Troj/Tepfer-E

Posted: November 30, 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:	57

First Seen:	November 30, 2012
Last Seen:	April 6, 2020
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Troj/Tepfer-E is a backdoor Trojan that's used to install other malware with more specialized functions than itself onto the compromised PC. Most recent Troj/Tepfer-E infections are associated with the worm W32/VBNA-X, which is, in turn, noted for installing banking Trojans from the Zeus or Zbot family. Although the W32/VBNA-X worm does show some minor symptoms of its presence (such as changes to your file-viewing settings), neither Troj/Tepfer-E nor Zeus Trojans display any symptoms of their attacks. Naturally, SpywareRemove.com malware experts suggest using scans from good anti-malware programs to remove Troj/Tepfer-E along with any related malware, particularly since Troj/Tepfer-E includes functions that can be exploited for various malicious purposes.

How Troj/Tepfer-E Got to You by the Most Innocuous of Means

Currently, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have noted two major infection vectors (entry points for an infection) by Troj/Tepfer-E and related malware. Firstly, Troj/Tepfer-E may distribute itself through spam e-mail messages that include links to installers for itself. Secondly, the worm W32/VBNA-X, which is closely associated with Troj/Tepfer-E, also may distribute itself (and potentially Troj/Tepfer-E along with it) through removable media devices or network-shared locations. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers particularly warn that W32/VBNA-X is capable of disguising some copies of itself as normal files or folders that imitate the names of preexisting content on the affected folder or hard drive.

Troj/Tepfer-E and W32/VBNA-X both are used to install other malware onto your PC as their primary raison d'être. Current payloads have been found to involve Zeus banking Trojans, which use advanced techniques to conceal themselves and steal information that's associated with bank accounts (by monitoring and, in some cases, altering web content and information transactions between your computer and well-known bank sites). Because Zeus Trojans are high-level threats to your PC, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers always encourage using powerful anti-malware software to deal with any Troj/Tepfer-E infection or related type of malware.

The Capabilities of Troj/Tepfer-E from Top to Bottom

Even if enabling the installations of banking Trojans and worms were the only things that Troj/Tepfer-E did, it would be sufficient to label Troj/Tepfer-E a prominent danger to your computer's safety. Sadly, SpywareRemove.com malware experts also have noted that Troj/Tepfer-E can include other attacks that are common to backdoor Trojans. Examples of some other functions that Troj/Tepfer-E may use to your displeasure include:

Exploit your PC's resources to send spam e-mail messages for malware distribution purposes.
Conduct spyware attacks that attempt to steal personal information.
Install other types of malware besides the ones noted earlier in this article.

As a botnet-based Trojan that can conduct activity-heavy attacks automatically, Troj/Tepfer-E also may incidentally harm your PC's performance or stability by using excessive system resources.

While PC threats related to Troj/Tepfer-E (also detected by the names Backdoor:Win32/Kelihos.F or Gen:Trojan.Relhis.A.1) have been in circulation for some time, recent attacks by Troj/Tepfer-E and related malware are noted for increasing intensity of late. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers suggest that you guard the already-outlined infection vectors appropriately and use anti-malware software to remove Troj/Tepfer-E whenever its presence is suspected.

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:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\wpcap.dll

File name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\wpcap.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

C:\WINDOWS\system32\Packet.dll

File name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\Packet.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\npf.sys

File name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\npf.sys
File type: System file
Mime Type: unknown/sys
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NPF\Enum "NextInstance" = "0x00000001"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run SonyAgent = c:\test_item.exeHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NPF TimestampMode = 0x00000000HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Cached languageLocalizedMax = [... 19077 intervening characters ...]