Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus (Removal Guide)

If Avira Antivirus or Avira Internet Security has found a TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus, then your computer is infected with a ZeroAccess rootkit. When Avira antivirus engine will detect a file infected with the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus, will display the following alert:
“Access to file containing the virus or unwanted program ‘TR/ATRAPS.Gen2’ was blocked”

The TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan is a dangerous threat that has been circulating for several years.
In the time that TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 has been in the wild there have been a number of revisions, with modifications to its functionality, infection strategy and its persistence mechanisms on an infected machine. However, the core purpose has remained: to assume full control of the machine by adding it to the ZeroAccess botnet and to monetize the new asset by downloading additional malware.

Primarily, TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan is a kernel-mode rootkit, similar in ethos to the TDL family of rootkits. It uses advanced techniques to hide its presence, is capable of functioning on both 32 and 64-bit flavors of Windows from a single installer, contains aggressive self defense functionality and acts as a sophisticated delivery platform for other malware.

The TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus remains hidden on an infected machine while downloading more visible components that generate revenue for the botnet owners. Currently the downloaded malware is mostly aimed at sending spam and carrying out click fraud, but previously the botnet has been instructed to download other malware and it is likely that this will be the case again in the future.

TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus has been observed being distributed by exploits and programs that promote software-piracy, such as ‘keygens’ and ‘cracks’ (programs designed to bypass software licensing).

Variants of  TR/ATRAPS trojan may also be dropped or installed by other malware, including variants of the Trojan:Win32/Necurs family. The most popular variants of TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 are TR/ATRAPS.Gen1, TR/ATRAPS.Gen.A, TR/ATRAPS.Gen.B.

In the wild, newer TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 variants have been observed dropping the following two files to a chosen directory, for example, C:\recycler\s\:

• “@” – this file contains information that TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 can use to find other infected computers
• “n” – this file contains the malicious code for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication

These newer variants then make the following changes to the registry to ensure that TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 runs each time you start your computer:

In subkey: HKLM\Software\Classes\clsid\{5839fca9-774d-42a1-acda-d6a79037f57f}\InprocServer32
Modifies value: “(Default)”
From data: “\wbem\wbemess.dll”
With data: “” (for example, “c:\recycler\s\\n”)

TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 is a dangerous threat that uses advanced stealth techniques in order to hinder its detection and removal. As a consequence of being infected with this threat, you may need to repair and reconfigure some Windows security features.
Because the malware removal process for the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan is very complex, we recommend that you backup your personal files and folders before starting to remove this infection.

TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 – Virus Removal Guide

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection from your your computer. Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOP and ask for our assistance.
STEP 1: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 Master Boot Record infection with Kaspersky TDSSKiller
STEP 2: Run RKill to terminate TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 malicious processes
STEP 3: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 4: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan with RogueKiller
STEP 5:  Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection with HitmanPro
STEP 6:  Double-check for TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection with Emsisoft and ESET Online Scanner

STEP 1:  Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller

As part of its self defense mechanism, TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus will install a ZeroAccess rootkit on the infected computer.In this first step, we will run a system scan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller to remove this rookit.

1. Please download the latest official version of Kaspersky TDSSKiller.
   KASPERSKY TDSSKILLER DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will automatically download Kaspersky TDSSKiller on your computer.)
2. Before you can run Kaspersky TDSSKiller, you first need to rename it so that
   you can get it to run. To do this, right-click on the TDSSKiller.exe icon and select Rename.
   Edit the name of the file from TDSSKiller.exe to iexplore.exe, and then double-click on it to launch.
3. Kaspersky TDSSKiller will now start and display the welcome screen and we will need to click on Change Parameters.
   
4. In the new open window,we will need to enable Detect TDLFS file system, then click on OK.
   
5. Next,we will need to start a scan with Kaspersky, so you’ll need to press the Start Scan button.
   
6. Kaspersky TDSSKiller will now scan your computer for Trojan TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection.
   
7. When the scan has finished it will display a result screen stating whether or not the infection was found on your computer. If it was found it will display a screen similar to the one below.
   
8. To remove the infection simply click on the Continue button and TDSSKiller will attempt to clean the infection.A reboot will be require to completely remove any infection from your system.

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STEP 2: Run RKill to terminate the malicious processes associated with TR/ATRAPS.Gen2

RKill is a program that will attempt to terminate all malicious processes associated with TR/ATRAPS.Gen2, so that we will be able to perform the next step without being interrupted by this malicious software.
Because this utility will only stop TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 running process, and does not delete any files, after running it you should not reboot your computer as any malware processes that are configured to start automatically will just be started again.

1. While your computer is in Safe Mode with Networking ,please download the latest official version of RKill.Please note that we will use a renamed version of RKILL so that TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 won’t block this utility from running.
   RKILL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download RKILL renamed as iExplore.exe)
2. Double click on iExplore.exe to start RKill and stop any processes associated with TR/ATRAPS.Gen2.
   
3. RKill will now start working in the background, please be patient while the program looks for TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 malicious process and tries to end them.
   
   If you get a message from TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 stating that RKill is an infection, and then closes this utility, leave the warning on the screen and then run RKill again.
   By not closing the warning, this typically will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that RKill can terminate TR/ATRAPS.Gen2.
4. When the Rkill utility has completed its task, it will generate a log. Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will start again.
   

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STEP 3: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware FREE

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free is a powerful on-demand scanner which will remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 malicious files from your computer.

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double-click on the icon named mbam-setup.exe to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process, then at the last screen click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan, and then click on the Scan button to start searching for the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 malicious files.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan has finished, click on the Show Results button.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the computer infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked), then click on the Remove Selected button.
   
7. Once your computer will restart in Windows regular mode, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a Full System scan to verify that there are no remaining threats.

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STEP 4: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 rootkit with RogueKiller

RogueKiller is a utility that will scan for the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 rootkit, registry keys and any other malicious files on your computer.

1. You can download the latest official version of RogueKiller from the below link.
   ROGUEKILLER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download RogueKiller on your computer)
2. Double click on RogueKiller.exe to start this utility and then wait for the Prescan to complete.This should take only a few seconds,  then click on the Scan button to perform a system scan.
   
3. After the scan has completed, press the Delete button to remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 malicious registry keys or files.
   

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STEP 5: Remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a cloud on-demand scanner, which will scan your computer with 5 antivirus engines (Emsisoft, Bitdefender, Dr. Web, G-Data and Ikarus) for the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. Double-click on the file named HitmanPro.exe (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or HitmanPro_x64.exe (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
   
   Click on the Next button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
   
3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 trojan.
   
4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the Next button, to remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 virus.
   
5. Click on the Activate free license button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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STEP 6: Double check for TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection on your computer

STEP A: Run a scan with Eset Online Scanner.

1. Download ESET Online Scanner utility.
   ESET Online Scanner Download Link (This link will automatically download ESET Online Scanner on your computer.)
2. Double click on the Eset installer program (esetsmartinstaller_enu.exe).
3. Check Yes, I accept the Terms of Use
4. Click the Start button.
5. Check Scan archives
6. Push the Start button.
7. ESET will then download updates for itself, install itself, and begin scanning your computer. Please be patient as this can take some time.
8. When the scan completes, push Finish

STEP B: Run a scan with Emsisoft Emergency Kit.

1. Please download the latest official version of Emsisoft Emergency Kit.
   EMSISOFT EMERGENCY KIT DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Emsisoft Emergency Kit)
2. After the download process will finish , you’ll need to unpack EmsisoftEmergencyKit.zip and then double click on EmergencyKitScanner.bat
3. A pop-up will prompt you to update Emsisoft Emergency Kit , please click the “Yes” button.After the Update process has completed , put the mouse cursor over the “Menu” tab on the left and click-on “Scan PC“.
4. Select “Smart scan” and click-on the below “SCAN” button.When the scan will be completed , you will be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Emsisoft Emergency Kit has detected.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the ‘Quarantine selected objects‘ button.

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Your computer should now be free of the TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future, and perform regular computer scans with HitmanPro.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove TR/ATRAPS.Gen2 from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.