ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected

ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected

“ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” is a browser hijacker application that can silently sneak in the system through different automatic updates, browser add-ons or as an added component in free software bundles. Once inside, “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” can make changes in the settings of any browser (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Firefox) installed on the device and then start to spam the screen with various ads.

For instance, the most common advertising materials include pop-ups, page-redirect prompts, clickbait content, and banners. The main purpose of the application is to promote some third-party pages and ads for pay-per-click profit. For this reason, the so-called browser hijacker typically changes the browser’s settings and sets some new homepage and a sponsored search engine which automatically start to redirect users’ searches to some third-party sites and ads without asking for permission.

This activity is aimed at increasing the traffic to certain domains and increasing their popularity. If you try to uninstall those changes, however, you may find that they would simply not go away no matter what you try provided that the hijacker is still active. This is because “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” can silently and covertly gain permission to override any changes to its imposed settings that the user may try to make (such as their preferred homepage or search engine).

Browser hijacker apps or extensions are basically designed to reject any changes made by the user in order to keep doing what they are programmed to do – namely, advertise sponsored content on the screen of the user. If you are worried about the nature of such applications, we would like to clarify that browser hijackers aren’t some nasty viruses or pieces of malware (such as ransomware and Trojans).

They are tools of the online marketing industry and are not considered as illegal by the law. Yet, most security experts and most web users consider them potentially unwanted and seek methods to uninstall them and permanently remove their ads and browser changes. And there are enough understandable reasons for that.

It can be terribly irritating to find that you cannot use your preferred search engine and that your browser constantly spams you with various sponsored ads without letting you have control over your searches. But what can be even more disturbing is the fact that the browser hijacker may track your browsing habits and send that data to a remote server.

Such software may be interested in your browsing history, search queries, how much time you spend online, what ads you click on, your IP address and more. The information gathered is necessary for the implementation of behavioral marketing strategies. For instance, you can start seeing different online ads that may appear to be related to your interests and recent online searches. You may also get prompted to click on different unfamiliar sites or may get automatically redirected to certain web locations with sketchy content where landing on hidden malware such as ransomware, spyware or Trojans, is a real possibility.

In some cases, the gathered information can be shared with or sold to third parties or ad other networks for profits which may potentially lead to confidentiality issues. That’s why you should not leave an applications like “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” and Goodcaptcha.top on your computer. Uninstall the browser hijacker with the help of the instructions above as soon as you notice its presence.

SUMMARY:

“ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” Removal

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 (the “Details” Tab on Win 8 and 10). 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:

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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.

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.

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.

Open the start menu and search for Network Connections (On Windows 10 you just write it after clicking the Windows button), press enter.

1. Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click  Properties.
2. The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
3. Click on Advanced —> the DNS tab. Remove everything here (if there is something) —> OK.

• After you complete this step, the threat will be gone from your browsers. Finish the next step as well or it may reappear on a system reboot.

Right click on the browser’s shortcut —> Properties.

NOTE: We are showing Google Chrome, but you can do this for Firefox and IE (or Edge).

Properties —–> Shortcut. In Target, remove everything after .exe.

  Remove “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” from Internet Explorer:

Open IE, click   —–> Manage Add-ons.

Find the threat —> Disable. Go to  —–> Internet Options —> change the URL to whatever you use (if hijacked) —> Apply.

 Remove “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” from Firefox:

Open Firefox, click    ——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.

Remove “ZeuS.2022 Trojan Detected” from Chrome:

Close Chrome. Navigate to:

 C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data. There is a Folder called “Default” inside:

Rename it to Backup Default. Restart Chrome.

Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.

Inside, press CTRL and F together and type the threat’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!