W32/Autorun-ASW

The W32/Autorun-ASW parasite is a worm that spreads through the use of Autorun drive exploits. W32/Autorun-ASW will disable security programs, may interfere with web browsing and has multiple variants. The worm W32/Autorun-ASW may also download additional malware, use system resources like RAM excessively and without your permission, gather your email contact lists to use for propagation and generally be a security risk. Deleting W32/Autorun-ASW is a matter that should be taken seriously and done hastily for both the sake of your computer and the computers of others.

A Worm You Can't Afford to Forget About

W32/Autorun-ASW isn't exactly the new kid on the block; versions of this worm have been around since late 2009. Despite the fact that W32/Autorun-ASW is a well-identified threat, W32/Autorun-ASW continues to circulate the web in different versions, all of which are capable of causing serious harm to your computer.

You may become infected with W32/Autorun-ASW through removable drive devices, since the worm will spread to these devices and run itself automatically whenever W32/Autorun-ASW detects a new computer. Other possible sources of W32/Autorun-ASW include risky file downloads, unsecured wireless networks and dangerous websites that promote malware through hidden malicious code.

W32/Autorun-ASW is- athe Security Handicapper

The W32/Autorun-ASW infection has been documented to perform a number of highly damaging actions on an infected computer. The damage W32/Autorun-ASW directly causes is bad enough, but even worse yet is W32/Autorun-ASW's ability to open the door for more malware to do even worse things to your poor hard drive.

• W32/Autorun-ASW will make every effort to shut down programs related to security and cleaning malware. Since W32/Autorun-ASW does this based on the file names, you may be able to trick W32/Autorun-ASW by temporarily renaming your preferred anti-malware scanner into something else, such as iexplore.exe. The lack of functioning security software leaves your computer painfully open to other malware attacks.
• W32/Autorun-ASW will even go so far as to freeze the websites you could download such software from in the first place! W32/Autorun-ASW is unlikely to manage this with every potential source for good security programs, but you may have to find a way to disable W32/Autorun-ASW, such as through Safe Mode with Networking, before you can acquire the tools to uninstall W32/Autorun-ASW.
• Some sources indicate that W32/Autorun-ASW will go one step further in attacking your browser, by redirecting you towards dangerous websites. This has an unpleasant synergy with its other risks, since your security software will not be able to stop a malicious site from infecting you with malware if W32/Autorun-ASW has disabled all your security.
• As though those threats aren't enough to deal with by themselves, W32/Autorun-ASW may also download malware itself and execute the files without your permission. Symptoms of other malware infections may be quite obvious or completely non-evident, depending on the type of malware W32/Autorun-ASW chooses to use for afflicting your computer.
• Others have reported W32/Autorun-ASW collecting email addresses from infected systems and sending copies of itself to those addresses. If you're not careful with your security, the people you know may pay the price for it by having to deal with W32/Autorun-ASW infections too.

These various problems make W32/Autorun-ASW a significant threat, if not the worst possible infection one could acquire. The security issues caused by worms like this one tend to worsen the longer they're allowed to exist, which makes removing W32/Autorun-ASW something that no conscientious computer owner can afford to put off till tomorrow.