Do you know what Ghostadmin is?
Ghostadmin is a malicious backdoor that can enter any system out there with the intention to steal sensitive information. Of course, there is a far bigger chance that the people behind this program target big corporation systems, but one cannot rule out the possibility of a personal computer infection, too. A backdoor infection is rather demoralizing because it is a lot harder to remove Ghostadmin from the affected computer than some adware program or a browser hijacker. Nevertheless, it is important to do everything you can to protect your computer and your personal information from malicious exploitation.
The infection is rather new, as it was first discovered in January 17th, 2017. This program got into the security radar because it managed to infect at least two companies so far, stealing tons of important data. What’s more, it is sometimes hard to know what to expect from this backdoor because there is an extensive list of the actions it can perform, but whatever it does depends on the commands it receives from its command & control center (C&C). The connection between the program and its C&C is established behind the user’s back, and then the hackers can make the infection do whatever they want it to do.
Ghostadmin spreads in a way similar to the one used by ransomware infections, namely: spam email attachments. While most of the spam messages do not get through to your main inbox (they will land in the Junk mail folder), some of them (especially those that are crafted really well) could still find their way into your main inbox. These messages will look like notifications from online stores and perhaps financial institutions, so it might look like something legal, making unsuspecting users download and open the files that come with them without any second thought. If any of the attached files is the installer for this backdoor, your system automatically gets infected.
We would like to mention that there are at least few ways to avoid getting infected with Ghostadmin. First, you can choose to delete the spam email before you even download the attachment. Of course, not everyone can understand that an email message might be carrying a malicious infection. However, if you are not sure whether the file you downloaded is safe or not, you can always scan it with the SpyHunter free scanner. In fact, it would be a good idea to scan most of the files you download; just to be sure there is nothing dangerous about them.
As mentioned, the backdoor may do quite a lot of things, depending on the commands it receives from the C&C. The C&C server is an IRC channel, and once the connection is established, the hackers can issue orders to all the infected bots. Then Ghostadmin can interact with your files; browse various websites, and even record audio files, thus successfully breaching your privacy. This kind of behavior is even more threatening if the infection enters a corporate computer system because this way hackers could easily steal corporate secrets, thus inducing substantial losses.
The list of commands that can be issued is extensive, but to illustrate that we can mention a few of them. For example, the hackers can issue an order for Ghostadmin to download a remote file from a given website, put your monitor in sleep mode, take screenshots, kill a running process, copy files, and even get Windows IP configuration. Although the program is very intrusive, extensive research shows that this backdoor has not infected that many computers, compared to other programs from similar malware families.
It goes without saying that one must remove Ghostadmin immediately. You will find the manual removal instructions below, but it might be hard to delete this infection on your own because the backdoor is bound to regularly change the directories and filenames, to avoid detection and removal.
The most efficient way to get rid of Ghostadmin is to invest in a licensed security tool that would remove the infection automatically. A computer security tool of your choice will take care of all the files and process that might be associated with the infection. Not to mention that it would also help you ensure your system’s safety in the future. So do what is best to you and your system.
How to Delete Ghostadmin
- Press Win+R and the Run prompt will open.
- Type %PUBLIC% into the Open box and click OK.
- Remove the GhostAdmin folder from the director.
- Press Win+R again and enter %AppData%. Press OK.
- Remove the Roamingghostadmin folder.
- Run a full system scan with the security tool you prefer.
In non-techie terms:
Ghostadmin is a dangerous infection that usually arrives at your computer via spam email attachments. If you are not an experienced computer, it might be too challenging to attempt removing the program on your own, so you will do yourself a favor if you acquire a powerful antispyware program and use it to delete the backdoor from your system. Not to mention that you have to ensure your computer remains protected against similar threats in the future, so keep your antispyware tool updated all the time.