TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY

Posted: March 20, 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.

Threat Level:	9/10
Infected PCs:	30

First Seen:	March 20, 2013
Last Seen:	November 17, 2020
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY is a Trojan downloader that's disguised as a PDF document. The most recent attacks associated with TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY have used a combination of spam e-mail messages to redirect victims to hostile sites, along with Blackhole Exploit Kit (a configurable exploit kit) attacks that install launch TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY without your consent. Although the malware that TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY installs has yet to be analyzed, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers warn that most infections associated with Blacole attacks are high-level threats, such as ransomware Trojans that lock your desktop or rogue anti-virus programs that block most other applications. If your computer has been exposed to links from spam e-mail messages that resemble TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's favored template (a fake CNN news update on the new pope), you should use anti-malware applications to analyze and, if necessary, disinfect your PC without delay.

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY: Because Where There's White Smoke, There's Fire

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's distribution campaign exploits the natural tendency of PC users to be interested in current events throughout the world, with TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's e-mail spam claiming to offer new information on the recent papal election. These e-mail messages claim to be sent from CNN and seemingly include a link to that organization's website, but the link actually redirects victims tidily to a malicious website that hosts a pervasive PC threat, the Blackhole Exploit Kit. The Blackhole Exploit Kit, also known as Blacole or just BEK, scans your PC's software to detect vulnerabilities that it can exploit, and then drops TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY onto your computer.

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY is launched automatically and uses another vulnerability – one that's inherent to Adobe PDF-reader software – to install a second PC threat onto your hard drive. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have verified that TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's current exploit is an outdated one that can be blocked by patching your software. However, the same defense is unlikely to be viable against similar Blacole-based attacks, which have been known to use zero-day (hitherto undetected) vulnerabilities.

Variants of TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY also may be detected by the name Troj/PDFJS-ADE. Flash alternatives to TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY, which launch similar attacks via Blacole, also may be detected by Troj/SwfExp-BN.

The Anti-PDF Exploit Firewall

One of the easiest defenses against TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY (like other PDF-based Trojans, including TROJ_PIDIEF.EVF TROJ_PIDIEF.EGQ or TROJ_PIDIEF.KFR) is to update all Adobe-brand software, which will block outdated vulnerabilities like those used in TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's attacks. Unfortunately, the exploit kit that delivers TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY is not bound to be equally amenable to being blocked, and may use new vulnerabilities that your patches can't remove. Due to this problem, SpywareRemove.com malware experts consider total avoidance of suspicious links from spam e-mail and similar sources to be the most surefire defense against drive-by-downloads like TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's own.

In cases where you think that TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY may already have infected your PC, you should use any preferred anti-malware software to scan your PC in its entirety and remove both TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY and any malware installed by TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY. Payloads from attacks reminiscent of TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY's attacks often include PC threats with few or no symptoms, such as various types of spyware or rootkits, and manual deletion of potentially advanced malware never is encouraged by SpywareRemove.com malware researchers.

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY

Threat Metric

TROJ_PIDIEF.SMXY: Because Where There's White Smoke, There's Fire

The Anti-PDF Exploit Firewall

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