How to remove AllaKore remote access trojan from the operating system

What kind of malware is AllaKore?

AllaKore is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan). These trojans enable remote access and control over compromised systems. AllaKore was first detected in 2015 as an open-source RAT written in the Delphi programming language, and it possessed rather basic capabilities.

However, since 2021, heavily modified variants of AllaKore have been used in targeted attacks. These campaigns aimed to infiltrate large entities located in Mexico, with gross revenues ranging from 1 to over 100 million USD. Evidence suggests that the threat actors behind these attacks are based in Latin America.

AllaKore malware overview

Remote Access Trojans (RATs) are designed to allow cyber criminals to gain remote access and control over devices. As mentioned in the introduction, initial versions of AllaKore boasted a simple set of capabilities related to remote access and data exfiltration. However, later variants of this RAT underwent significant improvements.

These AllaKore versions are well-obfuscated programs with a broader list of functionalities. In addition to exfiltrating files, AllaKore can infiltrate (upload) and execute them. Hence, this trojan can be used to cause chain infections (i.e., download/install additional malware or malicious components) – thus, there is potential for notable capability expansion.

The RAT can take screenshots and record victims' screens. It likewise has keylogging abilities (i.e., recording keystrokes – keyboard input).

New iterations also have a host of commands specifically tailored for malicious banking activities targeting Mexican banks and cryptocurrency-related platforms. AllaKore seeks to acquire banking credentials and verification/authentication-related data.

This trojan also operates as clipper malware. It can detect content copied into the clipboard (copy-paste buffer) and change it – thereby making victims paste altered information. This functionality is commonly used to reroute outgoing cryptocurrency transactions by replacing recipients' wallet addresses with ones of attacker-owned cryptowallets.

Keep in mind that since malware developers often improve upon their creations, it is not unlikely that future variants of AllaKore will have additional functions or utilize different techniques.

To summarize, the presence of software like AllaKore on devices can lead to multiple system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft. Note that malware leveraged against high-sensitivity targets can pose threats of even greater significance.

Remote access trojan examples

Xeno, Silver, SparkRAT, SugarGh0st, and DLRAT are but a few examples of RATs we have written about recently. Generally, these trojans tend to be versatile tools. However, this is not exclusively true and may apply to other malware types.

Yet regardless of how broadly a piece of malicious software can be applied or how narrowly tailored it is – the presence of malware on a system endangers device and user safety. Therefore, it is paramount to eliminate all threats immediately upon detection.

How did AllaKore infiltrate my computer?

Older versions of the AllaKore RAT were primarily spread in RAR archive formats. Later iterations were observed being proliferated in compressed MSI files containing a .NET downloader. In the campaigns noted in Mexico, the downloader checked the infiltrated system's geolocation data prior to continuing with AllaKore's download.

As mentioned in the introduction, these attacks sought to infect large entities that directly report to IMSS – the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social). Some of the targeted sectors included Agriculture, Banking, Commercial Services, Manufacturing, Retail, and Transportation.

Phishing and social engineering tactics are the bread and butter of cyber criminals, and the threat actors proliferating AllaKore are no exception.

The phishing campaigns distributing this RAT used lures associated with the IMSS, such as documents and updates for the SIPARE payment system, IDSE software (e.g., "guia_de_soluciones_idse.pdf"), and so on. It must be mentioned that other lures and methods could be utilized in AllaKore's proliferation.

Virulent files come in various formats, e.g., archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), JavaScript, and so on. When a malicious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection process is jumpstarted.

Malware is predominately distributed through drive-by (stealthy/deceptive) downloads, malicious attachments/links in spam mail (e.g., emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, etc.), dubious download sources (e.g., unofficial and free file-hosting websites, P2P sharing networks, etc.), online scams, malvertising, pirated programs/media, illegal software activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates.

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

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend treating incoming emails and other messages with care. Attachments or links present in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious. It is just as important to exercise caution while browsing, as fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.

Furthermore, all downloads must be made from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as those obtained from third-parties may contain malware.

It is essential to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove threats and issues. 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.

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

Malware removal rarely necessitates formatting.

What are the biggest issues that AllaKore malware can cause?

The threats an infection poses depend on the malware's functionalities and the cyber criminals' aims. AllaKore is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that allows attackers to access/control machines remotely.

While initially a rather simplistic RAT – there are now several iterations of AllaKore with a drastically larger capability list. It has been observed being used to target large Mexican entities with the goal of acquiring banking and cryptocurrency related data.

Generally, malware infections can lead to serious privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft. However, attacks leveraged against high-sensitivity targets can carry risks of greater significance.

What is the purpose of AllaKore malware?

In most cases, malware is used for profit. However, attackers may also be motivated by their own amusement, realization of personal grudges, process disruption (e.g., sites, services, companies, etc.), engagement in hacktivism, and political/geopolitical reasons.

How did AllaKore malware infiltrate my computer?

Newer iterations of AllaKore have been observed targeting large companies/organizations in Mexico through phishing campaigns distributing the malware under IMSS-themed lures. However, other lures and proliferation techniques are not unlikely.

Malware is most commonly spread through drive-by downloads, spam (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, social media posts, etc.), online scams, malvertising, untrustworthy download sources (e.g., freeware and free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks, etc.), illegal software activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates. Furthermore, some malicious programs can self-proliferate via local networks and removable storage devices.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and remove all manner of threats. It can eliminate practically all known malware infections. Note that since sophisticated malicious software usually hides deep within systems – running a complete system scan is crucial.