Removal instructions for the Vidar trojan-type malware

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).

Vidar malware overview

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.

Data-stealing malware examples

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 Combo Cleaner Antivirus 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:

Update October 25, 2022 - new distribution methods for Vidar have been observed. Fake websites that imitate legitimate ones have been noted spreading the Vidar stealer.

These pages can be practically identical visually to those they mimic, and their URLs can have but a letter's difference from the genuine site's. Common themes for malicious websites include - social media and social networking, software and mobile app, cryptocurrency, and many others.

To elaborate, Vidar has been distributed through fake sites of the following: Brave browser (bogus URL - braves-browsers[.]org), Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (codevisualstudio[.]org), Notepad++ text editor (notepads-plus-plus[.]org), Thunderbird email (thundersbird[.]org), etc.

This technique relies on user negligence when entering URLs and disregard when accessing a site. However, websites of this kind are not accessed exclusively through mistyped URLs. Visitors can also enter them via redirects caused by malicious ads, spam mail (emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, etc.), sites using rogue advertising networks, browser notification spam, or installed adware.

Screenshot of another deceptive website (download-best[.]com) used to spread Vidar malware:

Screenshot of a fake GitHub website (github[.]llc) used to spread Vidar trojan:

Screenshot of a fake QuickBooks download website (intuitquickbooks[.]space) used to spread Vidar trojan:

Update January 11, 2023 – distribution techniques described in the previous update are still in active use for Vidar's proliferation. In the newest campaigns, the malicious sites mimic AnyDesk remote access software's official website. However, there is significant variation in the URLs – of which there are at least 1300.

In addition to resembling AnyDesk's domain, these pages also use ones similar to those of 7-ZIP, Blender, Dashlane, MSI Afterburner, OBS, Slack, VLC, cryptocurrency-related applications, and others. Despite the differences in URLs – they all impersonate AnyDesk's website.

The malignant webpages redirect to a Dropbox folder containing a file named "AnyDeskDownload.zip" (may vary) that triggers Vidar's infection chain once opened. At the time of research, the malicious file had been taken down by Dropbox, although the fake AnyDesk sites were still up.

Screenshot of Vidar's web admin panel's login page:

Screenshot of the homepage of the site hosting Vidar's web admin panel:

Update January 28, 2025 – Vidar stealer has been spread using a new technique. It is called "ClickFix", and it basically deceives victims into executing malicious commands on their systems by presenting it as a solution to a specific issue. Vidar was proliferated via such a scam that claimed it was CAPTCHA verification. More on ClickFix can be read in our dedicated article.

Screenshot of a ClickFix scam promoting the Vidar stealer:

Screenshot of a DeepSeek-themed ClickFix website (deepseekcaptcha[.]top) spreading Vidar trojan:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Update 23 May, 2025 – Recently, a new malware campaign exploiting TikTok was observed being used to deploy Vidar through deceptive short videos. These clips, likely made using AI, verbally and visually guide viewers to manually enter PowerShell commands, supposedly to activate software like Spotify or Microsoft Office.

This method is particularly dangerous because the commands are not shown as text or clickable links—instead, users are tricked into typing them out. Once executed, the commands download a script from a remote server, injecting the Vidar malware (or Stealc).

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

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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 Vidar malware, should I format my storage device to get rid of it?

No, most malware infections can be removed without resorting to formatting.

What are the biggest issues that Vidar malware can cause?

The threats posed by a malicious program depend on its abilities and the cyber criminals' modus operandi. Vidar is a stealer-type trojan that can exfiltrate a wide variety of data. It can also infect devices with other malware, e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc. This stealer has been observed being used to infiltrate the GANDCRAB 5.0.4 ransomware into systems.

In summary, the presence of malware like Vidar on devices can lead to multiple system infections, severe privacy issues, permanent data loss, financial losses, and identity theft.

What is the purpose of Vidar malware?

Malware is typically used for profit. However, cyber criminals can also employ this software to disrupt processes such as those of websites, services, companies, organizations, etc. These attacks can be motivated by personal grudges and political/geopolitical reasons as well.

How did Vidar malware infiltrate my computer?

Malware is primarily proliferated through drive-by downloads, malvertising, online scams, spam mail (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, SMS, etc.), untrustworthy download sources (e.g., unofficial and freeware websites, P2P sharing networks, etc.), illegal software activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates.

Furthermore, some malicious programs can self-spread via local networks and removable storage devices (e.g., external hard drives, USB flash drives, etc.).

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and remove threats. It can eliminate nearly all known malware infections. Note that running a complete system scan is paramount - as high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.