dasHost
The original dasHost.exe file is a safe process on the Microsoft Windows system. Very often, however, the authors of malware programs, such as viruses, worms, and Trojans, quite deliberately and arrogantly give their processes dasHost.exe file name to avoid detection on the computer system.
Unfortunately, the carriers of dasHost are numerous and the chance of getting compromised by this malware is quite high, especially if you are not careful while browsing the web. The threat is widely distributed all across the Internet and usually infiltrates the computers when the users interact with the malicious payload, which can be packed with third-party software installers, different social media shares, spam email attachments, ads, intriguing links and more. dasHost is a multipurpose tool for file corruption, destruction, theft, espionage and more.
Is the dasHost.exe file a virus?
No, it is not, but If dasHost.exe is located in a subfolder of “C:\Program Files”, or “C:\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME”, “C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USERNAME”, or type %HOMEPATH% in the Explorer address bar, the security rating is extremely dangerous. As such dasHost is a nasty Trojan infection created by criminal hackers, the purpose of which is to infect as many computers as possible and cause various issues in their system. Like most of the representatives of the Trojan horse family, dasHost can exploit any existing system vulnerabilities and create new ones which can be used by other malware such as ransomware, rootkits or spyware
Therefore, it is very difficult to predict what the consequences of its attack could be. The criminals who are in control of the malware may decide to use it to destroy your PC system by deleting important system files and personal data or by creating security holes which can further weaken the OS. They may also be interested in stealing sensitive information such as passwords or banking details, which can later be used for theft of the user’s online identity or of money from their bank accounts.
It is also possible for the crooks to establish full remote control over the infected computer and to exploit its resources for their purposes, thus way causing sluggishness when you want to launch your programs. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to detect those harmful activities because dasHost hardly ever shows any symptoms that could give it away. That’s why it is very important to detect the malware and remove it in time, before it manages to damage your system beyond repair.
What is the best way to remove dasHost?
Trojans are very stealthy and very challenging computer threats. That’s why if you want to deal with them effectively, you need to be very careful and use professional malware-removal tools or go through various removal steps. The reason is, these threats, like Altruistics, tend to hide deep in the system and oftentimes may mimic some important files in order to trick the users and prevent them from detecting and deleting them. Locating the harmful code and having it removed, however, may require some computer skills.
That’s why, if you are not experienced enough or don’t know what exactly you have to delete, it is not advisable to experiment because you may delete something related to your OS by mistake. In order to avoid this, we suggest you use the instructions in the removal guide above and also scan the system with the attached removal tool. It is very important to remove dasHost and its core files properly, otherwise, the Trojan may continue to create issues inside the computer and to serve the needs of its criminal creators without your knowledge.
SUMMARY:
| Name | dasHost |
| Type | Trojan |
| Danger Level | High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware) |
| Symptoms | It is very difficult to detect this Trojan without a proper security tool as it lacks any visible symptoms. |
| Distribution Method | Software installers with cracked components, torrents, pirated content, fake ads, spam messages, infected email attachments. |
| Detection Tool |
Remove dasHost Virus
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