Win32/Qhost

What is the Win32:Evo-gen [Trj] virus?
Written by Robert Bailey

What is Win32/Qhost infection?

In this post you will find about the definition of Win32/Qhost as well as its negative effect on your computer system. Such ransomware are a kind of malware that is elaborated by on-line fraudulences to demand paying the ransom money by a victim.

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In the majority of the situations, Win32/Qhost ransomware will certainly instruct its victims to start funds transfer for the purpose of reducing the effects of the amendments that the Trojan infection has actually introduced to the sufferer’s device.

Win32/Qhost Summary

These modifications can be as complies with:

  • Expresses interest in specific running processes;
  • Repeatedly searches for a not-found process, may want to run with startbrowser=1 option;
  • Reads data out of its own binary image. The trick that allows the malware to read data out of your computer’s memory.

    Everything you run, type, or click on your computer goes through the memory. This includes passwords, bank account numbers, emails, and other confidential information. With this vulnerability, there is the potential for a malicious program to read that data.

  • Drops a binary and executes it. Trojan-Downloader installs itself to the system and waits until an Internet connection becomes available to connect to a remote server or website in order to download additional malware onto the infected computer.
  • The binary likely contains encrypted or compressed data. In this case, encryption is a way of hiding virus’ code from antiviruses and virus’ analysts.
  • The executable is compressed using UPX;
  • Sniffs keystrokes;
  • Installs an hook procedure to monitor for mouse events;
  • Network activity contains more than one unique useragent.;
  • Installs itself for autorun at Windows startup. There is simple tactic using the Windows startup folder located at:
    C:\Users\[user-name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\Startup. Shortcut links (.lnk extension) placed in this folder will cause Windows to launch the application each time [user-name] logs into Windows.

    The registry run keys perform the same action, and can be located in different locations:

    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
  • Attempts to identify installed analysis tools by a known file location;
  • Attempts to modify proxy settings. This trick used for inject malware into connection between browser and server;
  • The sample wrote data to the system hosts file.;
  • Ciphering the records found on the sufferer’s hard disk drive — so the victim can no longer utilize the information;
  • Preventing routine access to the victim’s workstation. This is the typical behavior of a virus called locker. It blocks access to the computer until the victim pays the ransom.

Win32/Qhost

One of the most normal channels where Win32/Qhost Ransomware are infused are:

  • By ways of phishing e-mails;
  • As a repercussion of user ending up on a resource that hosts a malicious software program;

As soon as the Trojan is successfully infused, it will certainly either cipher the information on the sufferer’s computer or protect against the gadget from functioning in a proper manner – while also placing a ransom note that mentions the need for the victims to impact the repayment for the objective of decrypting the documents or recovering the data system back to the initial problem. In most circumstances, the ransom note will show up when the customer restarts the COMPUTER after the system has already been damaged.

Win32/Qhost distribution networks.

In numerous edges of the world, Win32/Qhost grows by leaps and bounds. Nonetheless, the ransom notes as well as methods of extorting the ransom money quantity may vary depending on certain regional (regional) settings. The ransom notes and techniques of obtaining the ransom amount may vary depending on specific local (local) settings.

Ransomware injection

For instance:

    Faulty signals concerning unlicensed software.

    In particular locations, the Trojans frequently wrongfully report having actually discovered some unlicensed applications allowed on the victim’s tool. The alert after that requires the user to pay the ransom.

    Faulty statements about illegal material.

    In nations where software piracy is less prominent, this technique is not as efficient for the cyber fraudulences. Conversely, the Win32/Qhost popup alert might incorrectly claim to be stemming from a police organization as well as will report having located youngster porn or various other unlawful information on the device.

    Win32/Qhost popup alert might incorrectly claim to be obtaining from a regulation enforcement institution and will report having located youngster pornography or other unlawful data on the device. The alert will in a similar way have a demand for the customer to pay the ransom.

Technical details

File Info:

crc32: BDD29F39
md5: b2fd2c55471b3241b113ba6f7635d67c
name: B2FD2C55471B3241B113BA6F7635D67C.mlw
sha1: d73ba5a7ed773f639fc88757848d7329f55822fb
sha256: 805b9d442dff52573fcb5c90a87aa8d1a83b88c482a78d4b7820c48c4d62cb70
sha512: e4e20a9932c7a44bd616bb48dde19ddc7fb401ab79b3686542f336751f9b38ab8e27edae748b7472cd95ba7e8448887ba2a6fcd370800b3db22d1894dbc6e56f
ssdeep: 24576:TwU/UwhWZ3RSooljMYBM7ZUfRY7etPzgARi2IO+IWQ9I5Gp:TZU8WZBS1E7ZUfO7Yli2r+09I5s
type: PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows, UPX compressed

Version Info:

LegalCopyright:
InternalName:
FileVersion: 1, 0, 48, 05
ProductName:
ProductVersion: 1, 0, 48, 05
FileDescription:
OriginalFilename:
Translation: 0x0409 0x04b0

Win32/Qhost also known as:

GridinSoftTrojan.Ransom.Gen
BkavW32.AIDetect.malware1
K7AntiVirusTrojan ( 0000c2841 )
DrWebTool.PassView.1760
ALYacTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
CylanceUnsafe
SangforRansom.Win32.Blocker.iapm
AlibabaRansom:Win32/Blocker.8bcd156d
K7GWTrojan ( 0000c2841 )
Cybereasonmalicious.5471b3
SymantecTrojan.Gen
ESET-NOD32Win32/Qhost
APEXMalicious
AvastWin32:Malware-gen
ClamAVWin.Trojan.Autoit-1060
KasperskyTrojan-Ransom.Win32.Blocker.iapm
BitDefenderTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
NANO-AntivirusRiskware.Win32.PassView.dzyvuw
MicroWorld-eScanTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
TencentMalware.Win32.Gencirc.114c3fd2
Ad-AwareTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
SophosMal/Generic-S
VIPRETrojan.Win32.Generic!BT
McAfee-GW-EditionBehavesLike.Win32.Dropper.tc
FireEyeTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
EmsisoftTrojan.GenericKD.3020948 (B)
JiangminTrojan.Blocker.bkb
MicrosoftTrojan:Win32/Wacatac.B!ml
ArcabitTrojan.Generic.D2E1894
AegisLabTrojan.Win32.Blocker.j!c
GDataTrojan.GenericKD.3020948
McAfeeArtemis!B2FD2C55471B
MAXmalware (ai score=81)
MalwarebytesMalware.Heuristic.1003
PandaGeneric Suspicious
YandexTrojan.Blocker!SuIin5PuZ5g
IkarusTrojan.Qhost
FortinetW32/Hosts2!tr
AVGWin32:Malware-gen
Paloaltogeneric.ml
Qihoo-360Win32/Trojan.4d8

How to remove Win32/Qhost virus?

Unwanted application has ofter come with other viruses and spyware. This threats can steal account credentials, or crypt your documents for ransom.
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There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent PC threats than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft2.

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your system.

Run Setup.exe

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Setup

Press “Install” button.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Install

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Splash-Screen

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for Win32/Qhost files and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Scanning

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has finished, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Scan Result

Are Your Protected?

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will scan and clean your PC for free in the trial period. The free version offer real-time protection for first 2 days. If you want to be fully protected at all times – I can recommended you to purchase a full version:

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If the guide doesn’t help you to remove Win32/Qhost you can always ask me in the comments for getting help.

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References

  1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
  2. More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison

About the author

Robert Bailey

I'm Robert Bailey, a passionate Security Engineer with a deep fascination for all things related to malware, reverse engineering, and white hat ethical hacking.

As a white hat hacker, I firmly believe in the power of ethical hacking to bolster security measures. By identifying vulnerabilities and providing solutions, I contribute to the proactive defense of digital infrastructures.

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