How to eliminate VCURMS malware

What kind of malware is VCURMS?

VCURMS is a remote administration Trojan (RAT) that cybercriminals store on public services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GitHub. This method allows the Trojan to conceal its presence and activities from security measures, making it more challenging to detect and remove from infected systems.

More about VCURMS

VCURMS employs email as its means of command and control, utilizing Proton Mail for enhanced privacy and secure communication with the compromised endpoint. During its setup process, the malware duplicates itself into the Windows Startup folder to guarantee automatic activation when the system boots up.

Upon receiving directives from the attacker, VCURMS identifies the victim by extracting details such as the computer name and Volume ID. It meticulously examines both the subject line and body of the email to authenticate the received command. Furthermore, the malware hosts keylogger and password recovery modules on AWS, camouflaged with .jpg extensions, and retrieves them using PowerShell commands.

Upon receiving the "recovery" command, VCURMS initiates the download and installation of an information stealer. This stealer is primarily focused on extracting sensitive information from the victim's system. It targets a wide array of data, including system details such as network and hardware information, as well as specific information from popular applications and browsers.

The targeted applications include Discord and Steam, while the browsers encompass a comprehensive list, including Brave, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, OperaGX, Vivaldi, and Yandex. The program aims to harvest various types of data from these applications and browsers, ranging from account information to browsing history and stored passwords.

This includes cookies, autofill data, and other browser-related information, providing the attacker with a wealth of sensitive data about the victim's online activities and accounts.

VCURMS can execute additional commands to obtain a wide range of system details, including the operating system version, memory capacity, computer name, volume ID, username, country, and files stored in the Desktop and Documents folders. It can also undertake additional actions related to a keylogger and a data stealer component.

Possible damage

Victims of VCURMS may encounter severe repercussions due to the malware's intrusive capabilities. The theft of sensitive information, including system details and personal data from popular applications and browsers, can lead to identity theft, financial loss, and compromised online accounts.

Moreover, the presence of a keylogger component puts victims at risk of having their keystrokes monitored, potentially exposing confidential information such as passwords, credit card details, and other sensitive credentials. These consequences underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures to detect and mitigate the impact of such malicious threats.

It is worth noting that VCURMS is associated with another RAT called STRRAT.

How did VCURMS infiltrate my computer?

The VCURMS malware is being spread through a phishing campaign that tricks people into downloading a malicious Java downloader. This downloader helps to spread the VCURMS remote access Trojan. The malware is stored on public services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GitHub.

The phishing emails ask recipients to verify their payment information by clicking a button. This leads to the download of harmful JAR files hosted on AWS. These files look like typical attachments, but they actually contain code that downloads and executes additional JAR files provided by the attacker.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Maintain regular updates for your operating systems, applications, and antivirus software. Always verify the authenticity of emails before interacting with any attachments or links they contain. Be cautious of downloading software or files from unreliable sources, such as peer-to-peer networks or suspicious websites.

Prioritize official websites or app stores for downloads, avoiding the use of pirated software. Exercise caution when encountering pop-ups and ads on questionable sites. Enhance your security measures by utilizing a reputable security tool for added protection against potential threats.

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.

Malicious attachment distributing VCURMS ("Payment Advice.pdf"):

Text in the email:

Subject: Remittance Summary

Find attached payment advice for remittance.. Kindly revert

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

Formatting your storage device will remove the VCURMS malware from your computer, but it is an extreme measure with significant consequences. Formatting will erase all data stored on the device, including your files, programs, and operating system. Before resorting to formatting, consider using reputable antivirus software to scan and remove the malware.

What are the biggest issues that malware can cause?

The biggest issues that malware can cause include data theft, system damage, file encryption, financial losses, and compromised privacy.

What is the purpose of VCURMS RAT?

VCURMS malware is designed to infiltrate systems, gather sensitive information, and grant remote access to cybercriminals. Its capabilities include extracting various system details, capturing keystrokes, and stealing data from popular applications and browsers. VCURMS facilitates ongoing communication with attackers via email, enabling them to issue commands and receive stolen data securely.

How did VCURMS infiltrate my computer?

VCURMS spreads through a phishing campaign, where users are tricked into downloading a malicious Java downloader, aiding in the distribution of the VCURMS remote access Trojan. The malware is stored on public services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GitHub. Deceptive emails used in this campaign prompt recipients to verify payment information by clicking a button, initiating the download of harmful JAR files from AWS.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Cleaning malware often requires a comprehensive system scan to detect and remove all malicious components, including those that are hidden. Combo Cleaner is capable of identifying and removing most known malware infections.