How to remove sLoad from the operating system

What is sLoad?

sLoad (also known as StarsLord) is the name of malicious software that infects operating systems with other malware (e.g., a banking Trojan or ransomware). In this way, sLoad operates as a malware downloader/dropper. Research shows that cyber criminals proliferate sLoad via spam campaigns (emails) - i.e., through malicious documents attached to email messages.

If you believe that sLoad (and its payload) might be installed on the operating system, remove it immediately.

Cyber criminals who proliferate sLoad target users of Windows Operating System. This malware gathers system information and sends it to cyber criminals through a C2 (Command & Control) server. Note that it sends information to the C2 server, and also receives commands through it.

Research shows that sLoad communicates with its C2 server using Windows BITS (a service that Windows uses to send operating system updates).

It sets up BITS scheduled tasks, which are executed at regular intervals. The tasks allow sLoad to communicate with its Command & Control server and perform tasks such as download of additional malware, which could be used to infect system with a various malicious software.

One of the possible payloads could be a Trojan (such as Lampion) that steals personal information. Typically, software of this type steals information that cyber criminals might use to generate revenue in various ways. For example, credentials (logins, passwords) of various accounts, credit card details and other sensitive data.

Cyber criminals misuse stolen details to make fraudulent purchases, transactions, steal identities, and so on. Thus, people with computers infected with software of this type experience financial loss, problems relating to privacy, browsing safety, and so on. sLoad can also be used to infect the operating system with ransomware. 

This type of software usually encrypts data (rendering files inaccessible) so that victims cannot decrypt files without decryption tools/keys that can only be purchased from cyber criminals.

Generally, ransomware causes data and monetary loss. Unfortunately, there are many other malicious programs that can be installed through sLoad. Note that cyber criminals use programs such as sLoad to generate as much revenue as possible, and any computer infected with it will lead to serious problems.

ZLoader, Legion Loader and Buer Loader are some examples of other malicious programs that also operate as malware droppers. Therefore, they install a malware payload.

Typically, cyber criminals behind these programs seek to install high-risk malware on as many computers as possible, which increases the chance of generating more revenue. As mentioned, malware such as sLoad must be removed from the infected system immediately, otherwise it could cause further installation of this type of software.

How did sLoad infiltrate my computer?

Cyber criminals proliferate sLoad through spam campaigns. They send emails that contain a malicious attachment and hope that people will open it. In our example (as in the screenshot below), an email includes an archive (ZIP) file that contains a malicious executable file.

If opened/executed, the file installs sLoad. More examples of files that cyber criminals usually attach to their emails are MS Office, PDF documents, executable files (.exe) and JavaScript files. Furthermore, malware can be distributed in other ways as well.

For example, dubious software download sources/channels, Trojans, fake (unofficial) software updating and activation ('cracking') tools. Examples of untrusted file and software download channels are Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), freeware download websites, third party downloaders, free file hosting pages, unofficial websites, etc.

Cyber criminals use them to host malicious files that they disguise as regular. When downloaded and opened, however, they install high-risk malware. Trojans often cause chain infections - when a computer is infected with a Trojan, the program causes installation of other software of this kind.

Unofficial software updaters infect systems by downloading and installing malicious programs rather than updating or fixing installed software, or they exploit bugs/flaws of any outdated software that is installed on the computer.

Various 'cracking' tools supposedly activate licensed software free of charge (bypassing paid activation), however, they can distribute malware - people who use them often cause installation of malicious programs.

How to avoid installation of malware

Do not open attachments or web links that are presented in irrelevant emails and/or emails that are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Included web links and/or attachments should be opened only when you are sure they are safe. All files and program should be downloaded from official and trustworthy sources (websites).

Unofficial websites, various third party downloaders, installers and other channels (mentioned above) should be avoided. Software must be updated via implemented functions or tools designed by official developers. If operating systems or installed programs require activation, use official methods and software.

It is illegal to use 'cracking' tools and they can infect systems with malware. Finally, we recommend that you regularly scan the operating system for threats with reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software, which should be kept up to date.

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.

Example of a malicious attachment (.zip), which contains a file designed to install sLoad:

Text in this email:

Subject: Invio File  IT20798069622_tch63

Invio file IT20798069622_tch63, con identificativo 77402443375. In allegato il file contenente la fattura ed il file contenente i metadati.

La mail e' inviata dal Sistema di Interscambio per la fatturazione elettronica (L. 244/2007).

Se il file allegato presenta estensione .xml.p7m vuol dire che e' stato firmato digitalmente con firma Cades; per aprirlo e' necessario installare sul proprio computer un apposito software.

Tali software sono facilmente reperibili sul web sia a pagamento che gratuitamente (licenza open source). Il file xml ottenuto dopo aver 'decifrato' la firma puo' essere agevolmente visualizzato in formato PDF utilizzando la funzionalita` 'Visualizza PDF Fattura' dell'area 'Fatturazione elettronica' del sito Fatture e Corrispettivi.

Per qualsiasi necessita' di chiarimenti non rispondere a questa mail, ma utilizzare i tradizionali canali di assistenza presenti sul sito www.fatturapa.gov.it.

Il nuovo indirizzo da utilizzare per inviare le prossime fatture al Sistema di Interscambio. L'utilizzo di un indirizzo diverso non garantisce il buon esito del recapito al destinatario.

Example of a malicious process ("WAN Service") that sLoad uses to disguise itself:

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.