Silence Trojan Removal

This article can help you to remove Silence Virus. The step by step removal works for every version of Microsoft Windows.

The Trojan horses are one of the worst cyber infections out there. They slither into your device unnoticed and before you know it, they wreak havoc. The newest member of their malicious family is a Trojan named Silence. This parasite is rather interesting. It targets bank institutions located mainly in Russia, Armenia, and Malaysia. Researchers discovered that the virus steals personally identifiable information from the corrupted devices. The ID of the bank employees, their addresses together with a list of the programs installed on their machines, IP and MAC addresses, system settings, etc. are recorded and sent to the hackers. Researchers believe that Silence Trojan is the first wave of an incoming, possibly massive, cyber attack. They believe that the collected information will be used for the creation of convincing spam campaigns. The Silence Trojan is a serious breach of the banks’ security systems. This Trojan can also steal usernames and passwords. It corrupts communication apps and networks. No one is immune. Even though the Trojan targets banks and organizations, it has also infected private users. Silence Trojan is a serious threat. It is extremely invasive, it can root deep into the infected device. It corrupts roots structures of the OS, including files, whole directories, and registries. Once on board, it is hard to be removed. We recommend you to use a powerful anti-virus program. Run a full-system-scan and let the app clean all suspicious elements.

 

How did I get infected with?

The Silence Trojan is spread via phishing emails. The crooks use deceptive language and a lot of trickery to lure the user into downloading the infected attachments. You must have heard it a thousand times, yet, we will repeat it once again. Don’t open emails from strangers. Verify the sender first. You can do so by entering the questionable email address into some search engine. If it was used for shady business, someone might have complained online. Unfortunately. This technique is not flawless. New email addresses are created every day. If you are a target of the first wave of spam messages, there may not be evidence online. So, double check the sender. The crooks tend to write on behalf of well-known organizations, companies, banks, post offices, police departments, etc. When you receive such an email, go to the organization’s official website and compare the emails listed there with the one you have received a letter from. If they don’t match, delete the pretender immediately. Also, when you open an email, opt for red flags. The reliable companies would use your real name to address you. If you receive a message starting with “Dear Customer” or “Dear Friend,” proceed with caution. The key to a secure and infection free computer is caution. Always do your due diligence. Keeping a trustworthy anti-virus app on board is also a good idea!

Why is this dangerous?

The Silence Trojan is a giant hole in your security wall. This virus can run on your OS for weeks, even months, without being detected. It can use that time to record sensitive information about you. There are numerous possible outcomes. All of which are extremely unpleasant. The hackers can use the data to blackmail you. Or, they may sell it to third parties. If Silence Trojan manages to record your online banking details, say goodbye to your savings. The hackers are after your money. One way or another. Silence Trojan targets financial institutions for a reason. The hackers are looking for a way to steal money. Be advised. The virus may have recorded your address or phone number. The hackers may continue the attack. For example, they may call you on the phone, pretending to be your financial adviser or a bank employee. Be extremely careful. Question everything! Silence Trojan proves that no one is safe anymore.

Manual Silence Removal Instructions

The Silence infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Silence infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Silence related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Silence startup location

STEP 3: Delete Silence traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Silence related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Silence startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Silence virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

Step 4: Undo the possible damage done by Silence

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Silence, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

 

• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Silence Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible virus leftovers or temporary files.