Gootkit Banking trojan: what it is and how to remove it
Gootkit Banking trojan is the malware that was discovered back in 2014 and can perform various malicious tasks. The main goal of the trojan is to inject the system with malware, password grabbing tools, and record keystrokes, screen, exfiltrate other information from the device.
Facts checked October 6, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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Gootkit Banking trojan: summary
| Distribution | Infected email attachments, malicious sites, online content, and social engineering[2] methods get used to spreading the trojan around |
|---|---|
| Name | Gootkit Banking trojan |
| Type | Trojan/ malware |
| Issues | The virus collects, captures various information and shares those details with malicious actors, stores information on remote servers |
| Known since | 2014 |
| System recovery | To repair virus damage and fix altered parts of the system, make sure to run a tool that is capable of accessing various parts of the machine |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 6 more facts
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
|---|---|
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
| Symptoms | An unknown program in Installed apps |
| Evidence | 4 write-ups by security sites; details still limited |
| First seen | 2 December 2020 |
| Facts checked | 6 October 2026 |
What Gootkit Banking trojan does on an infected PC
From our report of Dec 2020 · not reviewed since
Malicious file attachments with convincing notifications lead to trojan infections
Malware spreading ways always include some kind of malicious technique or deceptive methods.
Misleading messages, fake email notifications, and other alerts about supposedly related activities can occur in your email or social media inbox. Unfortunately, such messages often have links, files, or direct malicious sources.
Word files, PDF, EXE, and different formats can contain script triggering direct malware installation. Once you open the attachment from the email, you can trigger the download and infection without noticing. These type of texts might be convincing:
Do not fall for such email scam campaigns and pay attention to senders, subject lines, and be more suspicious. DHL, DPD, FedEx, and a dn other companies can be used to fake the false message's legitimacy online. Do not forget.
From our report of Dec 2020 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on Gootkit Banking trojan
- You can remove Gootkit Banking trojan, but use the anti-malware tool to achieve the best results
What Gootkit Banking trojan can steal or download
From our report of Dec 2020 · not reviewed since
Gootkit Banking trojan is the malware that was discovered back in 2014 and can perform various malicious tasks.
The main goal of the trojan is to inject the system with malware, password grabbing tools, and record keystrokes, screen, exfiltrate other information from the device. The creators of this threat keep updating the coding to slow down the analysis that researchers attempt to perform on the virus.
It can download malicious programs un the infected system, and the anti-analysis mechanism allows this virus to run in the background unnoticed. It acts as a banking trojan, so infected devices get used for data exfiltration vessels once the user activates any banking site where login credentials and other sensitive details are needed.
Gootkit trojan is a virus that can record users' activities on banking sites. Over the past years, this malware became more persistent and dangerous as an information-stealing virus. It focuses on e-banking sites from the beginning. However, recent discoveries show that malware aims to gather information from victims that later gets sent to remote servers.
Creators of this virus gather that information and stolen data that includes passwords, payment card numbers, and screenshots, details about the hosts' PC platform, data from the hardware connected to the infected PC. Gootkit Banking trojan removal should be performed as soon as possible because any data collected from the machine can be later used against you.
You might not notice Gootkit trojan virus symptoms because it is persistent and dangerous and runs in the background without your knowledge. The process of citrus termination takes time, so or should provide help for you. Anti-malware tools should be the best for the full system check. Based on the detection rate, it is possible to remove this malware and clear the machine.
Of course, it is not enough to simply remove Gootkit Banking trojan and move on with your life. Especially when there are various processes and damage that threats like trojan can cause.
It is known that registry keys get changed, altered, added new, so the virus is more persistent. So you need to repair such issues. The best tool for that - or another system optimizer.
Once Gootkit Banking trojan gets installed, it can act as a backdoor trojan and allow cybercriminals to access and even control your machine from a distance. The malware packs many anti-analysis features, so it can evade sandboxes, prevent execution in a virtual machine, and slow don't these researches.
Make sure to remove Gootkit trojan virus since it can lead to serious issues when data gets gathered and potentially used in later attacks. The infection creators constantly update the code and make the threat more and more dangerous, persistent. Many functions can be added with each update, so keep anti-malware tools and run a scan once in a while to keep the system safe.
How to remove Gootkit Banking trojan
How to remove Gootkit Banking trojan and protect your bank account
Call the bank first, because money can move faster than you can clean the PC.
Step 1: Call your bank
Money moves fast, so call the bank before anything else on this list is finished.
Use the number on the back of your card or in the bank's app, report possible fraud, and ask for the card to be blocked and new online banking credentials to be issued.
Ask whether payments made in the last days can be stopped or disputed. Do not sign in to the bank from the Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC until the scans are clean.
Full procedure with screenshots: What to do after paying a scammer
Step 2: Remove it from startup
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and select Startup apps (Windows 11) or the Startup tab (Windows 10). Disable entries you do not recognise, especially ones with no publisher or with a name that copies a Windows component.
Right-click an entry and choose Open file location to see where it runs from: programs in
%AppData%or%Temp%deserve a closer look. Some entries are not listed there but in the registry Run keys, which the procedure below shows how to check.Full procedure with screenshots: Stop apps from opening at startup On uGetFix
Step 3: Scan the PC, then run the offline scan
A scan finds the parts of Gootkit Banking trojan that the manual steps cannot see. In Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, start a Full scan and quarantine what it reports.
Follow it with Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) > Scan now, which restarts the PC and checks the disk while Windows and the malware are not running.
It takes about 15 minutes and works the same in Windows 11 and Windows 10. If either scan finds something, run the full scan again after removal until it comes back clean.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Step 4: Change passwords from another device and sign out other sessions
Gootkit Banking trojan can copy saved passwords, cookies and session tokens and send them out in seconds, so cleaning the PC does not undo the theft.
Change your passwords on a device that was never infected, starting with the e-mail account, since every other reset goes through it. On each account, end all other sessions and check the recovery e-mail, phone number and forwarding rules.
Then turn on two-step verification. Sign in on the Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC again only after the offline scan is clean.
Full procedure with screenshots: Turn on two-step verification / secure a hacked account
Instructions for each browser and system
The detailed steps for every browser and system this guide covers. Open the one you use.
Manual removal using Safe Mode
Important! →
Manual removal guide might be too complicated for regular computer users. It requires advanced IT knowledge to be performed correctly (if vital system files are removed or damaged, it might result in full Windows compromise), and it also might take hours to complete. Therefore, we highly advise using the automatic method provided above instead.
Step 1. Access Safe Mode with Networking
Manual malware removal should be best performed in the Safe Mode environment.
Windows 7 / Vista / XP
- Click Start > Shutdown > Restart > OK.
- When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 button (if that does not work, try F2, F12, Del, etc. - it all depends on your motherboard model) multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
- Select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.
Windows 10 / Windows 8
- Right-click on Start button and select Settings.
- Scroll down to pick Update & Security.
- On the left side of the window, pick Recovery.
- Now scroll down to find Advanced Startup section.
- Click Restart now.
- Select Troubleshoot.
- Go to Advanced options.
- Select Startup Settings.
- Press Restart.
- Now press 5 or click 5) Enable Safe Mode with Networking.
Step 2. Shut down suspicious processes
Windows Task Manager is a useful tool that shows all the processes running in the background. If malware is running a process, you need to shut it down:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Click on More details.
- Scroll down to Background processes section, and look for anything suspicious.
- Right-click and select Open file location.
- Go back to the process, right-click and pick End Task.
- Delete the contents of the malicious folder.
Step 3. Check program Startup
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Windows Task Manager.
- Go to Startup tab.
- Right-click on the suspicious program and pick Disable.
Step 4. Delete virus files
Malware-related files can be found in various places within your computer. Here are instructions that could help you find them:
- Type in Disk Cleanup in Windows search and press Enter.
- Select the drive you want to clean (C: is your main drive by default and is likely to be the one that has malicious files in).
- Scroll through the Files to delete list and select the following:
Temporary Internet Files
Downloads
Recycle Bin
Temporary files - Pick Clean up system files.
- You can also look for other malicious files hidden in the following folders (type these entries in Windows Search and press Enter):
%AppData%
%LocalAppData%
%ProgramData%
%WinDir%
After you are finished, reboot the PC in normal mode.
From our report of Dec 2020 · not reviewed since
Follow steps of the Gootkit Banking trojan removal process
For the complete Gootkit trojan removal, you should rely on anti-malware programs that can run the full system scan and clear all the intruders off of the machine.
Antivirus detection engines and security tools like or can find all the associated files, malicious payload, trojans, and different types of malicious data.
If you have issues with the system and try to check for the issues besides the infection, you need to remove Gootkit Banking trojan and recover the machine after this trojan infection. The worst thing is that many system parts can get accessed and damaged by this intruder or even additional installations. You can repair the registry and some of the OS functions with a tool like .
[GI=method-1]Reboot the machine in Safe Mode with Networking to remove Gootkit trojan
After removal: passwords, accounts and prevention
Secure your accounts after the clean-up
Assume that whatever was saved in the browsers on this PC while the PC showed gootkit Banking trojan in the list of installed apps has been copied:
- passwords
- cookies
- autofill data
Work from a clean device, or from this PC once the offline scan finds nothing.
Start with your main e-mail account, because it can reset everything else, then banking and payment, then social and gaming accounts. Change each password, sign out of all sessions and turn on two-step verification: Turn on two-step verification / secure a hacked account.
The full order, including crypto wallets and card replacement, is in securing your accounts after malware.
Protect your privacy - employ a VPN
There are several ways how to make your online time more private - you can access an incognito tab.
However, there is no secret that even in this mode, you are tracked for advertising purposes. There is a way to add an extra layer of protection and create a completely anonymous web browsing practice with the help of VPN. This software reroutes traffic through different servers, thus leaving your IP address and geolocation in disguise.
Besides, it is based on a strict no-log policy, meaning that no data will be recorded, leaked, and available for both first and third parties. The combination of a secure web browser and VPN will let you browse the Internet without a feeling of being spied or targeted by criminals.
No backups? No problem. Use a data recovery tool
If you wonder how data loss can occur, you should not look any further for answers - human errors, malware attacks, hardware failures, power cuts, natural disasters, or even simple negligence.
In some cases, lost files are extremely important, and many straight out panic when such an unfortunate course of events happen. Due to this, you should always ensure that you prepare proper data backups on a regular basis.
If you were caught by surprise and did not have any backups to restore your files from, not everything is lost. is one of the leading file recovery solutions you can find on the market - it is likely to restore even lost emails or data located on an external device.
Questions about Gootkit Banking trojan
What is Gootkit Banking trojan and why is it on my PC?
Gootkit Banking trojan is a program that was installed on the PC, most likely together with something else you downloaded. Free software sites and many installers add extra programs on setup pages with pre-ticked boxes, so the extra install looks like your choice even though nobody read the page.
Check the install date in Settings, Apps, Installed apps: the program you installed that day is the probable carrier. If you do not need Gootkit Banking trojan, uninstall it. If it belongs to your hardware or to a program you use, search its exact name and publisher first, because drivers and their tools can have unfamiliar names.
Gootkit Banking trojan will not uninstall. What can I do?
First restart the PC and try again, because the program may have been running and locked its own files. If the uninstaller is missing or fails, start Windows in Safe Mode, where most third-party programs do not start, and remove Gootkit Banking trojan from Installed apps there.
If it still refuses, delete its startup entry and its scheduled task, restart, and try once more. A program that actively prevents removal is behaving like malware, so finish with a Microsoft Defender offline scan. Avoid third-party uninstallers offered on search ads; several of them are unwanted programs themselves.
Should I check my other computers too?
Yes, it takes little time and removes doubt. Gootkit Banking trojan itself usually stays on one PC, but the download that carried it may have been copied to other computers, shared drives may hold the same installer, and an attacker who had access could have tried saved passwords on other devices.
Run a full scan on every Windows PC in the home or office, check shared folders for the original download, and change Wi-Fi and router passwords if they were stored on the infected machine.
Is it safe to do online banking after seeing gootkit Banking trojan in the list of installed apps?
Not on that PC until it is clean. A program that produces gootkit Banking trojan in the list of installed apps runs with your rights and could read what you type or what the browser shows. Use a phone or another computer for banking and for changing passwords.
When the offline scan of the affected PC is clean and nothing suspicious starts with Windows any more, you can go back to using it. Check your bank statements for the past weeks either way, and call the bank if anything looks unfamiliar; banks can block cards and reset access quickly.
I found AnyDesk or ScreenConnect that I did not install. Is that Gootkit Banking trojan?
Not necessarily Gootkit Banking trojan, but it is a warning sign. These are legitimate remote support tools, and criminals use them as ready-made backdoors, especially after tech support scams or fake invoice calls.
If you did not install it and no one you trust set it up, uninstall it, change passwords from a clean device and check your bank account. If someone connected to your PC through it, follow the steps for remote access trojans and consider a Windows reset. Installed apps sorted by date shows when it appeared.
Do I need to reinstall Windows to get rid of Gootkit Banking trojan?
Usually not. A thorough clean-up is enough when the offline scan finds nothing afterwards and you do not see gootkit Banking trojan in the list of installed apps again. A reset is the safer choice if an attacker had remote control, if security tools were switched off, or if detections come back after every clean-up.
Windows 11 can reset itself without a USB stick under Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC. Copy documents and photos out first and scan the copies. A reset does not change passwords or undo stolen data, so the account steps still apply.
My antivirus was on. How did a trojan get past it?
Antivirus programs see a file only when it is written or run, and criminals test each new build against popular scanners before release. Detection catches up within hours or days, which is often after the first victims ran it.
Archives with passwords, installers that fetch the malware later, and scripts run through PowerShell make the job harder. That is why behaviour such as downloading cracks or pasting commands matters more than any setting. Keep Windows and Defender updated, and turn on Reputation-based protection in App & browser control.
How do I know if my PC has Gootkit Banking trojan?
Often you do not, which is the point of a trojan. Possible signs are an antivirus alert naming Gootkit Banking trojan or a generic trojan detection, unknown programs or scheduled tasks, processes with random names in Task Manager, browser extensions you did not add, security settings turned off, slower performance, or account alerts about logins from unknown places.
The reliable check is a full scan followed by Microsoft Defender's offline scan. If you recently ran a crack, a fake installer or a command a website told you to paste, scan even without symptoms.
Should I report Gootkit Banking trojan?
Report it if you lost money, if accounts were taken over, if you are a business, or if the trojan came through a scam call. A police or national cybercrime report gives you a reference number for your bank and insurer and helps link cases.
You do not need to report a trojan that antivirus blocked before it ran. Before reporting, write down the dates, the detection name, file names and any messages or transactions linked to the attack; screenshots of antivirus alerts are useful evidence. The country list is in the report section above.
Will Fortect remove Gootkit Banking trojan?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For Gootkit Banking trojan, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- ZDNet: Gootkit malware crew left their database exposed online without a password (read October 6, 2026)
- Wikipedia: Social engineering (read October 6, 2026)
- VirusTotal: Detection rate (read October 6, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 6, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Defender Offline (read October 6, 2026)