Kankan

Posted: October 21, 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.

Threat Level:	9/10
Infected PCs:	489

First Seen:	October 21, 2013
Last Seen:	January 1, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Kankan is a backdoor Trojan that allows criminals to access your computer, and usually is distributed through attacks involving the Chinese torrent client Xunlei. These attacks have grabbed headlines in particular since the recent confirmation of Xunlei Networking Technologies employees being involved in the design and distribution of Kankan, which intentionally evades your PC's security software and should be considered a potential high-level PC threat. Although Kankan currently only targets victims within China, its Windows and Android-compatible campaign has seen sharp rises – and using suitable anti-malware tools to remove Kankan in the event of an infection should be considered a bare minimum response for the safety of your computer.

How Kankan Can Get to Your PC with Help from the Inside

Although many cases of reputable programs being compromised by third parties have been observed through the Internet's history, malware experts have a particular interest in Kankan for being one of the rare examples of a Trojan that uses distribution methods that originate from the original company, itself. While investigation still is ongoing as to how deeply-involved the Xunlei Networking Technologies company was involved in sending Kankan to arbitrary Xunlei torrent client users, it has been confirmed that at least some employees of the company are responsible for the Kankan campaign as it currently stands.

Along with being able to infect Windows machines, Kankan also uses an Android mobile device-based installation method that only affects owners of 'rooted' Android devices – devices that have been cracked for disabling built-in security and censorship features. Kankan's means of distribution currently still is under analysis, although Kankan does include functions that are intended to let Kankan disable itself whenever Kankan detects anti-malware or other security programs trying to detect Kankan. C&C servers used in Kankan's campaign also are owned by Xunlei, further implicating the company in these attacks.

A Solution to the Kankan Problem for Your PC and Your Phone Alike

Kankan's goals and intended uses remain as mysterious as the full means of its deployment. However, there's no mistaking Kankan as anything but a threat – as Kankan uses components disguised as modules for unrelated programs (such as Microsoft Word) and transmits confidential information about your computer (or mobile device) that could be used in future attacks against it. While the Kankan campaign has shown an impressive drop in infections since the Xunlei company released tools intended to remove Kankan, SpywareRemove.com malware experts suggest backing any Kankan removal efforts up with third-party anti-malware products that can verify that you really have deleted Kankan.

Until the methods of Kankan's distribution has been further elaborated upon, you may want to consider avoiding using the Xunlei torrent client, which, despite its endorsement by Google, still may be a danger to your computer – whether or not Kankan's attacks have any symptoms for you to notice.

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:

INPEnhSetup.exe

File name: INPEnhSetup.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file