NodeStealer
NodeStealer is a virus recognized as a Trojan Horse virus that gets distributed across the Internet with the help disguise. Threats like NodeStealer are typically disguised as seemingly safe files that users willingly download, thus allowing the malware to gain Admin privileges in the computer.
How to remove NodeStealer safely and quickly?
Trojans such as NodeStealer are far more problematic than a regular computer virus that why one needs a reliable approach in order to deal with such threats effectively. The greatest challenge is to detect the correct malicious files in the system which is not an easy task if you don’t have some advanced computer knowledge or at least a professional removal tool. You should never try to remove Trojans by deleting random files from the system because you may cause serious issues to your PC and damage the OS. That’s why we suggest you to strictly follow the steps shown in the removal guide below or use the assistance of the NodeStealer removal tool attached in the instructions.
SUMMARY:
| Name | NodeStealer |
| Type | Trojan |
| Danger Level | High (Trojans are often used as a backdoor for Ransomware) |
| Symptoms | Trojans rarely show visible symptom of their presence and are hard to detect without professional software. |
| Distribution Method | Spam messages, malicious attachments, fake ads, torrents, infected downloads, illegal websites. |
| Detection Tool |
Please follow all the steps below in order to remove NodeStealer!
How to remove NodeStealer
- First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
- Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find NodeStealer in the programs list that would show up.
- Select NodeStealer from the list and click on Uninstall.
- Follow the steps in the removal wizard.
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.
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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 NodeStealer.
- If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to NodeStealer.
- 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 NodeStealer from Chrome
- Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
- Go to more tools
- Now select extensions
- Remove the NodeStealer extension
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- 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 Runesmith.top 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 NodeStealer on FF/Edge/etc.
- Open the browser and select the menu icon.
- From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
- Look for the NodeStealer extension
- Get rid of NodeStealer by removing it from extensions
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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 “Runesmith.top” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.
How to Delete NodeStealer
- Open task manager
- Look for the NodeStealer process
- Select it and click on End task
- Open the file location to delete NodeStealer
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- 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 “Runesmith.top” 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.
- Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracyThis scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.
Drag and Drop File Here To Scan
Analyzing 0 sEach file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracyThis scanner is based on VirusTotal's API. By submitting data to it, you agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and to the sharing of your sample submission with the security community. Please do not submit files with personal information if you do not want them to be shared. - 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 NodeStealer
- Click on the home button
- Search for Startup Apps
- Look for NodeStealer in there
- Uninstall NodeStealer from Startup Apps by turning it off
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- Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any NodeStealer-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 NodeStealer 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
What is NodeStealer?
There are thousands of nasty cyber threats on the Internet but the Trojans are probably the most common and the most widespread of them all. Those harmful computer programs are also very versatile and this makes them a malware of choice for many cyber criminals, online crooks and fraudsters. On this page, we will speak about one particularly sneaky and nasty Trojan-based infection called NodeStealer and will show you how to safely remove it from your system in case that you have the misfortune to encounter it. It is very important to detect and delete this threat as soon as you notice it because the longer it remains in your PC, the greater the damage it may cause. There are many ways in which the hackers can use a Trojan like NodeStealer and PDFpower.exe against you. In most of the cases, this malware is used as a transmitter of other nasty viruses such as Ransomware, Worms or Spyware. Typically, the contamination happens with the help of various legitimate-looking and intriguing types of web content. These could be phishing emails, spam messages, infected attachments, different ads, offers and redirect links, torrents, and even software installers. The idea of the camouflage is to trick the users into believing that they are actually opening a real offer or downloading some useful application, which, in fact, contains the Trojan Horse inside. Fake system update requests and pop-up notifications may also be used as a means of spreading the infection. However, the tricks and the harmful abilities of NodeStealer don’t stop here. Keep in mind that this is a very dangerous program which has been created to cause harm and to serve the interests of its criminal creators. That’s why, once the infection has found its way inside your PC through one of its numerous transmitters, it secretly starts to launch different harmful processes in the background. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to detect and remove those harmful processes without the help of reliable security software because the Trojan rarely shows any visible symptoms which can give it away. Before you realize it, NodeStealer may track down every key that you press and take screenshots of everything that you do. This way it may steal your personal information, gain access to your banking accounts and details, or collect sensitive and embarrassing photos, videos, and other data, related to your work and your personal life. NodeStealer may also cause serious issues related to your system’s performance and stability. With its help, the hackers may gain unauthorized access to your OS and corrupt, replace or delete different files, system folders, and important components and install other malicious code.
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