BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL

Posted: June 5, 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:	6/10
Infected PCs:	87

First Seen:	June 5, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The rather appropriately-suffixed BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL is a backdoor Trojan that's used to take over your PC, violate its security and potentially install other forms of harmful software without your permission. BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL uses tactics to avoid drawing attention to itself, and its Trojan dropper (the e-mail-distributed TROJ_PPDROP.EVL) will also drop a PowerPoint file to distract you from BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL's presence. Although the closest thing to a built-in symptom from BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL is unusual resource usage from normal Windows processes, a BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL infection should always be considered an extremely high-level security danger to your PC and the information that's stored within it. While SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend that you learn to avoid the scams that are used to install TROJ_PPDROP.EVL at all, if you do need to BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL, you can't do better than relying on a good brand of anti-malware software.

BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL – a Trojan That Has Zero Problems with Subverting Windows

BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL's installation routine is a multi-step procedure that begins with e-mail spam and a file attachment, the Trojan dropper TROJ_PPDROP.EVL. Although TROJ_PPDROP.EVL looks like a normal PowerPoint file, a Flash exploit that's embedded in TROJ_PPDROP.EVL will take advantage of outdated versions of Adobe software and install BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL, along with dropping a normal PowerPoint file to distract you from this fact. To keep up the illusion, BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL injects its code inside regular system processes, that SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have noted as allowing BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL to keep active even without an obvious memory process of its own.

BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL, like many other backdoor Trojans, is fully capable of being reconfigured for multiple types of attacks. However, issues that SpywareRemove.com malware researchers consider predominant in a BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL infection include:

Unusual usage of system resources, which may also correspond with a drop in OS performance due to BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL booting itself with Windows and staying unlocked unless you deliberately disable BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL
The presence of other types of malicious software that are installed without your permission. This can include obvious PC threats like browser hijackers, as well as stealthy spyware, rootkits and other hard-to-detect programs.
Unauthorized network activity through ports 443 and/or 80. This network access can also be used to transfer stolen information or to receive additional commands for BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL's configuration.

Besting BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL and Its Favored Infection Route

As long as you keep your Flash software updated (or, alternately, not installed in the first place), TROJ_PPDROP.EVL should be incapable of installing BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL onto your PC. Just as important is the precaution of scanning files from unusual sources, which SpywareRemove.com malware researchers especially note in the case of attachments from strange e-mail messages – despite they look like to be sent by a friend or other contact. Although BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL and its corresponding Trojan dropper have only been confirmed to attack certain versions of Windows, similar PC threats have also been observed for other popular operating systems.

Safe Mode is recommended as the ideal mechanism for booting Windows before you try to delete BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL, since this can hamper its startup procedure. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers especially warn against deleting BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL without anti-malware software to detect all of BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL's components since BKDR_SIMBOT.EVL is known to use randomized file names.

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:

hkmsvc.exe

File name: hkmsvc.exe
Size: 36.86 KB (36864 bytes)
MD5: 996376a04c664c6e762f78e98b505b92
Detection count: 9
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 7, 2012

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\{random filename}.exe

File name: %UserProfile%\Local Settings\{random filename}.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run {random filename} = "%User Profile%\local settings\{random file name}.exe"