HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A — Credential Tool PowerShell Removal Guide

Written by Wilbur Woodham
If you spectate the notification of HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A detection, it seems that your PC has a problem. All malicious programs are dangerous, with no exceptions. Credential Tool is a malicious software that aims at exposing your system to further malware injection. The majority of the modern malware variants are complex, and can download other viruses. Being infected with the HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A virus often means getting a malicious thing which is able act like spyware or stealer, downloader, and a backdoor. Seeing this detection means that you must to perform the malware removal as fast as you can.
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Any malware exists with the only target – make money on you1. And the developers of these things are not thinking about morality – they utilize all possible methods. Stealing your personal data, receiving the payments for the banners you watch for them, exploiting your CPU and GPU to mine cryptocurrencies – that is not the full list of what they do. Do you want to be a riding equine? That is a rhetorical question.

What does the notification with HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A detection mean?

The HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A detection you can see in the lower right corner is shown to you by Microsoft Defender. That anti-malware software is quite OK at scanning, however, prone to be basically unstable. It is unprotected to malware invasions, it has a glitchy interface and problematic malware removal capabilities. Therefore, the pop-up which says about the Credential Tool is rather just an alert that Defender has actually detected it. To remove it, you will likely need to use another anti-malware program.

HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A found

Microsoft Defender: “HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A”

The exact HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A infection is a very unpleasant thing. It digs into your system under the guise of something legitimate, or as a part of the application you have got on a forum. Therefore, it makes all possible steps to weaken your system. At the end of this “party”, it downloads other malicious things – ones which are choosen by cybercriminals who control this virus. Hence, it is impossible to predict the effects from Credential Tool actions. And the unpredictability is one of the most upleasant things when we are talking about malware. That’s why it is rather not to choose at all, and don’t let the malware to complete its task.

Threat Summary:

Name Credential Tool PowerShell
Detection HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A
Details Credential Tool is attached to another program (such as a document), which can replicate and spread after an initial execution.
Fix Tool See If Your System Has Been Affected by Credential Tool PowerShell

Is HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A dangerous?

As I have specified before, non-harmful malware does not exist. And HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A is not an exception. This virus modifies the system settings, edits the Group Policies and registry. All of these components are vital for correct system operating, even when we are not talking about system security. Therefore, the malware which Credential Tool contains, or which it will inject later, will try to get maximum revenue from you. Crooks can steal your personal data, and then push it on the Darknet. Using adware and browser hijacker functionality, built in HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A virus, they can make profit by showing you the banners. Each view gives them a penny, but 100 views per day = $1. 1000 victims who watch 100 banners per day – $1000. Easy math, but sad conclusions. It is a bad choice to be a donkey for crooks.

How did I get this virus?

It is difficult to trace the sources of malware on your PC. Nowadays, things are mixed, and spreading ways used by adware 5 years ago may be utilized by spyware nowadays. However, if we abstract from the exact distribution way and will think of why it has success, the explanation will be quite simple – low level of cybersecurity understanding. People press on promotions on odd sites, open the pop-ups they get in their web browsers, call the “Microsoft tech support” thinking that the odd banner that states about malware is true. It is necessary to recognize what is legitimate – to prevent misunderstandings when attempting to find out a virus.

Microsoft Tech Support Scam

Microsoft Tech Support Scam

Nowadays, there are two of the most common methods of malware spreading – bait emails and injection into a hacked program. While the first one is not so easy to avoid – you should know a lot to understand a fake – the 2nd one is simple to solve: just do not use hacked programs. Torrent-trackers and other providers of “free” applications (which are, in fact, paid, but with a disabled license checking) are just a giveaway place of malware. And HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A is just among them.

How to remove the HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A from my PC?

HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A malware is incredibly difficult to erase manually. It stores its documents in multiple locations throughout the disk, and can recover itself from one of the parts. Moreover, countless changes in the windows registry, networking configurations and also Group Policies are really hard to find and change to the initial. It is much better to utilize a specific tool – exactly, an anti-malware tool. GridinSoft Anti-Malware will fit the best for malware elimination purposes.

Why GridinSoft Anti-Malware? It is very light-weight and has its detection databases updated almost every hour. In addition, it does not have such problems and vulnerabilities as Microsoft Defender does. The combination of these facts makes GridinSoft Anti-Malware suitable for taking out malware of any type.

Remove the viruses with GridinSoft Anti-Malware

  • Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware. After the installation, you will be offered to perform the Standard Scan. Approve this action.
  • Gridinsoft Anti-Malware during the scan process

  • Standard scan checks the logical disk where the system files are stored, together with the files of programs you have already installed. The scan lasts up to 6 minutes.
  • GridinSoft Anti-Malware scan results

  • When the scan is over, you may choose the action for each detected virus. For all files of Credential Tool the default option is “Delete”. Press “Apply” to finish the malware removal.
  • GridinSoft Anti-Malware - After Cleaning
How to Remove HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A Malware

Name: HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A

Description: If you have seen a message showing the “HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A found”, it seems that your system is in trouble. The Credential Tool virus was detected, but to remove it, you need to use a security tool. Windows Defender, which has shown you this message, has detected the malware. However, Defender is not a reliable thing - it is prone to malfunction when it comes to malware removal. Getting the HackTool:PowerShell/CredentialTool.A malware on your PC is an unpleasant thing, and removing it as soon as possible must be your primary task.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: PowerShell

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References

  1. Read about malware types on GridinSoft Threat encyclopedia.

About the author

Wilbur Woodham

I was a technical writer from early in my career, and consider IT Security one of my foundational skills. I’m sharing my experience here, and I hope you find it useful.

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