CrescentImp
If your computer has been infected by a malware variant called CrescentImp, then you have landed yourself what is known as a Trojan horse virus. CrescentImp is highly dangerous and can prove to have dramatic consequences for you and your machine if not removed in a timely manner.
Trojans are easily the most numerous and infamous type of malicious code in existence. And there’s a good reason for that, too. For one, they are highly versatile and capable of achieving a wide range of malicious tasks on behalf of their criminal creators. This makes them an invaluable tool for mayhem and is largely why hackers prefer viruses like CrescentImp to do their dirty deeds.
And then the other reason is stealth. Viruses of the Trojan horse malware type have gained a level of notoriety for their ability to avoid detection. Especially newer releases such as CrescentImp have the advantage of not yet being added to the databases of most security software, so they are likely to use that in order to be able to invade their victims’ computers. That is also how these particular viruses get their name. And it is also what adds to their high danger levels.
It’s possible for Trojans to be able to hide in an infected system over very long periods of time, even for up to years on end – depending on what they’re tasked with. But the bottom line is that as soon as you have detected one in your OS, it must be removed as soon as possible. And to help you with that, we have designed a special free removal guide just below this post. The only thing we would urge you to do is follow the instructions as closely as described to avoid potentially deleting some vital system files, as Trojans are known to pretend to be system files in order to confuse users. And if you’d rather trust this process to a professional malware removal tool, we have one of those available for you, as well.
What to expect from CrescentImp
As pointed out, CrescentImp is a fairly new malicious variant, so there isn’t sufficient data available at the time of writing this article to say what exactly it’s programmed for. However, we can offer you a rough idea of what this Trojan horse can do. For instance, Trojans are typically used for the purpose of stealing sensitive information that can then be exploited by hackers in various ways. This, in turn, can be achieved by logging your keystrokes, sharing your screen without your knowledge, tapping into your webcam and/or mic and even hijacking your traffic.
Other potential usages include the exploitation of your system’s resources – also for a variety of different intents. For example, your computer could be set to mine cryptocurrencies or distribute spam and even infect other computers within the same network with malware. And speaking of malware, Trojans like CrescentImp, Energy.exe, Altruistics are commonly also used as backdoors for other types of malicious threats, such as ransomware.
SUMMARY:
| Name | CrescentImp |
| Type | Trojan |
| Danger Level | High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware) |
| Detection Tool |
Remove CrescentImp Malware
If you are looking for a way to remove CrescentImp you can try this:
- Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of your Windows OS.
- Go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> Uninstall a Program.
- Search for CrescentImp and any other unfamiliar programs.
- Uninstall CrescentImp as well as other suspicious programs.
Note that this might not get rid of CrescentImp completely. For more detailed removal instructions follow the guide below.
If you have a Windows virus, continue with the guide below.
If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.
If you have an Android virus, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.
If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide
Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab. Try to determine which processes are dangerous.
Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:
After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders.
Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn’t flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections.
Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.
You are now in the Control Panel. Look for suspicious entries. Uninstall it/them. If you see a screen like this when you click Uninstall, choose NO:
Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:
Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.
- Remember this step – if you have reason to believe a bigger threat (like ransomware) is on your PC, check everything here.
Hold the Start Key and R – copy + paste the following and click OK:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:
If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.
Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.
Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus’s Name. Right click and delete any entries you find with a similar name. If they don’t show up this way, go manually to these directories and delete/uninstall them:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—–Random Directory. It could be any one of them – ask us if you can’t discern which ones are malicious.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—-Windows—CurrentVersion—Run– Random
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—Internet Explorer—-Main—- Random
If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!
Leave a Comment