How to easily remove idle buddy virus from your PC? – Removal Guide

What is Idle Buddy Virus malware?

Idle buddy Virus is a Malware that is categorized as a Trojan. It is dangerous to leave this malware trojan unattended. Idle buddy virus is a crypto currency miner that uses the systems resources to mine for crypto currency without the user’s approval. It slows down the system as other programs don’t get the required system resources to perform their tasks.

Idle buddy virus is distributed using software bundlers. It gets installed on the PC when the user is installing third party software or freeware without checking the installation steps for additional software.

Shown here is the Idle Buddy Virus icon.

Threat Behavior

Idle buddy Virus is a threat to the system. This is a malware that is categorized as a Trojan. Idle buddy virus uses the system resources and mines for crypto currencies like Bitcoin, Monero, Litecoin etc. It uses more than 90% of system resources and diverts the RAM and graphics card resources to mine for crypto currency.

The idle buddy virus creates malicious files namely ibservice.exe, xmrig.exe and code86.exe in the desktop, temporary files and download directories.

The computer processing speed slows down and the programs take longer to load. As a result, these programs freeze and lag as they do not get the required processing power to work smoothly.

Idle buddy virus gets installed in the system via software bundlers. It is advised to use custom setting when installing third party software. Some programs contain additional software that get installed on the system if the user is not careful during the installation steps. Always make sure to uncheck the option to install this software so that your PC does not get infected.

Idle Buddy virus not only affects the software, it can also damage the hardware. Since it uses the system resources at full power for long durations, it can make the CPU temperature to soar and remain high for a very long time. This will, in turn, damage the vital and sensitive components of the CPU.

The idle buddy virus uses the system resources for the benefit of the hacker and not the user. It is advised to remove this threat immediately from your PC.

Another threat that can be exposed by this Trojan is that it can steal your personal and sensitive information like bank details, passwords and usernames and other personal information. 

Threat Summary

Name – Idle Buddy Virus

Targeted Operating Systems – Windows XP, Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.0/8.1 Windows 10

Category – Malware, Trojan, Virus

Symptoms – PC processing speed slows down, frequent unwanted system reboot, programs lag and freeze, programs don’t launch fast enough, installed on the PC without user permission

How to remove Idle Buddy Virus from your system?

The PC resources should only be used by the user and not the hacker. It is advised to remove Idle Buddy from your System to stop the unwanted exploitation of system resources. By following the Idle Buddy removal steps you can clean your system from this infection.

Note: Before we begin, try to remember how the extension got downloaded  on your computer system. Generally, these programs come bundled with free applications that we download off the internet. It is a good practice to locate and uninstall such programs while removing the Browser Hijacker/ Extensions.

Step 1 – Remove the malicious program from the Control Panel.

Windows XP

1. Click on the “Start” button on the bottom left corner of your screen. A Start menu will be displayed as shown below. From this menu select the option that reads “Control Panel”.
2. In the window that will be displayed, click the option “Switch to classic view”.
3. This will display all the options/icons available to you. From the displayed icons, click on the icon that reads “Add or Remove Programs”.
4. Select the “Uninstall a program” option from the “Programs” category. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
5. Select the programs related to Idle Buddy Virus and click on the Uninstall button.

Windows 7/Vista

1. Right click on the “Start” button located at the lower left corner of the screen. From the Start menu, click on “Control Panel”.
2. The “Control Panel” Window will be displayed on the screen. Click on “Uninstall a Program” option from the “Programs” category.
3. The “Programs and Features” window will be displayed on the screen. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
4. Scroll though the list of programs and select the programs related to Idle Buddy virus and then click on the “Uninstall” button.

Windows 8/10

1. Right click on the “Windows logo” on the lower left side of the computer screen. From the drop down menu, select and click on “Control Panel”.
2. The “Control Panel” window will be displayed. From this window select “Uninstall a program” option form the “Programs” category.
3. A list will populate on the screen displaying all the programs.
4. Select the programs related to Idle Buddy Virus and click on the “Uninstall” button.
5. In the confirmation box, click on the box that reads “OK” to save changes.

Step 2 – Show Hidden Files and Folders.

Windows 7

1. Left click on the Organize button on the Windows Explorer. A drop down menu will appear.
   
2. On this menu left click on the option that reads “Folder and search options” as shown above. A folder options dialogue box will appear.
3. On the View tab under the Advanced settings, Check the option that reads “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and uncheck the option that reads “Hide protected operating system files“.
   
4. Click on the “OK” button to save your changes. This will make all the hidden files and folders visible to you.

Windows 8 and 10

1. On the file explorer toolbar, click on the View
   
2. In the Show/hide section, Click on the “Hidden items” checkbox.
3. Click on the options button.
4. Under folder options, click on the “View” tab.
   
5. Uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.
6. Click the “OK” button to save your changes.

Step 3 – Remove the Browser Extensions installed by the Idle Buddy Virus.

Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) i.e.Menu option which are located at the upper right corner of the Chrome Window.
2. Find and click on More tools from the drop down menu that is displayed & select Extensions or you can open a Chrome window and type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
3. Check the developer mode option which is located opposite to extensions heading on the top of the Chrome window. By enabling the developer mode, additional details and option related to all the installed extensions will be displayed. One of the details that will be displayed is the ID. ID is the folder name created by the extension at the location “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”.
4. Locate the extension you want to uninstall or delete. Copy and paste the folder name opposite to the ID Tag of that extension into a notepad file. In this case the folder name is “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”
5. Now, uncheck the enabled option next to the extension in question. Make sure you also click the trash icon to delete the extension from the browser. It is important to note that even after uninstalling and deleting the extensions from the browser, the extension might not uninstall properly. Thus, it is a good practice to make sure that we have deleted the folder as mentioned in step 3.
6. Make sure that you have made the hidden files and folders visible.
7. Open My Computer and go to “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”. Now, look for folder with the name as specified in Step 4 i.e. “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”. Delete the folder if present.
8. Close and reopen the browser. It is also advisable to restart your computer once done.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox, click on three horizontal lines ( ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option. ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option.
2. On the Add-ons manger page, select and click on the Extensions tab as shown below.
3. Find the extensions related to Idle Buddy Virus and click on the remove button.
4. In addition, try to remember how the extension got downloaded on your computer system. If this extension was bundled with some other software, then make sure to delete that as well.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, Click on the Gear icon ( ) which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.
2. From the newly appeared dropdown menu, click on the option that reads Manage Add-ons.
3. A new window will appear on the screen. On this window choose the option that reads Toolbar and Extensions. Under the Show option, select the option that reads “All add-ons”. This option will allow you to see all the browser extensions.
4. Select the Extension related to Idle Buddy Virus and click on the Disable button which is at the bottom right of the computer screen.

Apple’s Safari

1. On your Mac Desktop, click on the option that reads “Safari”.
2. A drop down menu will appear as shown below. From this menu chose the option that reads “Preferences”.
3. The Preferences window will appear on the screen, where the list of all your safari extensions will be shown.
4. On the list displayed at the left side of the screen, select the Extension you want to uninstall.
5. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid of the extension.

Step 4 – Restore the browser settings changed by the Idle Buddy Virus.

Google Chrome

1. Open Google chrome and click on the three vertical dots () located on the top right corner of the Chrome Window.) located on the top right corner of the Chrome Window.
2. From the Drop down menu that appears, click on the “Settings”. A new browser tab will open up, displaying all the settings.
3. Now, we will make changes to the appearance section. Under the “Appearances” section, we will enable the “Show Home Button” option. You can select New Tab page or can add Google or any of your preferred browsers under the “Show Home Button” option.
4. After this, we will go to the “Search Engine “section.
5. Here, make Google or any of your preferred browsers as your default browser in the drop-down menu under the option “Search engine used in the address bar”.
6. After this click on Manage Search Engines. Now you can remove Other Search Engines that were added by the browser hijacker. Simply click the three vertical dots () and select the option “Remove from list”. ) and select the option “Remove from list”. 
7. You can make Google or any other preferred browser as your Default Search Engine by clicking the three vertical dots () and clicking on the “Make default” option.
   
8. At the end, we will go to the section “On Startup”. You can select the “Open the New Tab page” or can “Continue where you left off”.  If you want to open a specific page or set of pages, select the option “Open a specific page or set of pages”  and remove any pages added by the browser hijacker by clicking on the three vertical dots () and selecting “Remove”.) and selecting “Remove”.
9. Then, add Google or any of your desired URL in “Add a new page” option under the “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
10. This is a very important step and we would like you to pay very close attention here. This step has to be repeated with all the shortcuts to the browser that you can locate; like your desktop, start menu and the shortcut pinned to your taskbar. Right click on the shortcut and a context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
    
11. A Google Chrome Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”
    
12. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines () i.e. Open Menu located on the top right corner of the Firefox Window.
2. From the drop down menu that is displayed, we have to right click on the () Options to open the window.) Options to open the window.
3. Now, we will click Search, under the given options that are displayed in the left corner of the screen.
4. You can choose Google or any of your preferred browsers as your default search engine to use in the address bar and search bar.
5. Then, you have to go to the () General and under “startup” section to make sure that Firefox is your default browser.
6. At the end, we have to add Google or your preferred URL in the box given under Home Page.
7. After this, you have to right click on the browser shortcuts that you can locate like your desktop, start menu and taskbar to which the application is pinned. A context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
   
8. A Firefox Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe”
   
9. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon ()which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.)which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.
2. From the Drop down menu that appears, click on the “Manage add-ons” A new browser tab will open up, displaying all the add-on types.
3. Now, we will click on the “Search Providers” option from the list of options displayed on the left hand side of the screen. Then we will click “Find more search providers” option given at the lower left corner of the Manage add-ons
4. This will open an Internet Explorer Gallery; from here you can add Google search or any of your preferred add-ons as your default browser.
5. Next, you are required to go to the “Manage add-ons” window and click on the “Search Providers” option under the Add-on Types.
6. Here, you can enable Google Search or any of your preferred browsers as your default browser in the list of search providers.
7. At the end, we will click on the gear icon ()which is at the top right corner of the screen and select “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.)which is at the top right corner of the screen and select “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.
8. A new window will open displaying the Internet options. In the “Internet Options” window, add Google or any of your desired URL under the Create Home Page option and click OK.
9. After this, you have to right click on the browser shortcuts that you can locate like your desktop, start menu and taskbar to which the application is pinned.  A context menu will appear. On this menu select the last option that reads Properties.
   
10. An Internet Explorer Properties Dialogue box will appear as below. Replace whatever is there in the text box next to the label Target with the following: Make sure that inverted commas are included.“C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”
11. Click OK at the end to save the changes.

STEP E – Restart System using Safe mode with Command Prompt.

Windows 7/ Vista/ XP

1. Click on Windows icon present in the lower left corner of the computer screen.
2. Select and click Restart.
3. When the screen goes blank, keep tapping F8 key until you see the Advanced Boot Options window.
4. With the help of arrow keys on keyboard, Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt from the list and press the Enter Key. The system will then restart to Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
5. Click on the username and enter the password (if any).

Windows 10 / Windows 8

1. Press and hold the Shift Key and simultaneously click on the windows icon present in the lower left corner of your computer screen.
2. While the Shift key is still pressed click on the Power button and then click on Restart.
3. Now select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings.
4. When the Startup Settings screen appears which is the first screen to appear after restart, select and click on Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt. The system will then restart to Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
5. Click on the username and enter the password.

Once the system starts, ensure to use an account with administrative privilege to access Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

After the user enters admin credentials, Command prompt window is displayed wherein you are entitled to enter the below commands:

1. Type the command “sc delete idlebuddy” in the command prompt and press Enter.
2. Type “exit” to exit the command prompt and restart the system in safe mode with command prompt.

Tips to prevent your computer system from getting infected –

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like 360 Total Security and Vipre so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.