How DO I Get Infected with ShopBrain

How DO I Get Infected with ShopBrain

ShopBrain virus may be diffused by making use of exploit kit such as BlackHole, which has the capability to install the virus into a targeted computer using found security vulnerabilities.
ShopBrain virus may be delivered by some “free” applications coming from distrusted Internet resources.
ShopBrain virus may be distributed by some malicious websites which may contain suspicious commercial or limited adult contents. Some standard web pages like P2P file sharing websites may also be attacked and used by hackers to spread the components of the virus.
ShopBrain virus is also prevalent on some links or attachments embedded in a spam email.

Manual ShopBrain Removal Guides:

Manual removal is a complicated and risky process, so please back up all important data before making any changes on your computer. Here are some instructions to handle with the Trojan horse manually, and be cautious when going through the following steps.

1. Restart the infected computer, tap F8 key constantly when computer is booting back up to get safe mode options on the screen, use arrow keys to highlight the option you want to enter then press E/Enter key. * Usually, this rogue program will be disabled from automatically starting in safe modes. Users will be able to fix the problem without constant blocks from the virus.

2. Use Ctrl+Alt+Delete key combination to bring up Task Manager.
Navigate to ‘Process’ tab and select items associated with Windows Warding Module.
Press ‘End’ to finish the process.

3. Access Windows Start Menu and navigate to the Control Panel.

4. Click Uninstall a program or Add and remove a program.

5. Open Registry Editor (in Windows XP, go to Start Menu, run, type in “Regedit” and press OK; in Windows 7, Windows Vista & Windows 8, go to Start menu, Search, type in “Regedit”), find out the following ShopBrain registry entries and delete.

ShopBrain has typically the following processes in memory:

%AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe
ShopBrain creates the following files in the system:

%Desktopdir%\ShopBrain.lnk
%Programs%\ShopBrain\ShopBrain.lnk
ShopBrain creates the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ShopBrain\DisplayIcon %AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe,0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ShopBrain
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ShopBrain\UninstallString “%AppData%[RANDOM CHARACTERS][RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe” -u
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\[RANDOM CHARACTERS] %AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ShopBrain\ShortcutPath “%AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe” -u
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ShopBrain\DisplayName ShopBrain

6. Manually remove added extensions and modified browser settings

For IE (Internet Explorer)

Remove Extensions or Add-ons

Start IE and click on Tools or gear icon in IE 9 and navigate to Manage Add-ons.
Select useless or unknown add-on entries related to ShopBrain pop-up and either Remove or Disable them.
Restart IE, so that steps could take effect.
Modify browser settings

Start IE and click on Tools or gear icon in IE 9 and select to Internet Option.
Now navigate to General tab > Change Search Defaults > Settings.
Now select your favorite search provider from the list of preferred ones and click on Set as default.
Restart IE, so that steps could take effect.
For Google Chrome

Remove Extensions or Add-ons

Start Chrome and then click on Wrench or 3 Horizontal Bar icon at the top left corner of the browser.
Next click Tools & then on Extensions.
Now search for extension named ShopBrain pop-up or similar, select it and delete it by clicking Trash icon.
Restart Chrome, so that steps could take effect.
Modify browser settings

Start Chrome and then click on Wrench or 3 Horizontal Bar icon at the top left corner of the browser.
Next click on Settings > Search > Manage Search Engines.
Now select your favorite search provider from the list of preferred ones and click on Make Default. You can also delete unwanted search engines from the list.
Restart Chrome, so that steps could take effect.
For Mozilla Firefox

Remove Extensions or Add-ons

Start Firefox and click on Tools from the top menu.
As a next step select Add-ons > Extensions.
Select useless or unknown extension from the list related to ShopBrain pop-up or similar and either Remove or Disable them.
Restart Firefox, so that steps could take effect.
Modify browser settings

Start Firefox and on the address bar at the top type about:config and hit Enter.
Now in the search box type browser.search.defaultenginename, once you find it, right click on it and select Modify.
Reset it to your favorite search engine and save it.
Next search for entry browser.search.selectedEngine and reset it to other than what is already set.
As a last step, search for entry browser.newtab.url and modify it to about:newtab if your new tab doesn’t open with your preferred site.
Restart Firefox, so that steps could take effect.

Conclusion

In summary, ShopBrain is a vicious Trojan virus that is able to cause severe damages to the infected computer and threat computer user’s privacy. Once being infected with it, the computer starts to run slower and slower. You will feel very annoyed to work in a sluggish and weird computer which will reduce the work efficiency considerably. The computer will shut down suddenly without letting you save the editing data. Moreover, the cyber criminals have the ability to collect your information including passwords and social contact details. Please remove it as early as possible if you want to keep your privacy safe.