might also be other ways. The program can be purchased by anyone at a cost of $700 (at time of research).

Cyber criminals employ this tool to steal IP addresses, browsing history (including from Tor browsers), cryptocurrency wallets, saved passwords, messages from messenger software, and so on. It can also take screenshots. Furthermore, criminals can choose the type of information they wish to steal using Vidar's internal options. One option allows Vidar to infect computers with the GandCrab 5.0.4 ransomware-type infection. This, however, depends on the malware distributor used. You can read more about this ransomware distribution in this article. Vidar records all stolen data within a text file, compresses it to an archive file (ZIP), and then sends it to a Command and Control (C2C) server. Generally, trojans such as Vidar go unnoticed - they run stealthily without victims being aware of their presence. In this case, it can be identified as running in Task Manager as the "Deligthers Simulations Retriever..." process. See the screenshot above. Having a computer infected with malicious programs of this type might cause serious problems relating to finances, data loss, privacy issues, and so on. If you suspect that your computer (operating system) is infected with Vidar, we recommend that you remove it immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Vidar Stealer
Threat Type	Trojan, Password stealing virus, Banking malware, Spyware
Malicious Filename	verinstere.xls
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Malware-gen), BitDefender (Trojan.GenericKD.32180278), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/Kryptik.GUVT), Kaspersky (Trojan.Win32.Chapak.dwtd), Full List (VirusTotal)
Malicious Process Name(s)	Deligthers Simulations Retriever... (the process name may vary).
Symptoms	Trojans are designed to stealthily infiltrate victim's computer and remain silent thus no particular symptoms are clearly visible on an infected machine.
Distribution methods	Infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, social engineering, software cracks.
Damage	Stolen banking information, passwords, identity theft, victim's computer added to a botnet.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Malwarebytes. ▼ Download Malwarebytes To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Other trojan-type programs are capable of stealing a range of data. Some examples are AZORult, Hancitor, LokiBot, and FormBook. These infections are usually distributed through spam email campaigns (malicious attachments within emails). They steal personal, private information, and other data. Some trojans (including Vidar) are capable of proliferating other infections such as ransomware-type viruses. For these reasons, you should eliminate this malware immediately.

How did Vidar infiltrate my computer?

This trojan is usually distributed by 'malvertising' campaigns, whereby cyber criminals trick victims into clicking links or ads that redirect to malicious websites. The Fallout exploit kit is also used to proliferate Vidar. To infect computers, this kit uses various exploits that target Flash Player and the Internet Explorer browser. More information about the Fallout exploit kit is available at the link provided in the introduction above.

How to avoid installation of malware?

To keep computers safe from infection by the Vidar trojan, keep operating systems and installed software updated at all times. This will prevent download processes using known exploits and inflicting damage. Have a web protection tool and ad blocker software installed: these can help to avoid being redirected to malicious websites by 'malvertising' campaigns. If you believe that your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Hacker website promoting Vidar trojan:

Update June 7th, 2019 - Cyber criminals have recently developed a fake Cryptohopper (cryptocurrency trading platform) website and use it to distribute various infections, including Vidar.

Screenshot of fake Cryptohopper website (crypto-widget[.]live)

List of malicious installer's (promoted via fake Cryptohopper website) detection names in various malware databases:

Update May 6, 2020 - Cyber criminals have recently started a new spam campaign to distribute Vidar trojan, alongside with Nemty Special Edition ransomware. The spam campaign targets South Korean users:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Malwarebytes is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Malwarebytes By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is Vidar?
• STEP 1. Manual removal of Vidar malware.
• STEP 2. Check if your computer is clean.

How to remove malware manually?

Manual malware removal is a complicated task - usually it is best to allow antivirus or anti-malware programs to do this automatically. To remove this malware we recommend using Malwarebytes for Windows. If you wish to remove malware manually, the first step is to identify the name of the malware that you are trying to remove. Here is an example of a suspicious program running on a user's computer:

If you checked the list of programs running on your computer, for example, using task manager, and identified a program that looks suspicious, you should continue with these steps:

 Download a program called Autoruns. This program shows auto-start applications, Registry, and file system locations:

Restart your computer into Safe Mode:

Windows XP and Windows 7 users: Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer start process, press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, and then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.

Video showing how to start Windows 7 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows 8 users: Start Windows 8 is Safe Mode with Networking - Go to Windows 8 Start Screen, type Advanced, in the search results select Settings. Click Advanced startup options, in the opened "General PC Settings" window, select Advanced startup. Click the "Restart now" button. Your computer will now restart into the "Advanced Startup options menu". Click the "Troubleshoot" button, and then click the "Advanced options" button. In the advanced option screen, click "Startup settings". Click the "Restart" button. Your PC will restart into the Startup Settings screen. Press F5 to boot in Safe Mode with Networking.

Video showing how to start Windows 8 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows 10 users: Click the Windows logo and select the Power icon. In the opened menu click "Restart" while holding "Shift" button on your keyboard. In the "choose an option" window click on the "Troubleshoot", next select "Advanced options". In the advanced options menu select "Startup Settings" and click on the "Restart" button. In the following window you should click the "F5" button on your keyboard. This will restart your operating system in safe mode with networking.

Video showing how to start Windows 10 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

 

Extract the downloaded archive and run the Autoruns.exe file.

In the Autoruns application, click "Options" at the top and uncheck the "Hide Empty Locations" and "Hide Windows Entries" options. After this procedure, click the "Refresh" icon.

Check the list provided by the Autoruns application and locate the malware file that you want to eliminate.

You should write down its full path and name. Note that some malware hides process names under legitimate Windows process names. At this stage, it is very important to avoid removing system files. After you locate the suspicious program you wish to remove, right click your mouse over its name and choose "Delete".

After removing the malware through the Autoruns application (this ensures that the malware will not run automatically on the next system startup), you should search for the malware name on your computer. Be sure to enable hidden files and folders before proceeding. If you find the filename of the malware, be sure to remove it.

Reboot your computer in normal mode. Following these steps should remove any malware from your computer. Note that manual threat removal requires advanced computer skills. If you do not have these skills, leave malware removal to antivirus and anti-malware programs. These steps might not work with advanced malware infections. As always it is best to prevent infection than try to remove malware later. To keep your computer safe, install the latest operating system updates and use antivirus software.

To be sure your computer is free of malware infections, we recommend scanning it with Malwarebytes for Windows.

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