Win32/Qhost.PNU
Sarah Oconnell
Updated on April 22, 2026
What is Win32/Qhost.PNU infection?
In this article you will certainly find regarding the interpretation of Win32/Qhost.PNU and its negative effect on your computer. Such ransomware are a type of malware that is elaborated by online fraudulences to demand paying the ransom money by a victim.
In the majority of the cases, Win32/Qhost.PNU infection will certainly advise its victims to start funds move for the function of counteracting the changes that the Trojan infection has actually introduced to the target’s tool.
Win32/Qhost.PNU Summary
These adjustments can be as adheres to:
- The sample wrote data to the system hosts file.;
- Ciphering the records situated on the victim’s hard drive — so the victim can no longer use the data;
- Preventing normal accessibility to the sufferer’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/Qhost.PNU
The most typical channels through which Win32/Qhost.PNU Ransomware Trojans are infused are:
- By means of phishing emails;
- As a repercussion of individual winding up on a resource that organizes a destructive software;
As soon as the Trojan is successfully infused, it will certainly either cipher the information on the sufferer’s PC or stop the gadget from functioning in a proper way – while likewise putting a ransom money note that mentions the need for the sufferers to impact the repayment for the function of decrypting the records or recovering the file system back to the preliminary problem. In most instances, the ransom money note will certainly turn up when the customer reboots the COMPUTER after the system has currently been harmed.
Win32/Qhost.PNU distribution networks.
In different edges of the globe, Win32/Qhost.PNU expands by leaps and bounds. However, the ransom notes and methods of obtaining the ransom amount might differ depending upon certain regional (local) setups. The ransom notes as well as techniques of obtaining the ransom money amount may vary depending on specific regional (local) setups.
For instance:
Faulty notifies concerning unlicensed software program.
In particular locations, the Trojans usually wrongfully report having discovered some unlicensed applications enabled on the sufferer’s tool. The sharp then demands the user to pay the ransom.
Faulty declarations regarding prohibited content.
In nations where software application piracy is less popular, this method is not as effective for the cyber scams. Alternatively, the Win32/Qhost.PNU popup alert might falsely claim to be stemming from a police establishment and will certainly report having located child pornography or other unlawful data on the gadget.
Win32/Qhost.PNU popup alert may falsely declare to be deriving from a regulation enforcement establishment and also will report having situated kid pornography or various other prohibited data on the tool. The alert will similarly contain a requirement for the customer to pay the ransom money.
Technical details
File Info:
crc32: EC30A97Cmd5: 99ad238bb185ffedf55854016da03536name: 99AD238BB185FFEDF55854016DA03536.mlwsha1: 6c34b80db38a1c79f06c943d544778f5334dcc7esha256: 5a56c2ac2581e0d972685542787e65f3b37489af9f61637b534c33a31a44b6d6sha512: 52c6a2a369dec5eabcea4dc4382d210f3219846b4b68f6abdf1d51b41633aaa344095431729620cd38b270a153fc5b4323c6e12aa52d890d441ff04bd20dec93ssdeep: 3072:V9ruj40JzlpFyXAUKjqztMrx/k4htXlG4gAg0Fujb4JVyRoi:e/uKWztMv7gAOhRotype: PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS WindowsVersion Info:
0: [No Data]
Win32/Qhost.PNU also known as:
| GridinSoft | Trojan.Ransom.Gen |
| Bkav | W32.RansomXpackT.Trojan |
| K7AntiVirus | Trojan ( 0055485d1 ) |
| Cylance | Unsafe |
| Zillya | Trojan.Hosts2.Win32.871 |
| Sangfor | Trojan.Win32.Dynamer.8 |
| CrowdStrike | win/malicious_confidence_90% (W) |
| Alibaba | Trojan:Win32/Qhost.c6db24e2 |
| K7GW | Trojan ( 0055485d1 ) |
| Cybereason | malicious.bb185f |
| Cyren | W32/S-05856bbf!Eldorado |
| Symantec | ML.Attribute.HighConfidence |
| ESET-NOD32 | a variant of Win32/Qhost.PNU |
| APEX | Malicious |
| Avast | FileRepMetagen [Malware] |
| Cynet | Malicious (score: 85) |
| Kaspersky | Trojan.Win32.Hosts2.gen |
| NANO-Antivirus | Trojan.Win32.Hosts2.elsavy |
| SUPERAntiSpyware | |
| Tencent | Malware.Win32.Gencirc.10b454f3 |
| Sophos | Mal/Generic-R + Mal/Qhost-M |
| Comodo | TrojWare.Win32.Qhosts.BF@73wqrc |
| BitDefenderTheta | Gen:NN.ZexaF.34628.mCW@ayNnqRli |
| VIPRE | BehavesLike.Win32.Malware.sfm (mx-v) |
| TrendMicro | TROJ_GEN.R002C0RAK21 |
| McAfee-GW-Edition | BehavesLike.Win32.Generic.ch |
| Emsisoft | Gen:Variant.Mikey.58065 (B) |
| Avira | HEUR/AGEN.1116522 |
| Arcabit | Trojan.Mikey.DE2D1 |
| ZoneAlarm | Trojan.Win32.Hosts2.gen |
| AhnLab-V3 | Trojan/Win32.Hosts.R194465 |
| McAfee | GenericRXAA-AA!99AD238BB185 |
| VBA32 | Win32.Trojan.Hoster.Heur |
| Malwarebytes | Generic.Trojan.Malicious.DDS |
| Rising | Trojan.QHosts!8.52B (CLOUD) |
| Yandex | Trojan.GenAsa!DvAobRVNtKs |
| eGambit | Unsafe.AI_Score_99% |
| AVG | FileRepMetagen [Malware] |
| Qihoo-360 | Win32/Trojan.Hosts2.HgAASQoA |
How to remove Win32/Qhost.PNU ransomware?
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-MalwareRun 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.
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.
Press “Install” button.
Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.
Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your system for Win32/Qhost.PNU 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.
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.
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 Anti-Malware
If the guide doesn’t help you to remove Win32/Qhost.PNU you can always ask me in the comments for getting help.
References
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site:
- More information about GridinSoft products:
