Safe Method to Remove Trojan.Stepnet

My computer has got infected by Trojan.Stepnet. I think my computer was infected my PC when I accidentally clicked and agreed to install an update for the software installed on my PC. I have tried several ways to remove this threat, but none of them are helpful. I cannot figure out any solution to this problem now. Please help me!!!

Details about Trojan.Stepnet

Trojan.Stepnet is classified as fabricated warning that is generated by Valve Corporation in recent. Such message is produced by password stealing Trojan intending to silently gather personal password and user's privacy. Once you are browsing online, Trojan.Stepnet will shows itself on your PC and mislead users to vicious websites every time they open those sponsored domains. As a matter of fact, Trojan.Stepnet is utilized to spread games and it is known as "Internet based digital distribution". It mainly focuses on enhancing Internet traffic of misleading web portals in an illicit form. Therefore, please do not open Trojan.Stepnet and do your best to stay away from it instantly. Accordingly, you ought to remove Trojan.Stepnet virus without any delay.

Problems from Trojan.Stepnet

It modifies your system settings, which decreases the security level of your system.
It deletes or overwrites your system files, which causes various unwanted problems.
It disables your antivirus program or Windows firewall without any permission, which makes your system vulnerable to other malware.
It downloads other types of malware from some malicious websites, which brings more damage to the infected system.
It monitors your online activities and collects valuable information & data stored on your PC for its creators.

How to Prevent Trojan.Stepnet

Computer security should be everyone's concern. A simple slip up or ignoring this could lead to disastrous consequences. So, how can you prevent your computer from being attacked or infected by Trojan.Stepnet? What action can you take to avoid being a victim of the Trojan horse and other malware? Keep the tips below in your mind:

1. Install a reliable anti-malware program on your computer. A quality anti-malware program, though it cannot ensure a 100% protection against all types of malware, it can effectively block threats whose details have been known by computer experts and put into the database of the anti-malware program.
2. Always update your operating system and software installed on your PC. Malware often take advantage of known security vulnerabilities in your computer or the installed software to attack your computer.
3. Use caution when surfing on the Internet. Internet is full of fraud, malware, and many forms of computer threats. Keep alert when you receive spam emails, download freeware or shareware, browse social networking sites, and use instant messaging programs. A careless move may lead to the Trojan.Stepnet infection and other malware infections. Here are some rules for you:

1) Don't view spam emails, nor even click on the contained links or attachments.
2) Don't download freeware or shareware from trustless sources; and run your anti-malware program to scan for malware before installing such software.
3) Avoid strange web sites that offers free services and software downloads.
4) Never receive and open files from an unknown people while using instant messaging application.

Tips: If are a novice PC user, you should not attempt the manual removal method. Anything done wrong during the removal process could lead to serious system damage. For the sake of safety, it is highly recommended that you download and install a professional malware removal tool to remove the malicious Trojan horse automatically.

Manually Remove the Trojan Horse by Following the Guide.

Step 1: Terminate process of Trojan.Stepnet.

a. Start the Task Manager by pressing the key combination "CTRL + Shift + ESC".

b. Under the "Processes" tab, find out and terminate the Trojan horse related process (process of the Trojan horse may be named with random characters and it occupies extremely high CPU usage).

Step 2: Remove all Trojan horse related programs.

a. Click the Start menu, and select "Control Panel".

b. In the "Control Panel" window, click on "Uninstall a program".

c. In the list of all currently installed programs, find out any programs related to the Trojan horse and click on "Uninstall" button.

d. Then, click "Yes" in the pop-up window which asks if you want to uninstall the program.

Step 3: Show all hidden files and folders.

a. Go to Start button and select "Control Panel" option.

b. In the "Control Panel" window, click on the "Appearance and Personalization" link.

c. Select "Folder Options" and click the "View" tab.

d. Under "Advanced settings", tick "Show hidden files, folders and drives", non-tick "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" and then click the "OK" button.

Step 4: Remove all files relative to Trojan.Stepnet.

a. Navigate to the local disk C.

b. Find out and delete all malicious files created by the Trojan horse.

%Temp%\[random].bat

%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\.dll

%UserProfile%\Desktop\[Trojan horse name].lnk

%UserProfile%\Start Menu\[Trojan horse name]\Help.lnk

%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\[Trojan horse name].lnk

Step 5: Delete all registry entries associated with Trojan.Stepnet.

a. Open Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R key, typing "regedit" and clicking OK.

b. Search for all the registry entries associated with the Trojan horse and remove them all.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "random.exe"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\[Trojan horse name]

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\[Trojan horse name]\DisplayIcon %AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe,0

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\[Trojan horse name]\DisplayName [Trojan horse name]

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\[RANDOM CHARACTERS] %AppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS]\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe

Sweet Advice

It is not recommended that novice users manually remove the Trojan horse, since the manual removal is a complicated and risky task. To eliminate the Trojan horse without hassles and effort, we sincerely suggest that you download and install a professional removal tool which can completely clean up all existing threats from your computer and also protect your system from future malware.