Mal/Dotter-A

Posted: December 21, 2011

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:	3,960
Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	632

First Seen:	December 21, 2011
Last Seen:	March 9, 2025
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Mal/Dotter-A is a Trojan dropper that installs other types of malicious software and is propagated by spam e-mail messages. As of December 2011, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have found that Mal/Dotter-A e-mail messages tend to masquerade under the disguise of a Barclays Capital financial newsletter, although this is only a hoax to tempt you into launching Mal/Dotter-A's file attachment and doesn't provide real information about the Barclays Capital bank. Because Mal/Dotter-A attacks in this manner are also associated with Adobe software vulnerabilities that can allow criminals to control your PC, you should strongly-consider updating any relevant software on your computer to eliminate this security weakness. The recently-defined nature of both Mal/Dotter-A and the relevant Adobe software exploit may require you to install threat database updates before your anti-malware scanner of choice can detect and delete Mal/Dotter-A.

Mal/Dotter-A: Just One More Reason Not to Trust a File Type on First Glance

Within its spam-distributed e-mail message, Mal/Dotter-A appears to be a harmless .pdf file that contains a newsletter about a well-known bank. However, Mal/Dotter-A's file, named 'Barclays Capital Financial Sponsors Weekly Newsletter.pdf,' actually exploits a recent security hole that exists in certain versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat (version 10.1.1 and earlier versions for Windows/Mac, and 9.x to 9.4.6 for Unix). This vulnerability, known by the label CVE-2011-2462, can allow criminals to control your PC via memory corruption or remote execution of malicious code.

Unfortunately, even this serious breach of security isn't all that Mal/Dotter-A has up its sleeve. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have also found that Mal/Dotter-A, as part of its default behavior, also contains an additional payload that allows Mal/Dotter-A to install other PC threats or inject malicious code into normal system processes. Therefore, any attempt to get rid of Mal/Dotter-A should utilize the best anti-malware software that's available to detect, not just Mal/Dotter-A, but any PC threats that Mal/Dotter-A may have also installed on your computer.

The Proper Safety on Your End to Fix Adobe's Mal/Dotter-A Oversight

Defending your PC from Mal/Dotter-A attacks is preferable to needing to find a way to remove Mal/Dotter-A, and, so far, requires only a basic awareness of Mal/Dotter-A's proliferation methodology and online safety:

Be cautious of file attachments from unusual sources, and don't trust a file attachment to be safe purely due to its file type.
Delete spam e-mail messages, such as Mal/Dotter-A's own Barclays newsletter hoax, when you see them. The main body of text for Mal/Dotter-A's fake e-mail has been noted below for reference:
From: Safwan.Shabab@barclayscapital.com
Subject: Barclays Capital U.S. Financial Sponsors Newsletter

All,
Please find attached this week's Barclays Capital U.S. Financial Sponsors Newsletter.
Thanks,
Safwan
Keep your software, particularly Adobe-brand products and anti-malware programs, up-to-date. This has the twofold benefit of minimizing security holes like CVE-2011-2462, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers also note the importance of having an anti-malware scanner that can detect Mal/Dotter-A by its latest definition.

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:

C:\ProgramData\DGIJECGDGC.exe

File name: DGIJECGDGC.exe
Size: 1.41 MB (1410232 bytes)
MD5: bb6f61601f7ebe20fb87a21dc11c16b1
Detection count: 66
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\ProgramData\DGIJECGDGC.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: July 20, 2024