ICQ Virus

Posted: September 24, 2013

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:	2,423
Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	85,946

First Seen:	September 24, 2013
Last Seen:	October 16, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The ICQ Virus is a worm that spreads by using ICQ to send messages with links to unreliable websites that host drive-by-download attacks for enabling its installation on new computers. Other than creating new infections in this manner, the ICQ Virus also may be expected to include functions for stealing passwords and other personal information from your computer and also may have other attacks that malware experts have not yet observed. Like any spamming worm, Internet education and awareness of potentially unsafe links are some of your best defenses against an ICQ Virus infection, but if your PC does become infected, removing the ICQ Virus with dedicated anti-malware utilities is a highly recommended solution.

An Old School 'Virus' that Laughs at Your Computer Security

Although the ICQ Virus is not a technically classified virus, the ICQ Virus does include major distribution features that allow the ICQ Virus to spread roughly as quickly as a real virus ever would be able to manage. After infecting any given PC, the ICQ Virus uses ICQ to send messages to the PC user's contacts with the text 'lol' and a link to a suspicious website such as jokeworld.biz. PC users who are foolish enough to load this site in an unprotected browser may be infected by the ICQ Virus in a classic drive-by-download attack that's concealed by a distracting Flash presentation. SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn that Internet Explorer users are especially at risk for this attack.

The ICQ Virus's heyday was back in 2004, but, like almost all worms, the ICQ Virus can distribute itself to new PCs rapidly and may still be in distribution, even at this date. SpywareRemove.com malware experts also consider it worth mentioning that the ICQ Virus, in its day, had a surprisingly good record at evading anti-malware programs by major brand companies. Keeping your anti-malware programs as up-to-date as possible will provide some insurance against any modern variant of the ICQ Virus avoiding detection.

Seeking an ICQ Finally Free of the ICQ Virus

Stopping the ICQ Virus and similar worms requires both the personal protection of your computer and a general strategy for reducing its chances to infect new PCs along the way. Browser security features and browser-protecting anti-malware products can be useful for blocking the drive-by-downloads that install the ICQ Virus, and, of course, SpywareRemove.com malware experts always find it wise to avoid clicking on links unless you're certain that they're safe. Keep in mind that PCs infected by the ICQ Virus usually may be at risk for sending additional ICQ Virus-laden messages to any ICQ contacts.

With respect to deleting an ICQ Virus, anti-malware products always should be used. The ICQ Virus does try to hide its major components and even may create backup copies of itself in case its primary installation is deleted. However, a competent anti-malware program should be able to remove all copies of the ICQ Virus during a basic system scan.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

yourhotfeed.com