TROJ_RUGENT.A

Posted: August 14, 2012

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:	98

First Seen:	August 14, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Games. Although TROJ_RUGENT.A's e-mail messages do include actual DOC files, they also include disguised Trojans (detected as TROJ_DROPPER.WSD) that install TROJ_RUGENT.A once you open the file attachment. Attacks that SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have observed originating from TROJ_RUGENT.A Trojans include contacting Command & Control servers without permission and transmitting stolen information to said servers, although TROJ_RUGENT.A may also be used for other harmful functions. While TROJ_RUGENT.A's dropper deletes itself after installing TROJ_RUGENT.A, TROJ_RUGENT.A must, like most Trojans of its ilk, be removed with assistance anti-malware software.

TROJ_RUGENT.A: the Reason Why Even the Taiwanese Should Be Careful About Trusting Sympathetic Petitions

TROJ_RUGENT.A's distribution rates, although at low levels, are bolstered by social networking lures that are included in mass-mailed e-mails. These e-mails attempt to single out potential sympathizers for the plight of Taiwan against China and make mention of the London-hosted Olympics as a rallying opportunity. Along with their message, which is claimed to have gathered tens of thousands of supporters, these e-mails also share a file attachment that appears to be a Word document. Rather cunningly for an e-mail spam strategy, this attachment opens a real DOC and picture file as a distraction from its real payload – a fake SCR (screen saver) version of TROJ_DROPPER.WSD, which installs TROJ_RUGENT.A before deleting itself.

The combination of TROJ_RUGENT.A's disguised installation and a lack of symptoms from TROJ_RUGENT.A's attacks may prevent victims from recognizing that TROJ_RUGENT.A has compromised their PC during the act of opening a harmless text document. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers note that most anti-malware programs should be able to find these malicious file attachments if you bother to scan them before to opening them, although their compression technique may give low-quality scanners some trouble.

How TROJ_RUGENT.A Turns Your Hard Drive into Its Own Sovereign Territory

TROJ_RUGENT.A launches itself with standard Registry exploits that allow TROJ_RUGENT.A to run without your consent whenever Windows starts. As a PC threat that remains in the background, TROJ_RUGENT.A gathers information about your computer and sends it to various remote URLs. TROJ_RUGENT.A can also receive information from these web addresses, which may allow TROJ_RUGENT.A to update itself, install other PC threats or let criminals take over your computer.

Although SpywareRemove.com malware researchers are only able to confirm TROJ_RUGENT.A's compatibility with Windows 2K, Server 2003 and XP, it remains likely that TROJ_RUGENT.A is also compatible with more modern versions of Windows than the above examples. TROJ_RUGENT.A can be detected by several aliases, depending on your brand of anti-malware scanner, including Trojan.Downloader.gen.h, Mal/Behav-116 and Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

%Program Files%\WindowsZip\temp\0.txt

File name: %Program Files%\WindowsZip\temp\0.txt
Mime Type: unknown/txt
Group: Malware file

%Program Files%\WindowsZip\temp\Update\window.exe

File name: %Program Files%\WindowsZip\temp\Update\window.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

%User Temp%\wuauclt.exe

File name: %User Temp%\wuauclt.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

{Malware Path}\ker.dll

File name: {Malware Path}\ker.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders Common Startup = %Program Files%\WindowsZip\temp\UpdateHKEY..\..\..\..{Subkeys}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows load = %User Temp%\wuauclt.exe