HEUR_PDFEXP.E

Posted: October 11, 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.

Ranking:	4,191
Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	7,994

First Seen:	October 11, 2012
Last Seen:	October 15, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

HEUR_PDFEXP.E is a general identifier for PC threats that disguise themselves in the form of PDFs to exploit JavaScript-based vulnerabilities and install malicious software onto your PC. Although SpywareRemove.com malware experts are still analyzing HEUR_PDFEXP.E's current payloads, HEUR_PDFEXP.E attacks have been found to originate from PDFs that are named to reference recent US political events such as the presidential campaign between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. Accordingly, since that informative document may very well be HEUR_PDFEXP.E or a similar PC threat in disguise, a high level of paranoia is recommended whenever you're using general web searches to find political information.

HEUR_PDFEXP.E: Just One of Many New PDFs That Hope to Turn Your PC into a Warzone

HEUR_PDFEXP.E is an example of criminals using current events as marketing tools for their own malware. Recent investigations into exploitation of common keywords related to the US presidential elections (such as 'Obama,' 'Romney' or 'election') have uncovered a multitude of malicious websites that present themselves as political news sources while displaying hostile or irrelevant content. In some cases, as many as one out of every five of these malicious URLs were guilty of being mere spam, but the vast bulk of such websites were used for malicious software-related attacks like HEUR_PDFEXP.E.

These websites host HEUR_PDFEXP.E and similar PC threats (HEUR_PDFEXP.C, HEUR_PDFEXP.A, HEUR_PDFEXP.B, etc.) with file names that reference tax policy contrasts and other political news relevant to the US presidential elections. However, anyone who tries to open these PDF documents will be attacked by embedded JavaScript exploits that install hostile software. To protect your PC from HEUR_PDFEXP.E and related dangers, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers encourage you to avoid downloads from sites that aren't trustworthy and scan files with anti-malware software prior to opening them.

Why US Political Antics are a Concern for the World at Large

Interestingly enough, while HEUR_PDFEXP.E and related attacks are (as expected) mostly racking up victims in the United States, residents of other countries have also been victimized by these attacks. SpywareRemove.com malware research team has noted a minority of victims in Australia, Japan, the UK, Canada and even Poland. Overall, while HEUR_PDFEXP.E and other corrupt PDFs are a major factor in this malware-based exploitation of politics, attacks that use identical social engineering tricks include a colorful range of adware, worms and Trojans.

As is often relevant, scanning any files before you download or open them should be considered an excellent defense against HEUR_PDFEXP.E and its fellows. If you've launched HEUR_PDFEXP.E or another type of malicious file due to these misleading circumstances, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers only can suggest that you use anti-malware products to disinfect your PC and get rid of both HEUR_PDFEXP.E and the other software that HEUR_PDFEXP.E is certain to have installed.

HEUR_PDFEXP.E

Threat Metric

HEUR_PDFEXP.E: Just One of Many New PDFs That Hope to Turn Your PC into a Warzone

Why US Political Antics are a Concern for the World at Large

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