Work.hta virus (Free Instructions) - Removal Guide
Work.hta virus Removal Guide
What is Work.hta virus?
Work.hta virus – a malicious Trojan horse which is hard to discover as it tends to perform its malicious tasks in system's background
Work.hta virus is a dangerous infection which belongs to the Trojan horse[1] category. This sneaky cyber threat can get into the system through the system's background with the help of infected pop-ups, malicious web pages, spam messages, etc. Once installed, it usually does not show any symptoms and stays undetected if there is no antivirus software on the system. If the security software informs you about PUP.Work.hta or PUP.Adware.Work, make sure you remove detected entries from your computer. Otherwise, cybercriminals can use this malware to get remote access to your computer and start their damaging activity.
| Name | Work.hta |
|---|---|
| Type | Trojan horse |
| detected as |
|
| Dangers | Provides remote access to the PC system, might install another serious virus, take over the personal information |
| Symptoms | Almost none. You might notice only an increased usage of your PC's resources, sluggishness, slowdowns |
| Enters the system through | Spam, dubious websites, infected pop-ups |
| Purpose | To gain access to the victim's computer system and perform hazardous actions |
| Protection | Avoid phishing messages, malicious websites, misleading ads |
| Elimination | Use FortectIntego to get rid of the virus. Make sure to refresh the system after you proceed with the elimination |
Even though Trojan horses do not show any symptoms, some signs showing that Work.hta virus is running on your computer could help you realize the fact that you are infected:
- Serious system slowdowns;
- Various adverts displayed while browsing the web;
- Programs' crashes;
- New tasks running in the background.
No matter how harmless these activities seem, note that a Trojan horse might lead you to seriously dangerous consequences. Once the crook installs such a virus on the system, it gets a chance to take control over it. In addition, the system can be infected with any type of dangerous virus, including ransomware-type threats[2].
Moreover, Work.hta virus can be used to track your personal data and lead you to identity theft. It might be used to collect bank details, logins, passwords and similar information. Do not wait for such damage to occur, perform the Work.hta virus removal straight after you notice any of the signs mentioned above.
To remove Work.hta virus from your computer, use FortectIntego or any other trusted anti-malware tool for this purpose. Do not postpone this task because this sneaky cyber threat might cause even more damage to your computer system. To protect yourself in the future, always make sure that you have reliable antivirus protection installed on your machine. The final tip would be to keep it up-to-date to prevent security holes typically used by such malware to infiltrate systems unnoticed.
Trojan infections are spread widely by using numerous techniques
According to IT experts[3], serious malware forms such as Trojan horses spread through spam messages. Such emails fall straightly into victims' email boxes and might come completely legal-looking. However, be careful and try not to get tricked – it is always a better option to get rid of all received phishing messages permanently without opening them or their attachments which can launch the virus.
In addition, avoid visiting third-party websites such as ones that are filled with pornography or gambling. These kinds of pages come from secondary sources and do not fit the security requirements. Also, protect your computer system at a higher level – install an antivirus program and make sure it is always kept up-to-date.
Be careful when you are trying to get rid of Work.hta virus
To remove Work.hta virus, you will need to download and install the latest version of reputable anti-malware. It will help you deal with the cyber threat professionally and will also prevent virus reappearance in the future. Use programs such as FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, or Malwarebytes for such purpose. Due to the virus's harmful features and ability to hide, manual elimination is not an option and we do NOT recommend considering it.
After you perform the Work.hta removal, be sure to check if all virus-related components are successfully deleted from your computer. Repeat the scan and check the report carefully. If you sued Safe Mode with Networking or System Restore to disable malware on your computer, repeat the scan when on normal mode.
Getting rid of Work.hta virus. Follow these steps
Manual removal using Safe Mode
Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Networking to disable Work.hta virus:
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.
Remove Work.hta using System Restore
Activate the System Restore feature to recover your system and repeat the scan:
-
Step 1: Reboot your computer to Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Windows 7 / Vista / XP- Click Start → Shutdown → Restart → OK.
- When your computer becomes active, start pressing F8 multiple times until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
-
Select Command Prompt from the list
Windows 10 / Windows 8- Press the Power button at the Windows login screen. Now press and hold Shift, which is on your keyboard, and click Restart..
- Now select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings and finally press Restart.
-
Once your computer becomes active, select Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt in Startup Settings window.
-
Step 2: Restore your system files and settings
-
Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.
-
Now type rstrui.exe and press Enter again..
-
When a new window shows up, click Next and select your restore point that is prior the infiltration of Work.hta. After doing that, click Next.
-
Now click Yes to start system restore.
-
Once the Command Prompt window shows up, enter cd restore and click Enter.
Finally, you should always think about the protection of crypto-ransomwares. In order to protect your computer from Work.hta and other ransomwares, use a reputable anti-spyware, such as FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes
How to prevent from getting trojans
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
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- ^ Trojan horse (computing). Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ What is ransomware?. Norton. By Symantec.
- ^ ZonderVirus. ZoderVirus. Malware prevention methods.