Trojan.FakeFlash.A
Posted: March 13, 2014
Threat Metric
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: | 6,609 |
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Threat Level: | 9/10 |
Infected PCs: | 3,136 |
First Seen: | March 13, 2014 |
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Last Seen: | October 15, 2023 |
OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
Just as you'd anticipate from its name, Trojan.FakeFlash.A is a fraudulent Flash update that uses its disguise to install browser-compromising threats on your PC. Trojan.FakeFlash.A utilizes Facebook accounts for distributing itself and incorporates the accounts of its victims into its infection vectors, which makes Trojan.FakeFlash.A easily able to spread through its auto-posted fake video links. Facebook users are recommended to keep a particularly sharp eye out for misleading tactics resembling Trojan.FakeFlash.A's links, and scan their PCs for threats to remove Trojan.FakeFlash.A's payload after any interaction with this fake update.
The Risque Threat 'Flash' that's in Your Facebook
Fraudulent Flash updates are a mainstay in the arsenal of most threat authors, but there comes a dilemma when it's time to decide how to force victims to come into contact with these updates. The persons responsible for Trojan.FakeFlash.A attacks have chosen Facebook as their distribution vehicle of preference, and even included further exploitation of that platform in Trojan.FakeFlash.A's payload. Initial attacks are disguised as fake nude video links from already-hijacked Facebook accounts, with the link titles modified to reference a random entry in the first victim's friends list.
Instead of delivering you to the promised land of illicit erotica, clicking these links will subject you to a fake error page that implies that the Adobe Flash Player has crashed. You then are offered the choice to download and launch Trojan.FakeFlash.A, which is disguised as 'FlashPlayer.exe.' Trojan.FakeFlash.A installs threats that hijack your Facebook account to distribute new posts for itself. Photographs from the account also may be collected and added to any Trojan.FakeFlash.A links, giving the hoax an additional layer of authenticity.
Other attacks from Trojan.FakeFlash.A and its payloads are, as of yet, unknown, although malware researchers commonly find fake Flash updates associated with high-level threats, such as spyware, backdoor Trojans and rogue anti-malware suites.
Closing the Book on the Next Fake Flash Tactic
Since Trojan.FakeFlash.A may use more than one means of compromising PCs that are exposed to its download request, malware researchers advise you to scan any computer that's had a random encounter with Trojan.FakeFlash.A. This is also applicable to any other 'Flash update' strategy, such as the 'Problems have been detected with your Flash Player version' Alert, Adware.Agent.npo or the 'Flash Video Downloader is Required to Download Online Video' Pop-Up. Removing Trojan.FakeFlash.A's threatening software always should utilize proper anti-malware tools to counter its efforts at avoiding all standard deletion methods.
However, Trojan.FakeFlash.A also shows the importance of simple communication in social networks. Facebook contacts should be alerted to any suspicious posts resembling those of Trojan.FakeFlash.A attacks that may come from their profile. Most PC threats that hijack social networking profiles also will put efforts in place to prevent the victim from becoming immediately aware of the hijacks, which may require outside intervention before a problem is detected.
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