Mal/Iframe-AL

Posted: March 6, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	14

First Seen:	March 6, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Mal/Iframe-AL is a generic detection for browser-redirecting website exploits. Recent Mal/Iframe-AL attacks have become notably prolific and have been known to be inserted into benign websites already infected – different from deliberately malicious sites. Regardless of how you encounter Mal/Iframe-AL, Mal/Iframe-AL will force your browser to load external content from a second website, with the usual results including a Blackhole Exploit Kit-assisted drive-by-download attack. Mal/Iframe-AL's attacks can install high-level PC threats without your permission, and SpywareRemove.com malware analysts recommend that you use the highest degree of caution in avoiding and disinfecting Mal/Iframe-AL-related malware. Website administrators, in particular, should be careful to try to detect and remove Mal/Iframe-AL before Mal/Iframe-AL can abuse their website traffic to acquire new victims.

Mal/Iframe-AL: the Start of Your Trip into a Malware Abyss

Mal/Iframe-AL is a label that's applicable to any type of harmful redirect that's injected into an unrelated website. Common formats for Mal/Iframe-AL attacks include JavaScript files (in which case disabling JavaScript from your browser can be a helpful defense) and malicious iFrame content. In either case, Mal/Iframe-AL is inserted into the code of a normal website and then allowed to launch automatically whenever a vulnerable browser loads said site. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers particularly warn that, despite Mal/Iframe-AL being able to facilitate the automatic installation of various dangerous PC threats like rootkits or banking Trojans, most Mal/Iframe-AL attacks don't generate visible symptoms.

While Mal/Iframe-AL always has been a very common PC threat, the most recent waves of Mal/Iframe-AL are especially noted for using redirects to Blackhole Exploit Kits (AKA Blacole or BEK). BEK then selects from a configurable array of software vulnerabilities that will allow it to install malicious software onto your computer. Since BEK is a for-hire kit that can and has been used to deliver many types of different payloads onto vulnerable computers, the types of damage that can result from a successful Mal/Iframe-AL attack can range from something as minor as unwanted browser redirects all the way up to a backdoor that allows criminals to take over your computer entirely.

Getting the Web's Biggest Threat Out of Your Site

Mal/Iframe-AL has been responsible for what some estimate to be a staggering total of thirty percent of all recently-detected online PC threats. Because Mal/Iframe-AL is most likely to be encountered in normally-trustworthy websites that have been hacked, SpywareRemove.com malware research team suggests the following security steps to keep your possible Mal/Iframe-AL exposure to a minimum:

If you're responsible for a website domain, monitor your website's code for unusual insertions that could be indicative of Mal/Iframe-AL or similar PC threats. The presence of unrecognizable additions to your site's code should be dealt with promptly, and security issues that allow criminals to access your website's code likewise should be attended to as quickly as possible. Always erase Mal/Iframe-AL from your website's code as soon as Mal/Iframe-AL is spotted. SpywareRemove.com malware experts have noted that popular blogging domains often are attacked in this fashion via software vulnerabilities that can be prevented by updating your website-management software.
With respect to browsing other websites, you should keep your web browser updated, disable unneeded features (such as Java) whenever they're not required, and use strong overall security settings.

Like all potentially high-level PC threats, Mal/Iframe-AL's payloads should be removed by a suitable anti-malware program. However, knowing how to remove Mal/Iframe-AL should not be an issue for anyone who isn't a website administrator.

Mal/Iframe-AL

Threat Metric

Mal/Iframe-AL: the Start of Your Trip into a Malware Abyss

Getting the Web's Biggest Threat Out of Your Site

Leave a Reply