Mal/VB-AD

Posted: December 7, 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:	14,622
Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	5,670

First Seen:	December 7, 2011
Last Seen:	September 11, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Mal/VB-AD is a generic label for a Visual Basic-based set of malicious code that can be injected into another file (as a virus) or set to run in the form of an independent program (as a Trojan). Because Mal/VB-AD is a generalized term, it can refer to many types of PC threats that can engage in an almost limitless variety of attacks. However, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have found that Mal/VB-AD is particularly-likely to infect removable drive devices (such as USB thumb drives) to attempt to spread itself to other computers. Due to this risk, you should avoid sharing removable drive devices or using local networks until you've confirmed that Mal/VB-AD has been removed from your PC with a good anti-malware application. Laxness in removing Mal/VB-AD may result in criminals having remote access to your computer or other dangers (such as keylogging or browser redirects).

Mal/VB-AD - a Flexible PC Threat from Ye Olden Times

Although Mal/VB-AD's techniques for attacking computers are relatively-timeless, its origins are also fairly-old as far as PC threats go – Mal/VB-AD was first identified by various types of PC security companies in the middle of 2009. Having up-to-date threat databases shouldn't be necessary for your anti-malware software to detect a basic Mal/VB-AD attack, although new variants of Mal/VB-AD may still require updates to be completely-identified. Mal/VB-AD can be a part of another file (in the form of a virus) or set to be an independent program (in the form of a Trojan), depending on which method of packaging is convenient for the criminals behind a given variant of Mal/VB-AD. Mal/VB-AD may also use encryption to hide its code, although competent anti-malware programs should be able to detect an active Mal/VB-AD infection regardless of this disguise.

SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have also noted that Mal/VB-AD has a history of infecting USB devices. In most cases, PC threats that engage in this behavior (including Mal/VB-AD) will also install themselves onto any uninfected PC that uses that same device. If you suspect that Mal/VB-AD has attacked your PC, the first step you should take should be to avoid sharing out any removable drive devices that are connected to your computer. Similar precautions may also be necessary for network-shared resources.

Getting Your PC Up to Modern Times without This 2009-Era Threat Dragging It Back

Due to the flexibility of Mal/VB-AD's packaging, SpywareRemove.com malware experts recommend that you use anti-malware applications of good repute to detect and delete Mal/VB-AD infections. Although a system scan in Safe Mode should be more than enough to accomplish this, you should remember to include network-shared folders and removable devices in this scan, or Mal/VB-AD may be able to survive on neighboring computers. A failure to do this promptly may result in some or all of the following attacks on your PC:

Browser redirects to malicious websites.
Blocked security programs (such as the Task Manager, Registry Editor or anti-virus scanners).
The presence of other forms of PC threats that are installed by Mal/VB-AD.
Theft of private information such as passwords, account login info or credit card numbers.
Exposure of your PC to remote access by criminals.

Mal/VB-AD

Threat Metric

Mal/VB-AD - a Flexible PC Threat from Ye Olden Times

Getting Your PC Up to Modern Times without This 2009-Era Threat Dragging It Back

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