TrustSoldier Uninstall Guide (Removal Guide)

Posted by Lawrence Abrams on October 9, 2009 @ 08:13 PM · Views: 7,706

 

What this infection does:

TrustSoldier is a new scareware program that is installed and promoted through the use of Trojans. When the Trojan installs TrustSoldier it will configure it to start automatically when your computer starts. The Trojan will also install numerous harmless files that have random names onto your computer. When TrustSoldier starts it will scan your computer and detect these harmless files as malware and will state that you need to purchase the program to remove them. Though these files are harmless, it detects them as malware to try and trick you into thinking they are infections so that you will potentially purchase TrustSoldier. It goes without saying that you should not purchase this program.

 

TrustSoldier screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 6 images you can view.

 

While TrustSoldier is running you will also see numerous security notices appear on your desktop warning you that your computer has a security problem. These alerts will contain messages ranging from warnings that your computer is under attack to a message stating that an active malware has been detected running on your computer. The Trojan will also display a Windows Security Center window that is an imposter of the legitimate Microsoft version. The difference is that the imposter will state that you should register TrustSoldier in order to protect your computer, while the legitimate version does not recommend any particular security software. Just like the fake scan results, these alerts are just another tactic to scare you into thinking that you are infected.

If you find that TrustSoldier is on your computer then please use the steps below to remove this infection and any related malware. If you have already purchased this program then we suggest you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges.

 

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

 

Advanced information:

View TrustSoldier files.
View TrustSoldier Registry Information.

 

Entries for this program found in the Add or Remove Programs control panel:

TrustSoldier

 

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

 

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [626ac87.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\626ac87.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [TrustSoldier] C:\Program Files\TrustSoldier Software\TrustSoldier\TrustSoldier.exe -min

 

Guide Updates:

10/09/09 - Initial guide creation.

 

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Automated Removal Instructions for TrustSoldier using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:

 

1. Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
   
   
2. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:
   
   Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link (Download page will open in a new window)
   
   


3. Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
   
   
4. Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
   
   
5. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish button.
   
   
6. MBAM will now automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program before performing a scan. As MBAM will automatically update itself after the install, you can press the OK button to close that box and you will now be at the main program as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. On the Scanner tab, make sure the the Perform full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for TrustSoldier related files.
   
   
8. MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the image below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with the TrustSoldier removal process.
   
   
10. You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
    
    
11. A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown as seen in the image below. Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.
    
    
12. When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad window.
    
    
13. You can now exit the MBAM program.
    

Your computer should now be free of the TrustSoldier program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.

If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below:

Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help

 

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Associated TrustSoldier Files:

c:\Program Files\TrustSoldier Software
c:\Program Files\TrustSoldier Software\TrustSoldier
c:\Program Files\TrustSoldier Software\TrustSoldier\TrustSoldier.exe
c:\Program Files\TrustSoldier Software\TrustSoldier\uninstall.exe
c:\WINDOWS\10025hacktoo970az.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\10486virz935a.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\10917zpamb9t75c.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\system32\9a2stealz125.dll
c:\WINDOWS\system32\9b0zdownloa5er1685.cpl
c:\WINDOWS\system32\9z25vir2635.dll
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\TrustSoldier.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\TrustSoldier\1 TrustSoldier.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\TrustSoldier
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\TrustSoldier\2 Homepage.lnk
c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\TrustSoldier\3 Uninstall.lnk
%Temp%\626ac87.exe

File Location Notes:

%Temp% refers to the Windows Temp folder. By default, this is C:\Windows\Temp for Windows 95/98/ME, C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\<Current User>\LOCAL SETTINGS\Temp for Windows 2000/XP, and C:\Users\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Temp for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

 

Associated TrustSoldier Windows Registry Information:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TrustSoldier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\TrustSoldier
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\TrustSoldier
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "626ac87.exe"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "TrustSoldier"