Do you know what AdvisorsBot is?
AdvisorsBot is a dangerous Trojan that can steal various information from the infected computers. However, it would seem for the time being the malicious application’s developers are targeting only devices belonging to hotels, restaurants, and other organizations alike. Still, given the malware seems to be distributed via malicious email attachments it could be easily used to attack home users as well, although as we just said so far it does not look like the hackers are planning on doing it. Nonetheless, we believe it is best to know about such threats before they start to spread among users. In fact, at the end of the article, we will even add a removal guide showing how one could get rid of AdvisorsBot in case it manages to infect the system. For more information about its deletion and working manner, we would recommend reading the rest of the article.
It looks like computers infected with AdvisorsBot have all received infected email attachments. Our computer security specialists say it should be malicious Microsoft Word documents. For example, the workers from the targeted hotel could receive emails saying it is from a customer. The text may claim the customer is being asked to pay too much for his stay or that he has any other problems. Next, to the email, there should be the malicious text document, which the message might say is a receipt or any other material that would explain the customer’s problem. This only an example scenario as they may vary depending on the attacked organization. In any case, it would be advisable not to open any files without first checking if the sender is an actual organization’s customer or investigating the message in more detail to see if it does not raise suspicion. Needless to say, for more protection, the computers should be guarded by reputable antimalware tools.
Apparently, after the infected document is launched AdvisorsBot can immediately start spying on the user as it does not need to settle in or in other words create additional data on the device. The Trojan runs through PowerShell, which is a Windows command-line shell used for system administrators. By doing this, the malicious application manages to run various commands, for example, systeminfo, ipconfig /all, netstat –f, and so on. The Trojan might be able to take screenshots and gather various information, although computer security specialists noticed the hackers are mostly interested in the user’s Outlook account details. No doubt, the consequences could be severe if the cybercriminals behind AdvisorsBot manage to steal sensitive data. Therefore, it is crucial to get rid of the malware as fast as possible.
To delete AdvisorsBot manually, users have to find the infected email attachment they launched before the malware appeared on the system. It could be any text document downloaded to Desktop, Downloads, or other folders alike. The removal guide you can find a bit below this text will show how to access these folders and erase the malicious file. It might be faster and safer to use a reliable antimalware tool as in such case you would only need to scan the computer and press the given removal button to eliminate detected threats.
Erase AdvisorsBot
- Click Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously.
- Pick Task Manager.
- Take a look at the Processes tab.
- Locate a process associated with this malicious program.
- Choose the process and press the End Task button.
- Click Windows Key+E.
- Navigate to the suggested paths:
%TEMP%
%USERPROFILE%Desktop
%USERPROFILE%Downloads - Find a file that was opened when the system got infected, right-click the malicious file and select Delete.
- Leave File Explorer.
- Empty Recycle bin.
- Restart the computer.
In non-techie terms:
AdvisorsBot is a Trojan designed to spy on the infected computer and gather particular information available on it. At the moment of writing, it is known the malware targets only various organizations and not regular users, although there is not knowing if with time it will not be used to spy on them as well. This is why our researchers have prepared the removal guide available below so users who encounter the threat would know what to do to eliminate it manually. Of course, it might be safer to use a reputable antimalware tool instead; as finding the malicious application’s source could be complicated. Like explained in the text, the Trojan might enter the system after launching an infected email attachment, which is why we strongly recommend not to risk your computer’s safety by opening data received from unknown senders or under suspicious circumstances.