Remove BlackSquid Malware Exploit

About BlackSquid Malware Exploit

BlackSquid Malware is a very stealthy computer infection, created by hackers with malicious intentions. The purpose of this malware is to secretly sneak inside your computer without showing any symptoms and to start launching different harmful activities in the background. If not detected and removed on time, BlackSquid might have fatal consequences for your system. For instance, it may mess with your files and the software that you have installed on your PC, as well as introduce some unwelcome and potentially harmful modifications in your settings and in the way the system operates. Such malware may also replace certain system components and install other ones that may damage the computer.

It is typical for most Trojans to perform activities that allow their creators to establish remote access to the infected computer or to secretly steal data from it. Generally, the types of harm caused by infections like BlackSquid may include online fraud, theft of important or confidential data, credit or debit card fraud, online banking attacks, draining of bank accounts, theft of identity, espionage and more. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to predict what exactly the malware can do while inside the computer because a given Trojan may be used differently in different situations depending on what the hackers behind it want to accomplish.

Nowadays, such infections are oftentimes used to insert other malware in the system and to create security holes which can be exploited by Ransomware, Spyware or other viruses.  Another common use of Trojans is related to their ability to turn the infected machine into a bot and use it to spread spam and malware. Additionally, an infection like BlackSquid and  Cve-2019-0708 BlueKeep may be designed to steal specific information, keep track of your keystrokes, hack into your webcam and mic and collect details that could later be used for blackmail and personal harassment purposes. That’s why it is highly recommended to remove such threats as soon as you detect them and thus block their attempts to cause even more harm.

Unfortunately, detecting a Trojan Horse can be a real challenge, especially for those of you who have never dealt with this type of malware in the past. The reason is, advanced infections like BlackSquid typically don’t show any obvious symptoms of their presence and try to remain undetected inside the system for indefinite periods of time. Therefore, if you rely only on being observant, you may not notice anything unusual unless some actual damage occurs as a result of the Trojan’s activity. If you have an updated and reliable security tool, however, you may have a better chance at catching the infection on time and preventing it from messing up your PC (or Mac). That’s why we always advise our readers to invest in professional software protection and run regular scans of the system to keep it safe and sound. If the antivirus is not able to deal with an infection like BlackSquid (yes, some advanced Trojans may have the ability to block security programs), here we have prepared a manual removal guide that you are advised to use. It contains instructions that when followed may help you remove the Trojan and all of its traces. Also, you can find a professional removal tool for quick automatic detection in the guide in case the antivirus that you currently have isn’t effective against this particular infection.

BlackSquid SUMMARY:

Name	BlackSquid
Type	Trojan
Danger Level	High (BlackSquid Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware)
Symptoms	BlackSquid Trojan could cause your computer to crash and the Blue Screen of Death to appear on your screen. Errors and system slow-downs are also a commonplace during Trojan Horse infections.
Distribution Method	Most of the time, Trojans get distributed through spam e-mails and social network messages, malicious ads, shady and pirated downloads, questionable torrents and other similar methods.

 

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Remove BlackSquid Malware Exploit

1: Preparations

Note: Before you go any further, we advise you to bookmark this page or have it open on a separate device such as your smartphone or another PC. Some of the steps might require you to exit your browser on this PC.

2: Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to enter the Task Manager. Go to the Tab labeled Processes (Details for Win 8/10). Carefully look through the list of processes that are currently active on you PC.

If any of them seems shady, consumes too much RAM/CPU or has some strange description or no description at all, right-click on it, select Open File Location and delete everything there.

Also, even if you do not delete the files, be sure to stop the process by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process.

3: IP related to BlackSquid

Go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Open the hosts file with notepad.

Find where it says Localhost and take a look below that. 

If you see any IP addresses there (below Localhost) send them to us here, in the comments since they might be coming from the BlackSquid.

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4: Disable Startup programs

Re-open the Start Menu and type msconfig.

Click on the first search result. In the next window, go to the Startup tab. If you are on Win 10,  it will send you to the Startup part of the task manager instead, as in the picture:

If you see any sketchy/shady looking entries in the list with an unknown manufacturer or a manufacturer name that looks suspicious as there could be a link between them and BlackSquid , disable those programs and select OK.

5: Registry Editor

Press Windows key + R and in the resulting window type regedit.

Now, press Ctrl + F and type the name of the virus.

Delete everything that gets found. If you are not sure about whether to delete something, do not hesitate to ask us in the comments. Keep in mind that if you delete the wrong thing, you might cause all sorts of issues to your PC.

6: Deleting potentially malicious data – BlackSquid

Type each of the following locations in the Windows search box and hit enter to open the locations:

%AppData%

%LocalAppData%

%ProgramData%

%WinDir%

%Temp%

Delete everything you see in Temp linked to BlackSquid Ransomware. About the other folders, sort their contents by date and delete only the most recent entries. As always, if you are not sure about something, write to us in the comment section.