Qakbot trojan malware removal instructions

What kind of malware is Qakbot?

Qakbot (also known as Quakbot or Qbot) is a banking trojan designed to steal personal information. Cyber criminals proliferate this virus using spam email campaigns.

These emails are delivered with malicious attachments (Microsoft Office [typically Word] documents) that are presented as various important documents (bills, invoices, and so on). Criminals attempt to trick users into opening these files, which then leads to infiltration of Qakbot. In most cases, spam emails are sent via the Geodo (Emotet) botnet.

Qakbot malware overview

As mentioned above, Qakbot is a banking trojan and steals credentials of users' bank accounts. These viruses record keystrokes, web browsing activity, saved cookies, logins/passwords, etc. Collected data is saved to a remote server and, therefore, developers gain access to users' accounts. These people aim to generate as much revenue as possible.

Funds in the hijacked accounts are used to carry out direct funds transfers, online purchases, and so on. In addition, bank accounts are often used to confirm people's identities. Note that many people use identical logins/passwords for multiple websites. Therefore, criminals might gain access to users' accounts on social networks, emails, etc.

Therefore, the presence of Qakbot malware can lead to significant financial loss, privacy issues, or even identity theft. Qakbot is often hidden and difficult for regular users to detect.

Therefore, if you have recently opened any attachments received from suspicious/unrecognizable addresses and you suspect that Qakbot (or other malware) has infiltrated your computer, immediately run a full scan using a legitimate anti-virus/anti-spyware suite and eliminate all detected threats.

Similar malware examples

There are dozens of trojan-type viruses that share similarities with Qakbot including, for example, Adwind, TrickBot, LokiBot, FormBook, and Hancitor.

These viruses are developed by different cyber criminals and, thus, their behavior might also differ slightly: some record information, proliferate other viruses, etc. Note, however, that all pose a direct threat to your privacy and browsing safety. Therefore, eliminating malware such as Qakbot is paramount.

How did Qakbot infiltrate my computer?

As mentioned, Qakbot is proliferated using spam email campaigns. When opened, the malicious attachments request permission to enable macro commands, otherwise the content will supposedly not be opened. Enabling them grants permission for the attachments to run malicious macros.

These commands connect to a remote server and download an executable file, which is placed in the "%TEMP%" folder. The filename typically comprises a few random digits (e.g., "914.exe"). This file then runs and injects malware into the system.

The process copies content from a legitimate Windows Calculator executable ("calc.exe") and overwrites the downloaded executable with the copied content. This is done in an attempt to avoid being detected by anti-virus suites. In fact, the infection cannot occur without the users' involvement - the user must trigger the infection manually by opening the attachment.

At time of research, cyber criminals distributed an MS Word document that did not contain a .doc or .docx extension (users needed to append it manually).

How to avoid installation of malware?

To prevent this situation, be very cautious when browsing the internet. Never open any email attachment that seems irrelevant, or if the sender seems suspicious/unrecognizable. Bear in mind that criminals abuse users' curiosity by sending various deceptive messages, such as "you have won a lottery", "you have received a package", etc.

This is called 'phishing'. Do not fall for these messages in which there are no free offers or rewards. These emails are a scam. Furthermore, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running, since these tools can detect and eliminate malware before it does any harm.

The main reasons for computer infections are poor knowledge and careless behavior - key to safety is caution. 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.

Screenshot of a French spam email spreading Quakbot trojan:

Malicious attachment distributing Qakbot:

Another rogue document ("Info.57.xls") used to inject Qakbot trojan into the system:

Update 17 June 2020 -  the latest Qakbot/Qbot version is more advanced at avoiding detection and is harder to be researched. It now has a new packing layer that encodes and hides the code from various scanners and signature-based security tools.

Additionally,  the latest version is capable of detecting whether it is being run inside a virtual machine, which helps it to avoid being analyzed by malware researchers.

Screenshot of yet another MS Word document used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Screenshot of yet another malicious MS Word document designed to spread Qakbot trojan:

Update August 27, 2020 - Although Qakbot is an old project already existing for over a decade, it is still being updated and active. Cyber criminals continually add new features to keep up with the most advanced malware infections.

Examples of newly-added features include stealing various data from infected machines, injecting additional malware (such as ransomware), enabling cyber criminals to remotely connect to the infected machine so that bank transactions could be performed using victim's IP address and abusing victim's email accounts (which are accessible through Microsoft Outlook program) to spread malware using existing email threads.

Another example of a malicious MS Word document used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Screenshot of a spam email used to spread Qakbot trojan via attached malicious MS Word document:

Text presented within:

Subject: Re: Re: Project status update

Hello,

Read the document and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

****, Thanks for the update. Looking forward to our next roundtable.

Regards,

-

Screenshot of the attached MS Word document:

Yet another spam email used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Text presented within:

Subject: "***** - evento atmosferico a impianto solare termico"

Salve,

Leggi il documento e fammi sapere cosa ne pensi.

Grazie

Screenshot of the attached malicious MS Excel document:

Yet another spam email used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Text presented within:

Good day!
Bank check and additional information you'll find via the link lower:

OPEN THE DOCUMENT

One of the malicious documents (MS Excel) is disguised as an alert from Windows Defender Antivirus, claiming that the document is encrypted.

Recipients are asked to decrypt that malicious document by performing Microsoft Office Decryption Core which supposedly can be done by clicking the "Enable Editing" or "Enable Content" button (enabling macros commands). After it is being done, that malicious document executes macros commands designed to install malware.

Screenshot of this malicious MS Excel document used to inject this malware:

Yet another spam email used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Text presented within:

Hello,
Sorry, for my late reply to your question. Attached is the document you need.
Thank you.

Additional examples of malicious MS Excel documents used to spread Qakbot trojan:

Yet another example of a spam email spreading Qakbot (QBot) trojan via attached HTML document which is designed to download the malware:

Text presented within:

Dear team,

Attached is the file you requested.

Password is abc123

Much appreciated

Screenshot of the attached malicious HTML document:

Screenshots of malicious MS OneNote documents spreading Qakbot trojan:

Update 16 June 2022 - QBot is now used to distribute the Black Basta ransomware. In these ransomware attacks, cybercriminals disable Windows Defender to evade detection. It is achieved by executing PowerShell commands or creating a GPO that modifies Windows Registry.

The QBot is now distributed by exploiting a Windows zero-day vulnerability (known as Follina). Cybercriminals send emails containing malicious HTML files that download a ZIP file containing IMG files. Those IMG files contain DLL files, shortcut files, and MS Office Word documents. The MS Word document loads an HTML file that exploits the aforementioned Follina vulnerability.

Update February 20, 2023 – threat actors continue to use aggressive spam campaigns to proliferate Qakbot. However, the latest campaigns have diversified in the formats they use to infect devices with this malware. Recent malspam campaigns distributed Qakbot via attached (often archived) Windows Script Files (.WSF) and Microsoft OneNote documents.

Several variants of the latter have been observed: OneNote files embedded with .DLL (Dynamic Link Library), .JSE (JScript Encoded File), and .HTA (HTML Application). Once the content embedded in the malicious OneNote document is clicked – Qakbot's infection process is triggered. More information on these infection chains can be found in an article on Cyble.

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

No, Qakbot's removal does not necessitate formatting.

What are the biggest issues that Qakbot malware can cause?

Qakbot is primarily a banking malware; hence, it steals information relating to banking and finances. However, some variants of Qakbot are capable of causing chain infections, and have been observed being used to infect systems with ransomware. Therefore, the threats posed by Qakbot include not only severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft, but also permanent data loss.

What is the purpose of Qakbot malware?

Most malware infections are geared towards financial gain for the cyber criminals behind them. However, other reasons for malware attacks include - developers'/attackers' amusement, personal grudges (i.e., targeting specific individuals), process disruption (e.g., website, service, company, etc.), political/geopolitical motivations, and so on.

How did Qakbot malware infiltrate my computer?

Malware is spread using phishing and social engineering techniques. The most common distribution methods include: drive-by (stealthy and deceptive) downloads, unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, spam emails/messages, illegal software activation ("cracking") tools, fake updates, and so forth. Some malicious programs can self-proliferate through 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 can detect and eliminate almost all known malware infections. However, it must be stressed that sophisticated malicious software usually hides deep within the system. Therefore, running a complete system scan is crucial.