Home Malware Programs Trojans Win32:Small-HUF

Win32:Small-HUF

Posted: August 27, 2012

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 9/10
Infected PCs: 14
First Seen: August 27, 2012
OS(es) Affected: Windows

Win32:Small-HUF is a Trojan that's sometimes associated with e-mail spambot-based attacks – although most recent Win32:Small-HUF issues have been caused by false positives from Avast-brand security software. False positives for Win32:Small-HUF infections are distinguishable by their association with memory dump files and Virtual Machines (VMs), and can be set to be ignored without any damage coming to your PC. Because most versions of PC security software that detect false Win32:Small-HUF infections are outdated, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers also recommend keeping your anti-malware software fully updated as a means of guarding against inaccurate Win32:Small-HUF detections. However, in cases where Win32:Small-HUF is verified as an actual Trojan, you should allow your anti-malware program to remove Win32:Small-HUF and any related PC threats.

The Danger of Blindly Ignoring Win32:Small-HUF Alerts

The actual Trojan Win32:Small-HUF doesn't display overt symptoms of its attacks, and, along with its typical ability to launch automatically, can continue to function without any signs of its presence on your computer. SpywareRemove.com malware research team has particularly noted Win32:Small-HUF infections linked to spambot activities – such as exploiting your PC's resources to send e-mail spam with a 'From' field forged in your name. However, since a complete analysis of Win32:Small-HUF is still forthcoming, Win32:Small-HUF may include other functions besides the above.

Win32:Small-HUF has been in distribution for several years, and any reasonably-competent anti-malware product shouldn't have any problems with detecting or removing Win32:Small-HUF, even without database updates. However, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have found that outdated security programs may detect false positives of Win32:Small-HUF (see below).

When Win32:Small-HUF's Just a Figment of Your AV Scanner's Imagination

The majority of reported Win32:Small-HUF 'infections' in the past few years consist of false positives that label innocent files as Win32:Small-HUF. Updating your anti-malware programs and, if necessary, configuring them to ignore the file or folder in question should be all that's necessary to prevent Win32:Small-HUF false positives in the future. False positives for Win32:Small-HUF infections are most common in the following areas:

  • Simulated operating systems or Virtual Machines, including Parallels Desktop and VMware.
  • Windows 'memory dump' files (memory.dmp).
  • The Windows Pagefile (pagefile.sys).

The above components can, under most circumstances, be considered safe, particularly since relatively few PC threats (setting aside unique ones like the Crisis worm) are even capable of infecting VM environments in the first place.

Alerts for Win32:Small-HUF that emerge from the locations noted above should be considered inaccurate. However, most PC users report no long term damage to their PC from deleting false positives for Win32:Small-HUF – even if they return after a reboot. Consequentially, SpywareRemove.com malware research team suggests deleting any initial Win32:Small-HUF infections, and considering the possibility of false positives only after your anti-malware programs have failed to remove Win32:Small-HUF permanently.

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