MBR:SST

MBR:SST Description

MBR:SST is a family of rootkits that are often associated with the presence of other PC threats, including rogue antivirus programs. Although MBR:SST isn’t necessarily guaranteed to cause any symptoms, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have noted that attacks linked to MBR:SST tend to result in overall slowdowns for your PC, in addition to any symptoms caused by related malware. Removing MBR:SST requires that you disable both MBR:SST and any other malware on your hard drive, since PC threats installed with MBR:SST have been found to block anti-malware programs that could delete MBR:SST safely. Like any rootkit, MBR:SST should be treated as a significant security hazard and should be removed ASAP.

MBR:SST: a Problem with More Variety Than You’d Like

The MBR:SST family of rootkits includes numerous variants, with recently-observed MBR:SST-based attacks as of August-September 2012 including MBR:SST.a, MBR:SST.b and MBR:SST.c. Many of these MBR:SST attacks have utilized wide ranges of other PC threats that are installed and set to launch automatically. The most common features of a MBR:SST infection are system slowdowns caused by excessive resource usage and code injection attacks that allow malicious programs to run from unrelated memory processes.

PC threats that SpywareRemove.com malware research team has found to be frequently-linked to MBR:SST assaults include:

Adware programs that display pop-ups or audio-based advertisements.
Scamware programs that pretend to be security products. As their SOP, these rogue security programs will display inaccurate warning messages and system scans about infections on your computer while requesting money in a software registration process – which, obviously, shouldn’t be given over to them.
Browser redirects to unusual websites.
Attacks that block genuine anti-malware products or cause your PC to freeze once you attempt to use them.

A Guaranteed Cessation to MBR:SST’s Curse of Computer Dysfunction

MBR:SST and related PC threats infect normal system components (in MBR:SST’s case, the Master Boot Record) to launch themselves without your permission and SpywareRemove.com malware experts advise against trying to delete the ‘host’ files of such infections, since it will harm essential files for your computer. However, the majority of anti-malware companies have managed to create definitions to detect MBR:SST. Appropriate anti-malware software used in Safe Mode or, if required, from a USB system boot, should be able to remove MBR:SST without being blocked by related PC threats.

Some of MBR:SST’s variants have been found to include propagation functions that exploit USB drives. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts suggest avoiding any sharing of removable hard drive-based devices until you can verify that the device and associated computer both are clean. Files related to MBR:SST are unlikely to be visible, since most of MBR:SST’s variants have been known to exploit Hidden attribute-based vulnerabilities to conceal some of their components.