Do you know what Vpntop is?
Vpntop might be introduced to you as a beneficial program, but our research team classifies it as a Trojan, and it is recommended that you delete it from your operating system immediately. Whether you have downloaded this infection from an official download page or a third-party source, or it slithered into your operating system without your knowledge, keeping it installed is risky for the health of your computer. Our research has revealed that this threat can exhaust the CPU to the point when your PC overheats and, potentially, even fries up. Needless to say, if you do not want to put your device at risk, you need to remove Vpntop as soon as possible. After all, it does not offer useful services, and so keeping it installed will not benefit you in any manner.
According to our research team, some users might install the suspicious Vpntop themselves from the official website, vpntop.com. On this site, the program is introduced to users as a tool that can help “bypass government/ISP censorship.” If that is the kind of tool you are looking for, this Trojan might seem like a great option; especially considering that it offers a free trial. It is suggested that the tool is the "Best VPN for China, Best VPN for UAE Dubai," but, in reality, such a VPN does not even exist. If you sign up for a free trial, you download a file called “shadowsocks.exe.” This file silently installs a Bitcoin miner file called “websocks.exe.” This file is dropped to the %HOMEDRIVE%\Applications\ folder, and a task called “ShadowsocksS” is created in the %WINDIR%\System32\ folder. This task file runs the .exe file when the user logs in. The miner silently connects to mine2.12finance.com, and the mining of Bitcoins begins.
Although the mining of Bitcoins does not affect the user on a virtual security level because the process is not considered to be malicious, it can affect your computer because the CPU is constantly working at 100%, which can slow down the machine and cause technical issues. As discussed earlier, this could even cause irreversible damage if the system overheats to the point where physical elements are damaged. This is especially dangerous on those machines that already have issues with overheating. Even if you think that Vpntop is harmless, you should start suspecting something when your PC stars running disorderly or crashes due to overheating. In cases like this, do not overwrite this for a technical problem right away. First, employ a legitimate malware scanner to check if you need to malware. A reliable malware scanner will inform you that you need to delete Vpntop and the Bitcoin miner, but it might also inform you about other threats. If the Trojan was downloaded via a software bundle, you might be dealing with all kinds of malicious infections that require removal.
Vpntop is not a real tool, and it was created to conceal a Bitcoin miner that can exhaust the CPU and lead to system crashes. On top of all that, you do not gain anything from this because bitcoins are mined for an unknown party (most likely, for the creator of the bogus VPN tool. Without a doubt, you need to delete Vpntop as soon as possible, and we recommend installing anti-malware software because it will automatically erase the Trojan with other potentially active threats. If you are interested in eliminating this threat manually, you can follow the instructions below. If you need help with the elimination process, do not hesitate to communicate with us via the comments section.
Remove Vpntop from Windows
- Right-click and Delete the file named shadowsocks.exe from its location (if you have downloaded it yourself, you should find it; if you cannot find it, use a legitimate malware scanner).
- Simultaneously tap Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch Task Manager.
- Move to the Processes tab, select the process named websocks.exe, and select End process.
- Simultaneously tap Win+E to launch Windows Explorer.
- Enter %HOMEDRIVE%\Applications\ into the bar at the top.
- Right-click and Delete the file named websocks.exe.
- Enter %WINDIR%\System32\ into the bar at the top.
- Right-click and Delete the task named ShadowsocksS.
- Empty Recycle Bin and then do not forget to perform a full system scan to check for any leftovers.
In non-techie terms:
If you were tricked into downloading Vpntop, you need to get rid of this infection as soon as possible. It poses as a VPN tool, but, in reality, it was created to place a disruptive Bitcoin miner that can use up to 100% of your system’s CPU. Because this infection could cause overheating, it could damage your machine. That is one of the reasons you should remove Vpntop as quickly as possible. If you are not sure you can get rid of malware using the guide below or if multiple infections are found on your operating system, we strongly recommend installing anti-malware software. Do not be afraid to invest in this software because it will keep malicious infections away in the future, and you will not need to worry about encountering malware every time you turn on your computer.