PUP.FileScout.A

Posted: September 9, 2013

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Ranking:	2,381
Threat Level:	5/10
Infected PCs:	18,648

First Seen:	September 9, 2013
Last Seen:	October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A (which shouldn't be mistaken for the mistaken for FileScout, the Blackberry-based file explorer) is a download manager that has a history of being installed without your permission, is difficult to remove and may make various unnecessary changes to your Windows file associations settings. Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A and similar Potentially Unwanted Programs are not necessarily immediate dangers to your PC's security, but Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A does include various undesirable traits and usually should be removed if you lack well-thought-out reasons for keeping Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A on your computer. Because Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A is difficult to remove even for some brands of anti-malware products, you may need to use especially stringent means of deleting Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A, including using Safe Mode for your anti-malware scans, as well as software that's updated for detecting recent PC threats.

Scouting Out the Numerous Problems with Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A

While various programs have gone by the name 'FileScout' or 'File Scout,' most notably a file-exploring utility for mobile devices, Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A is a term reserved for a downloader manager program with a troubled past. Starting in 2013, malware researchers have taken notice of a pattern of victims seeing Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A on their computers without having downloaded deliberately Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A. While Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A does provide some minor download-searching and maintenance features, most PC users would consider its drawbacks to make Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A not worth the price.

By default, Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A changes many file associations, causing the relevant file types to associate with Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A instead of their normal programs. Deleting Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A through normal means will not remove these file association changes, and Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A also has been observed being reinstalled after its attempted deletion. SpywareRemove.com malware research team is, therefore, inclined to categorize Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A as a Potentially Unwanted Program and recommend its removal, although the means for doing so may be more rigorous than would be required for any normal application.

Ejecting this PUP from Sniffing Around Your File Types

Potentially Unwanted Programs such as Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A infections usually may not endanger your PC immediately but may introduce various general security issues that should be resolved through the removal of the associated PUP. However, Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A is a scout that could be considered to have deft legs for dodging, as in some cases of Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A being partially removed – and then being reinstalled after the affected PC was restarted. To combat this, you usually will need to use updated and reliable anti-malware tools in combination with security features like Safe Mode, which will help you delete all of Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A's components in one go.

Troublesomely, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts haven't identified the infection vectors that Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A uses to install itself without the victim's permission. Until new evidence comes to light, you should continue to exercise general precautions against poisonous sites and download sources to keep Trojan.PUP.FileScout.A from scouting out your hard drive – and muddling with your file settings in the process.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

Regexp file mask%WINDIR%\System32\Tasks\Update_bonefreezeHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}bonefreeze

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

go.bonefreeze.com