When a computer is infected with a form of malware (such as a virus, a Trojan horse, spyware, or rootkits), the malware can cause the computer to do strange things. It can degrade the speed of an Internet connection, disable virus protection, or cause ads to pop up while browsing the Internet. Virtumonde (which is also known as Vundo), is a Trojan horse that infects a computer and causes ads for fake computer utilities to be displayed on the infected computer. To remove the adware, the Trojan horse must be removed.

What is Virtumonde and How Does It Infect a Computer?

Virtumonde is a "Trojan horse" program that infects a computer system by taking advantage of weaknesses in Internet browser plugins, such as Java. Virtumonde can also infect a computer if the computer user opens an email attachment that is infected with Virtumonde, or if a user visits a website that is infected with Virtumonde.

How Do I Remove Virtumonde From My System?

Companies that produce anti-malware software (such as Symantec and Network Associates) normally have malware removal tools that you can download from their websites, or they will have a procedure where, using their anti-malware software, you will be able to remove the Virtumonde Trojan horse. However, these instructions can be somewhat complex for a computer novice. One simple way to remove the Virtumonde Trojan horse uses a free program called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Download the "Free Version" and double-click the downloaded file. This will install the program on your computer's hard drive. When the program has finished installing, it will display a "Finish" prompt that has "Update Malwarebytes Anti-Malware" and "Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware" checkboxes, with both options checked. Leave both options selected, and click "Finish." When the program has finished updating, click on the "OK" button, and the update process will bring you to the main program window. On the main menu of the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program, select the "Scanner" tab. Next, select the "Perform Full Scan" option, and click on the "Scan" button. Since hard drives can store quite a bit of data, this scan may take a few hours to complete. Once the scan has completed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will display a list of files infected by the Virtumonde Trojan horse in its scan results. Ensure that all of these files are selected, and click on the "Remove Selected" button. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may need to reboot your computer system to complete the Trojan horse removal. Once the computer system has rebooted, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will notify you of the actions taken by opening a text file. After this notification, you can close the text file, and close Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. As an added precaution, uninstall and re-install your anti-virus software, and apply the latest updates to your anti-virus software. Run a full scan to ensure no further traces remain of the Virtumonde Trojan horse.

Source:

McAfee Vundo Overview

Symantec Trojan.Vundo -- Removal