This page aims to help you remove InstallCore Trojan Malware. These InstallCore removal instructions work for every version of Windows.
In today’s article, we will be talking about a malicious virus of the Trojan horse category known as InstallCore. If a Trojan horse such as this one has gotten inside your PC, you must make sure to remove the malware ASAP because there are a whole lot of problems that such a virus can cause. In this article, we will give you a general idea about what a Trojan horse virus can be used for as well as what ways there are to detect it. Additionally, we will also teach you how to protect your machine from malware attacks in the future. For those of you who are currently seeking help to remove InstallCore from their PC’s, you can find instructions on how to do it yourself below the current article. Once you’ve finished reading here, head to the removal guide and complete all of the steps for maximum results.
Potential Trojan horse uses
Trojan horse malware is one of the most widely spread types of illegal and harmful programs. Viruses of this category can be used for many different tasks depending on the goal of the hacker, who controls the malware. The following examples are only the most common and frequently encountered ones, but know that Trojans can also be used in other ways, as well.
- System damage – This is probably one of the most typical things Trojan horse viruses are used for. Once inside the computer, they can crash it, corrupt or delete crucial system files and even format the whole hard disk.
- Espionage/surveillance – Malware like InstallCore is also sometimes used to spy on the user. A lot of different techniques can be used here. For example, the Trojan can use the keylogging method to monitor what the user types on their keyboard. Another possibility is when the virus enables the hacker to see what’s happening on the user’s screen. Trojan horses can also be used for stalking by employing the personal webcam of the user and spying directly on them.
- Ransomware attacks – Many cyber-criminals who use Ransomware to blackmail their victims tend to utilize Trojans as a way to get the Ransomware inside the user’s computer. First the Trojan infects the targeted PC and then it provides a gateway for the Ransomware inside the computer’s system without the victim having any idea of what’s going on.
- Use of resources – A Trojan such as InstallCore can might also be able to use the resources of the infected computer for different shady tasks like mining bitcoins, sending out spam messages, infecting other PC’s connected to the same network, etc.
Knowing when InstallCore has infected your machine
Detecting a Trojan is not an easy task, especially if you’re trying to do it without having a good antivirus at your disposal. Therefore, the best advice that we can give you here in order to increase your chances of spotting a Trojan horse attack would be to have your machine equipped with reliable, high-quality antivirus software. Note that oftentimes, a Trojan horse infection will cause no symptoms or the symptoms would be very difficult to spot. Here, we will give you a general idea about what you can expect and should be on the lookout for but note that in many cases there will be little to no signs of the attack which is why you’d need to have an antivirus.
- Crashes and the Blue Screen of Death are commonly associated with Trojans and can be considered a potential symptom. Just note that a BSOD crash can also be caused by other problems as well that have nothing to do with Trojans.
- Frequent errors and overall system instability on your PC is yet another thing that might be caused by viruses like InstallCore.
- If random files and folders on your computer are getting deleted, replaced or renamed, this might be due to a Trojan horse infection.
- Some Trojans require high amounts of CPU and RAM in order to function so if you notice that your machine is using unusually high amounts of its resources, know that you might be dealing with some sort of malware.
How to better protect your PC
Whether you currently have InstallCore on your computer or not, it is still important that you know how to fend off Trojans in the future, which is why in this last paragraph of our article, we have prepared a couple of basic yet very important tips that we advise you to follow from now on.
- If you visit a website that appears to be shady, it probably is something you should leave and never re-visit. Potentially harmful sites are not easy to discern and you should stay away from those.
- Your e-mail is a potential target for malware attacks. Hackers oftentimes distribute their viruses through spam messages, so be careful not to open one such message when checking your inbox.
- Avoid turning off your firewall and keep both your antivirus and OS fully updated at all times. If you don’t have an antivirus program, be sure to get one right away.
- If you have Adware or a Browser Hijacker on your PC that fills your browser with all sorts of obnoxious pop-ups and banners, be sure to remove that program, since some of those online ads might be potentially harmful.
SUMMARY:
Name | InstallCore |
Type | Trojan |
Danger Level | High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware) |
Symptoms | Generally, any sort of unusual or weird PC behavior such as common BSOD crashes or overall productivity slow-down could be considered a Trojan horse symptom. |
Distribution Method | Suspicious Internet offers, obstructive browser ads, spam junk mail messages and illegal and/or potentially malicious websites. |
Detection Tool | We generally recommend SpyHunter or a similar anti-malware program that is updated daily. |
InstallCore Trojan Malware Removal
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!
We get asked this a lot, so we are putting it here: Removing parasite manually may take hours and damage your system in the process. If you want a fast safe solution, we recommend SpyHunter. Keep in mind, SpyHunter’s malware & virus scanner is free. To remove the infection, you'll need to purchase its full version. More information about SpyHunter and steps to uninstall. >> Click to Download Spyhunter. If you don't want this software, continue with the guide below.
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:

This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users. You can find its full-page version at: https://howtoremove.guide/online-virus-scanner/
Scan Results
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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.
Keep in mind, SpyHunter’s malware & virus scanner is free. To remove the infection, you'll need to purchase its full version. More information about SpyHunter and steps to uninstall.
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 didn’t help you, download the anti-virus program we recommended or ask us in the comments for guidance!