N
The Daily Insight

Win32/Kelihos.D

Author

Ava White

Updated on February 16, 2026

What is Win32/Kelihos.D infection?

In this article you will certainly find regarding the interpretation of Win32/Kelihos.D as well as its unfavorable effect on your computer. Such ransomware are a kind of malware that is elaborated by online fraudulences to demand paying the ransom by a victim.

In the majority of the situations, Win32/Kelihos.D virus will advise its targets to initiate funds move for the purpose of reducing the effects of the amendments that the Trojan infection has presented to the target’s tool.

Win32/Kelihos.D Summary

These adjustments can be as follows:

  • Executable code extraction. Cybercriminals often use binary packers to hinder the malicious code from reverse-engineered by malware analysts. A packer is a tool that compresses, encrypts, and modifies a malicious file’s format. Sometimes packers can be used for legitimate ends, for example, to protect a program against cracking or copying.
  • Creates RWX memory. There is a security trick with memory regions that allows an attacker to fill a buffer with a shellcode and then execute it. Filling a buffer with shellcode isn’t a big deal, it’s just data. The problem arises when the attacker is able to control the instruction pointer (EIP), usually by corrupting a function’s stack frame using a stack-based buffer overflow, and then changing the flow of execution by assigning this pointer to the address of the shellcode.
  • Attempts to connect to a dead IP:Port (10 unique times);
  • Starts servers listening on 127.0.0.1:0;
  • The binary likely contains encrypted or compressed data. In this case, encryption is a way of hiding virus’ code from antiviruses and virus’ analysts.
  • The executable is compressed using UPX;
  • Creates or sets a registry key to a long series of bytes, possibly to store a binary or malware config;
  • Exhibits behavior characteristic of Kelihos malware;
  • Installs itself for autorun at Windows startup. There is simple tactic using the Windows startup folder located at:
    C:\Users\[user-name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\Startup. Shortcut links (.lnk extension) placed in this folder will cause Windows to launch the application each time [user-name] logs into Windows.

    The registry run keys perform the same action, and can be located in different locations:

    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
  • Installs WinPCAP;
  • Ciphering the files situated on the sufferer’s hard disk — so the target can no longer utilize the data;
  • Preventing routine accessibility to the victim’s workstation. This is the typical behavior of a virus called locker. It blocks access to the computer until the victim pays the ransom.

Win32/Kelihos.D

The most common channels through which Win32/Kelihos.D Trojans are infused are:

  • By methods of phishing e-mails. Email phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a goal is to trick the recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need — a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company — and to click a link for download a malware.
  • As a consequence of individual ending up on a resource that holds a harmful software program;

As soon as the Trojan is efficiently injected, it will certainly either cipher the data on the target’s computer or avoid the gadget from working in a correct way – while additionally placing a ransom note that discusses the need for the targets to impact the settlement for the function of decrypting the records or recovering the data system back to the preliminary problem. In a lot of circumstances, the ransom note will certainly turn up when the client reboots the PC after the system has actually currently been harmed.

Win32/Kelihos.D distribution networks.

In various edges of the world, Win32/Kelihos.D expands by leaps and also bounds. Nevertheless, the ransom notes and tricks of extorting the ransom money quantity might differ depending on particular regional (regional) setups. The ransom notes and techniques of extorting the ransom money amount may differ depending on particular neighborhood (regional) setups.

Ransomware injection

For instance:

    Faulty alerts concerning unlicensed software program.

    In specific areas, the Trojans often wrongfully report having detected some unlicensed applications enabled on the target’s gadget. The sharp then demands the user to pay the ransom money.

    Faulty declarations regarding prohibited content.

    In countries where software program piracy is much less prominent, this technique is not as reliable for the cyber fraudulences. Alternatively, the Win32/Kelihos.D popup alert might wrongly claim to be deriving from a law enforcement institution and also will certainly report having located kid porn or various other unlawful data on the device.

    Win32/Kelihos.D popup alert may incorrectly assert to be obtaining from a regulation enforcement establishment and also will certainly report having located kid porn or other unlawful information on the device. The alert will in a similar way have a need for the user to pay the ransom.

Technical details

File Info:

crc32: EB7A4D11md5: 919f559c465b0051b28483588f993477name: 919F559C465B0051B28483588F993477.mlwsha1: b4073a001cc8307bbc73966740d76413e816fce9sha256: 4b6cc32c4c8365eff079aa088f8646b1bd24cda8c4e576750e95ddedcd9a404csha512: 1efb59f9926b5deeac56697a373dc101faf41314846bd9327a5f6effb2a09b3c79378df7d45cc06f60652dcfe4d0cc4d2c9bb5cc38cfa774e4b84cd71036890essdeep: 24576:5RwI5oMGHCi4DNG+XuLpETVEwqRypRlIT0HyWcObaCU:/VYCicNG+edUVaUpTDSAbtype: PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows, UPX compressed

Version Info:

LegalCopyright: Copyright (C) 2010InternalName: UIScannerFileVersion: 13,0,21,1CompanyName: BitDefender S.R.L.ProductName: BitDefender 2010ProductVersion: 13,0,18,344FileDescription: BitDefender Antivirus ScannerOriginalFilename: uiscan.exeTranslation: 0x0409 0x04b0

Win32/Kelihos.D also known as:

GridinSoftTrojan.Ransom.Gen
K7AntiVirusTrojan ( 0026c9311 )
DrWebBackDoor.Slym.16
CynetMalicious (score: 100)
ALYacGen:Heur.FKP.1
CylanceUnsafe
ZillyaTool.FlashApp.Win32.144
AlibabaTrojan:Win32/Obfuscator.5dc1a814
K7GWTrojan ( 0026c9311 )
Cybereasonmalicious.c465b0
CyrenW32/S-bdcee22a!Eldorado
SymantecML.Attribute.HighConfidence
ESET-NOD32a variant of Win32/Kelihos.D
APEXMalicious
AvastWin32:Mystic
KasperskyHEUR:Hoax.Win32.FlashApp.gen
BitDefenderGen:Heur.FKP.1
NANO-AntivirusRiskware.Win32.FlashApp.ewdrq
MicroWorld-eScanGen:Heur.FKP.1
TencentWin32.Trojan-PSW.Flashapp.cddv
Ad-AwareGen:Heur.FKP.1
SophosML/PE-A + Mal/FakeAV-MR
ComodoMalware@#13i5gxanq2p52
BitDefenderThetaGen:NN.ZexaF.34690.9mKfaGbMfMeO
VIPRETrojan.Win32.Ransom.do (v)
McAfee-GW-EditionBehavesLike.Win32.Generic.dc
FireEyeGeneric.mg.919f559c465b0051
EmsisoftGen:Heur.FKP.1 (B)
SentinelOneStatic AI – Suspicious PE
Webrootnone
AviraTR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen
eGambitGeneric.Malware
MicrosoftTrojan:Win32/Bulta!rfn
AegisLabHacktool.Win32.FlashApp.3!c
GDataGen:Heur.FKP.1
AhnLab-V3Trojan/Win32.FakeAV.R5556
McAfeeFakeAV-SecurityTool.jq
MAXmalware (ai score=100)
VBA32Trojan.ExpProc.014
MalwarebytesTrojan.FakeAV
PandaGeneric Malware
RisingTrojan.Kelihos!8.C68 (CLOUD)
YandexTrojan.FlashApp!rHbIBQTtiTY
IkarusTrojan.Win32.Yakes
MaxSecureTrojan.Yakes.dwnc
FortinetW32/BrowHost.KP!tr
AVGWin32:Mystic
Paloaltogeneric.ml

How to remove Win32/Kelihos.D virus?

There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent PC threats than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft">2.

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Run the setup file.

When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your system.

Run Setup.exe

An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Setup

Press “Install” button.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Install

Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Splash-Screen

Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for Win32/Kelihos.D files and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Scanning

Click on “Clean Now”.

When the scan has finished, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware Scan Result

Are Your Protected?

GridinSoft Anti-Malware will scan and clean your PC for free in the trial period. The free version offer real-time protection for first 2 days. If you want to be fully protected at all times – I can recommended you to purchase a full version:

Full version of GridinSoft

Full version of GridinSoft Anti-Malware

If the guide doesn’t help you to remove Win32/Kelihos.D you can always ask me in the comments for getting help.

References

  1. GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site:
  2. More information about GridinSoft products: