How to remove NetSupport Manager RAT

What kind of software is NetSupport Manager?

The NetSupport Manager program is categorized as a Remote Access Tool (RAT). Like most programs of this type, it allow users to access computers, workstations, and servers locally and remotely. This is legitimate software that can be used by anyone, however, RATs are often misused by cyber criminals for malicious purposes, usually to steal various information.

More about NetSupport Manager

Typically, cyber criminals use various ways to trick people into downloading remote access tools so that they can steal information/personal data and use it to generate revenue. NetSupport Manager is capable of monitoring systems and viewing all connected workstations in real time simultaneously.

In summary, it can be used to monitor computing activity and, additionally, to watch, share, and control the screen, mouse, keyboard of any connected computer. It can also record the screen and capture screenshots.

NetSupport Manager can be used to access system information such as Operating System, computer type, name of the country in which it is used, installed hardware and software, and many other details. Furthermore, this RAT can be used to transfer data/files between connected computers/workstations. Therefore, users can move files from one computer to another.

NetSupport Manager users are also offered some other features. As we mentioned above, these tools are often used by cyber criminals with malicious intent. If installed on a computer without users' knowledge, it can be used to steal personal information.

By controlling a computer and transfering files, cyber criminals might download and install malicious programs such as ransomware, high-risk Trojans, and other infections. Having programs of this type installed might cause data/financial loss and other problems.

Some of the installed programs might be capable of stealing logins and passwords of personal accounts (such as banking). Therefore, being tricked into installing RAT software can lead to serious problems relating to finances, privacy, and so on. If you believe that NetSupport Manager, or another tool of this type, was installed without your knowledge, remove it immediately.

Examples of other RATs

There are a number of RATs available, and often they are legitimate tools. Some examples of other RATs are Orcus, Agent Tesla, Imminent Monitor, and CrimsonRAT. Note that cyber criminals often use these tools for malicious purposes (to steal information, cause computer infections, and so on).

How did NetSupport Manager infiltrate my computer?

Cyber criminals trick people into downloading and installing this tool using fake Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Flash Player (and other) updaters. These programs are disguised as legitimate update tools, however, rather than downloading and installing updates, they download and install unwanted software, in this case the NetSupport Manager.

They also proliferate this RAT through the BGTrade application (its installer). In this way, they trick people into installing NetSupport Manager with the BGTrade app. Note, however, that cyber criminals often proliferate malicious programs through emails - they use malicious attachments disguised as harmless files.

Once opened, these attachments (MS Office documents, JavaScript files, executables, archives, and so on) download and install unwanted software. Additionally, they use dubious software download sources. Some examples of dubious download channels are unofficial websites, Peer-to-Peer networks, third party downloaders and other similar sources.

By downloading files using these tools, people often cause download and installation of unwanted software (including computer infections). Software cracking tools are used to bypass paid activation (illegally), however, they often download and install malicious programs.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Update software using implemented, official tools that are provided by software developers only. Download software from official websites and using direct links. Do not use the other channels mentioned above. Do not open attachments (or web links) that are presented in irrelevant emails or that are received from unknown, suspicious email addresses.

Avoid using software cracking tools, since this is a cyber crime and often causes computer infections. Have reputable anti-virus or anti-spyware software installed and enabled - this can detect harmful files before they do any damage. 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.

Official website of BGTrade app which is used to promote NetSupport Manager:

BGTrade app that is used to distribute NetSupport Manager:

Update September 4th, 2019 - Cyber criminals have recently developed a malicious toolkit called Domen. This toolkit allows threat actors to hijack legitimate websites (at the time of research, most of hijacked websites were based on WordPress CMS) and inject them with a script that displays various fake update notifications. The level of Domen's sophistication is rather high.

It is designed to target both desktop and mobile users. Additionally, the fake update messages can be displayed in 30 different languages.

Now the list of fake update notifications includes browser updates (e.g., "You Are Using An Older Version Of Chrome"), Adobe Flash Player update (similar to this one), and an error claiming that website's content cannot be displayed due to a missing font and encouraging to update/download a font pack (e.g., "The PT Sans Font Wasnt Found").

The displayed update notifications completely overlay visited websites' content and encourage users to download the update immediately. However, the downloaded file is actually a malicious script which runs a number of shell commands that eventually download and install various malware.

At the time of research Domen was used to spread NetSupport Manager RAT. However, the situation may eventually change, especially when the same toolkit can be used by multiple cyber criminals.

Screenshot of a fake update notification ("You Are Using An Older Version Of Chrome") delivered using Domen toolkit:

Screenshot of a malicious MS Excel document used to spread NetSupport Manager RAT:

Update April 12th, 2022 - We have discovered that NetSupport Manager is a final payload in the Parrot TDS campaign. This campaign is used as a gateway for further malicious campaigns. One of the known campaigns is called FakeUpdate. In this campaign, cybercriminals use deceptive websites (sites claiming that some software is outdated) to trick visitors into downloading malicious code. NetSupport Manager is part of the second-phase payload delivered in the FakeUpdate campaign.

Update January 10, 2023 - Cyber criminals are spreading NetSupport Manager via fake Pokemon NTF card game website - pokemon-go[.]io (other URLs might be used as well). The site is presented as a great tool to both have fun playing and earn profits by winning NTFs.

Screenshot of the fake pokemon-go[.]io website:

Update April 02, 2026 - Screenshot of a fake AnyConnect download website spreading NetSupport Manager RAT:

NetSupport Manager RAT has been also distributed using ClickFix technique, here's an example of such 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

---

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

Usually, malware can be removed without formatting the storage device. A detailed removal guide is provided above.

What are the biggest issues that malware can cause?

It may lead to identity theft, financial losses, data encryption, decreased computer performance, further infections, and other issues. It depends on the type of malware.

What is the purpose of NetSupport Manager?

NetSupport Manager is a legitimate RAT. However, it can be misused for malicious purposes. Cybercriminals can use this RAT to monitor computing activity (spy on victims), access system information, and transfer files between computers/workstations. NetSupport Manager may be used to infect computers with other malware. In such cases, it could lead to financial losses, data encryption, identity theft, and other problems.

How did a malware infiltrate my computer?

Cybercriminals use phishing and other social engineering techniques (malicious emails, fake system warning messages, etc.) to trick users into executing malware. Also, computers get infected through malicious drive-by downloads, files downloaded via Peer-to-Peer networks, unofficial websites, and similar sources. In some cases, malware can spread via external hard drives, USB flash drives, etc.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and remove malware from it. This antivirus software can detect almost all known malware. Computers infected with high-end malware must be scanned using a full scan. Otherwise, antivirus software may not detect high-end malware that hides deep in the operating system.