Launcher.exe
This page aims to help you remove Launcher.exe. These Launcher.exe removal instructions work for every version of Windows.
Trojans are among the most infamous and sophisticated computer viruses known to man. Today’s article is dedicated to a specific worm variant called Launcher.exe. The Bluber.A worm is among the latest Trojan horse viruses to be reported and if you have found that it has made its way onto your PC, then keep reading. We have created this article and the detailed removal guide that will follow below it with the intention of informing our readers about the consequences that this malware group may have, how you are likely to contract it and the way in which you can locate and remove it from your system. The information contained here will help you gain better insight into the issue you’re dealing with and the ways in which you can protect yourself from its kind in the future.
What are Trojans used for?
One of the key traits of Trojans in general is that they are multipurpose tools that can be used for a variety of harmful activities. You are probably keen on knowing the exact purpose of the Launcher.exe and Altruistics on your machine, and though we cannot tell you that for certain, we can outlines the most common usages for these particular virus types.
- Trojans are often used for the purpose of corrupting or deleting data on the victims’ computers. This can be done by a variety of means and for even more purposes, like professional reasons, such as the competition trying to get rid of valuable information that you may be in possession of. In fact, a Trojan may easily format all your disks and drives, wiping them clean of everything you had stored on them.
- Spying and theft. Trojans like Launcher.exe can act as the eyes and ears of hackers on your PC. They can tap into your webcam, as well as your microphone to watch you and listen to your remotely. That way the criminals behind Bluber.A worm can gain an understanding of your surroundings, gather personal and professional information about you or simply anything that may give them an advantage over you. This could be done for purposes of stalking – there are enough crazies out there. Alternatively, your home may be monitored as a subject of a potential robbery; you yourself may fall victim to some physical crime. These are all very serious potential consequences, which are not to be taken lightly.
- Resource abuse. A Trojan horse virus like Launcher.exe can also be planted in your machine with the intent of using your PC’s resources for whatever purpose. For example, your computer may be involved in botnets and used to distribute spam or infect other computer within its network. This may seem rather unlikely to you, but you should now that roughly 15% of all computers worldwide are actually used as bots – that’s a considerable number if you think about it. Another potential reason may involve mining cryptocurrencies and sending them to the hackers behind the virus. Bitcoins, for example, have become a fairly weighty online currency that is gaining ever more popularity.
- Backdoor for other malware. Trojans can easily serve as the ‘middle man’ between you and other viruses, such as ransomware. It can first invade your machine to then download the other virus onto it.
Where can you get a Worm from?
The distribution tactics for Trojans are just as diverse as their uses. Social engineering is a common means of tricking people into downloading viruses like Launcher.exe and others onto their machines. In the case of this malware type specifically, spam emails are arguably the most successful distribution method. They can be disguised as messages from well-known companies and online vendors or even utility companies. There will often be some form of attachment in the email, or a hyperlink, and the mail will be prompting you to either download and open the attachment or follow the link. Furthermore, you may also run into Launcher.exe on some shady and suspicious-looking website. It can be either hidden in some form of downloadable content, such as a torrent file, a game, a movie, etc. Alternatively, you may find it embedded in an online advertisement, like a popup or a banner. We call those malvertisements and by clicking on one of them you will automatically download the malware that was injected in it.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Launcher.exe |
| Type | Trojan |
| Danger Level | High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware) |
| Symptoms | Trojans rarely ever exhibit any symptoms and can go unnoticed for long periods of time. |
| Distribution Method | Mainly via spam emails, malvertisements, infected downloadable content, such as torrent files. |
| Detection Tool |
Remove Launcher.exe 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 didn’t help you, download the anti-virus program we recommended or ask us in the comments for guidance!
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