Angler Exploit Kit More Efficient in Spreading Malware Through Recent Updates

The famous Angler Exploit Kit, known for being a culprit in the spread of aggressive malware like recent encryption-type Ransomware threats, has become more efficient in its abilities to spread malware through recent updates.

Exploit kits like Angler are specialized web-based applications that scan computers visiting websites for vulnerabilities. If any vulnerability is found, Angler Exploit Kit deploys methods to exploit the system and install malicious software. In most cases, the visited website has been compromised and is able to load the exploit kit without any indication to the computer user.

When it comes to the recent actions of Angler Exploit Kit, there have been numerous cases where vulnerable computers were infected with malware like recent encryption-type Ransomware threats that hold a system hostage until a fee for file decryption is paid.

During 2015, the Angler Exploit Kit was the most used out of a variety of notable exploit kits. Angler Exploit Kit accounted for about 30% of the share of all exploit kits actively being used at the time rising exponentially in the past year surpassing the notable Neutrino Exploit Kit.

The development of Angler Exploit Kit has expanded in the previous year where it has received many updates. The Angler Exploit Kit updates have kept it at the forefront of what cybercrooks and hackers look for in their efforts of exploiting vulnerable computers with crafty malware threats. The most recent tactics employed by Angler Exploit Kit are vast and more efficient than ever, including landing page updates, added exploits to its database, 302 cushioning, and encrypted payloads that may have aided to the spread of encryption Ransomware threats.

Many products, such as Silverlight, have been exploited through the use of Angler Exploit Kit even though the applications are not widely used. Some of the more aggressive aspects of Angler Exploit Kit's recent updates in the past weeks have been the ability to deliver a malicious payload directly from a redirected site. In the past, advanced computer users may have had some forewarning of a malicious page from the URL or unrecognizable strings within PHP files loaded into their browser. Now, Angler Exploit Kit is using the view.php and viewthread.php files to avoid raising red flags with users who look for certain variables of a malicious site.

Finally, Angler Exploit Kit is now associated with malvertising, the act of serving malicious advertisements through various ad networks. A number of malicious ads are now directing to the Angler Exploit Kit to infiltrate a vulnerable computer. Unfortunately, experts believe that the much advancement of Angler Exploit Kit and similar threats will continue to propagate and get worse before we see improvements to put aggressive exploit kits to rest.