GootLoader Malware

Trojan
by Brandon Skies
November 28, 2022
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GootLoader

GootLoader is a computer threat that infects computers through the use of disguise and stealth. Researchers have categorized GootLoader as a virus of the Trojan horse category – the most widespread type of computer infections known for its versatility and ability to avoid detection.

Antivirus alert window displaying the detection of GootLoader malware with a red warning sign.
Antivirus software successfully detects and alerts about the GootLoader malware, ensuring user safety.

The GootLoader malware

The GootLoader malware, in particular, is a very new addition to the Trojan horse family and as such it is possible that even advanced and reliable antivirus programs may fail to spot it when it attacks the computer.

The main reason for the inability of security programs to detect such new threats lies in the method pretty much all antivirus tools use to spot incoming malware attacks. To detect incoming threats, a typical antivirus program would rely on its database – this is an extensive and exhaustive list of all known malware threats that allows the security program to recognize and keep the attacking threat from infecting the computer. This list is constantly updated – whenever a new type of virus is created, the developers of the antivirus add it to the database. However, those updates don’t happen immediately – it takes time before the new virus is researched and added to the database of the antivirus. It also takes time before the user’s antivirus program receives the update that includes the information about the new threat. Until then, it is likely that the security tool won’t be able to stop the newly released threat. Because of this, attacks from recently released threats like GootLoader (also known as zero-day attacks) are so dangerous and unpredictable. Oftentimes, people don’t even realize that their PCs have been attacked. Furthermore, some Trojans could start processes in the computer that block the antivirus and/or prevent the user from installing a new security program.

SUMMARY:

NameGootLoader
TypeTrojan
Detection Tool

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Please follow all the steps below in order to remove GootLoader!

How to remove GootLoader

  1. First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
  2. Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find GootLoader in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select GootLoader from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

What we suggest you do first is, check the list of programs that are presently installed on the infected device and uninstall any rogue software that you find there:

  • From the Start Menu, navigate to Control Panel ->>> Programs and Features ->>> Uninstall a Program.
  • Next, carefully search for unfamiliar programs or programs that have been installed recently and could be related to GootLoader.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to GootLoader.
  • If a notification appears on your screen when you try to uninstall a specific questionable program prompting you to just alter it or repair it, make sure you choose NO and complete the steps from the removal wizard.

Remove GootLoader from Chrome

  1. Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
  2. Go to more tools
  3. Now select extensions
  4. Remove the GootLoader extension
  • Once you open Chrome, click on the three-dots icon to open the browser’s menu, go to More Tools/ More Options, and then to Extensions.
  • Again, find the items on that page that could be linked to GootLoader and/or that might be causing problems in the browser and delete them.
  • Afterwards, go to this folder: Computer > C: > Users > *Your User Account* > App Data > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data. In there, you will find a folder named Default – you should change its name to Backup Default and restart the PC.
  • Note that the App Data folder is normally hidden so you’d have to first make the hidden files and folders on your PC visible before you can access it.

How to get rid of GootLoader on FF/Edge/etc.

  1. Open the browser and select the menu icon.
  2. From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
  3. Look for the GootLoader extension
  4. Get rid of GootLoader by removing it from extensions

If using Firefox:

  • Open Firefox
  • Select the three parallel lines menu and go to Add-ons.
  • Find the unwanted add-on and delete it from the browser – if there is more than one unwanted extension, remove all of them.
  • Go to the browser menu again, select Options, and then click on Home from the sidebar to the left.
  • Check the current addresses for the browser’s homepage and new-tab page and change them if they are currently set to address(es) you don’t know or trust.

If using MS Edge/IE:

  • Start Edge
  • Select the browser menu and go to Extensions.
  • Find and uninstall any Edge extensions that look undesirable and unwanted.
  • Select Settings from the browser menu and click on Appearance.
  • Check the new-tab page address of the browser and if it has been modified by “GootLoader” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete GootLoader

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the GootLoader process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete GootLoader
  • Access the Task Manager by pressing together the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then selecting Task Manager.
  • Open Processes and there try to find a process with the name of the unwanted software. If you find it, select it with the right button of the mouse and click on the Open File Location option.
  • If you don’t see a “GootLoader” process in the Task Manager, look for another suspicious process with an unusual name. It is likely that the unwanted process would be using lots of RAM and CPU so pay attention to the number of resources each process is using.
  • Tip: If you think you have singled out the unwanted process but are not sure, it’s always a good idea to search for information about it on the Internet – this should give you a general idea if the process is a legitimate one from a regular program or from your OS or if it is indeed likely linked to the adware.
  • If you find another suspicious process, open its File Location too.
  • Once in the File Location folder for the suspicious process, start testing all of the files that are stored there by dragging them to our free online scanner available below.
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    • If the scanner finds malware in any of the files, return to the Processes tab in the Task Manager, select the suspected process, and then select the End Process option to quit it.
    • Go back to the folder where the files of that process are located and delete all of the files that you are allowed to delete. If all files get deleted normally, exit the folder and delete that folder too. If one or more of the files showed an error message when you tried to delete them, leave them for now and return to try to delete them again once you’ve completed the rest of the guide.

    How to Uninstall GootLoader

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for GootLoader in there
    4. Uninstall GootLoader from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Hostingcloud. racing-related entries from the Registry. The easiest way to do this is to open the Registry Editor app (type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter) and then open a Find dialog (CTRL+F key combination) where you have to type the name of the threat. 
    • Perform a search by clicking on the Find Next button and delete any detected results. Do this as many times as needed until no more results are found. 
    • After that, to ensure that there are no remaining entries lined to GootLoader in the Registry, go manually to the following directories and delete them:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Random Directory. 
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Random
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Random
    How to know if GootLoader has attacked your computer?


    If you have any suspicion that this virus may be in your computer but you are not sure because your antivirus hasn’t warned you about potential threats (or maybe you don’t have an antivirus), then you must pay close attention to the potential Trojan horse symptoms. Sometimes, a virus like GootLoader or Altruistics may cause some pretty serious disturbances that cannot go unnoticed – such are for example the infamous Blue Screen of Death crashes that are oftentimes associated with Trojan viruses operating in the system. However, it’s also possible that the Trojan shows almost no symptoms or that its symptoms are far more subtle. For instance, some Trojans may moderately increase the use of CPU, RAM, and GPU on your computer, and start different processes that you could notice in the Task Manager’s processes tab. However, unless you are looking for such signs, you may never notice that there’s anything unusual going on in your system. In general, any type of irregularity in the system could be tied to the presence of a Trojan on the computer. Therefore, if you have even the slightest suspicion that this virus may be on your PC, go for the removal instructions in the following lines so that if GootLoader is indeed in the system, it will be removed.


    About the author

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    Brandon Skies

    Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.

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