BKDR_MECIV.AF

Posted: September 20, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	3

First Seen:	September 20, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

BKDR_MECIV.AF is a new variant of the Enfal Trojan, a Trojan that's been widely-utilized in attacks against NGOs, various governments and industrial sectors since at least 2004. Even though Enfal is, as far as Trojans go, quite old, SpywareRemove.com malware experts have noted that BKDR_MECIV.AF includes several modifications that imply that Enfal's development remains ongoing as of 2012. Like other variants of Enfal, BKDR_MECIV.AF is used to compromise your PC through standard backdoor attacks, with BKDR_MECIV.AF's propagation using malicious Word documents spread through e-mail spam. SpywareRemove.com malware research team recommends that you learn to identify and delete such e-mails immediately, although most competent anti-malware products should be able to remove BKDR_MECIV.AF if you do need to disinfect your computer.

BKDR_MECIV.AF: the E-mail Delivery You Should Make a Habit of Refusing

Past versions of Enfal have struck against many regions throughout the globe, but the latest attacks involving its most recent variant, BKDR_MECIV.AF, have been found to focus on Vietnam, Mongolia and ex-members of the Soviet Union (Russia, Kazakhstan, etc.). Current propagation schemes for BKDR_MECIV.AF all use spammed e-mail messages, often with social engineering scams that make the accompanying attachment look like a political or business update. The file attachment, a DOC file that's designed to include malicious content that exploits Microsoft Office's CVE-2012-0158 vulnerability, will try to install BKDR_MECIV.AF after it's opened.

Anti-malware products should be able to detect the original Trojan dropper by TROJ_ARTIEF.JN (or similar alerts) and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you scan any files that fit the above description before you try to open them. Updating Microsoft Office software can also provide some defense against BKDR_MECIV.AF installers by patching the vulnerability that's used, although the same may not apply to future attacks involving BKDR_MECIV.AF or new Enfal variants.

Why You Should Be Cautious if That Word Document Dropped BKDR_MECIV.AF Onto Your HD

BKDR_MECIV.AF doesn't show many symptoms of its presence, although you may be able to detect some of BKDR_MECIV.AF's activity by monitoring your RAM and CPU usage. By injecting its code into normal Windows processes, BKDR_MECIV.AF avoids displaying an independent process or file. Likewise, by altering the Registry, BKDR_MECIV.AF launches itself with your operating system and doesn't show any obviously-visible signs.

BKDR_MECIV.AF, like any respectable backdoor Trojan, makes contact with a C&C server that allows criminals to access your computer. Given Enfal's choice of targets thus far, these attacks are likely to involve theft of confidential government/business/political information or other attempts to compromise the networks of specific organizations. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts suggest keeping your anti-malware programs updated if you want the best chance of finding and removing BKDR_MECIV.AF before damage is incurred, since BKDR_MECIV.AF has shown several changes to the code of past Enfal variants that include attempts to avoid detection by security software.

BKDR_MECIV.AF

Threat Metric

BKDR_MECIV.AF: the E-mail Delivery You Should Make a Habit of Refusing

Why You Should Be Cautious if That Word Document Dropped BKDR_MECIV.AF Onto Your HD

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