Punkey Malware

Posted: June 5, 2015

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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	42

First Seen:	June 5, 2015
Last Seen:	May 12, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Punkey Malware, which acquires its name from the 80s sitcom 'Punky Brewster,' is a Point-of-Sale Trojan that compromises machines specialized for processing financial transactions, and then transfers collected financial data to third parties. Even one Punkey Malware infection can compromise hundreds or thousands of credit cards, and offers hackers opportunities for fraudulent transactions and identity theft without needing to target the victim's personal computer. With respect to the business systems being compromised, any anti-malware solutions employed for removing the Punkey Malware also should be capable of detecting secondary threats that may be installed by this threat.

A Financially Deadly Combination of Threats

The year's rise in PoS-based Trojans targeting businesses also has included new entries into that threat category, such as the Punkey Malware. However, despite its prominence as specialized spyware recently deployed against a confidential restaurant chain, the Punkey Malware also has some characteristics similar to those of ransomware and backdoor Trojans. Some of its major traits may include:

Downloading and installing other threats on the infected machine.
Encrypting any collected data, such as credit card numbers. Unlike many file encryptors, the Punkey Malware is expected to use this encryption to increase the sale value to different third-party organizations (instead of trying to ransom any collected information to the victims).
The Punkey Malware also branches out into spyware attacks of a different nature, and may log the keyboard strokes of the machine's user for collecting additional information.

The Punkey Malware also may check for updates to itself or cause other forms of network activity, that, if monitored carefully, may be identifiable as telltale signs of a threat infection. Like NewPOSThings (a similar PoS Trojan), the Punkey Malware also specifically targets devices meant for processing credit cards. Victims of compromised information may be able to identify fraudulent financial records associated with the Punkey Malware activity, and should alert any business suspected to have been compromised.

The Proper Cure to a Trojan Cocktail

The Punkey Malware comes in variants for both 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows. Although the name of the latest chain to be compromised by the Punkey Malware remains confidential, malware experts can verify that the Trojan was being distributed in October of last year. The distribution methods in use still are being examined, but past PoS Trojans have exploited out-of-date software vulnerabilities, removable devices and even disgruntled employees to gain access to a business system.

Specialized anti-malware products always should be used for uninstalling the Punkey Malware, which is a spyware product intended to avoid ready identification. A Punkey Malware infection also has a high chance of being associated with the presence of other threats installed by the Punkey Malware automatically. Most PC threats playing similar roles may downgrade the machine's security status or implement new ways of collecting information and leave few (if any) symptoms behind them.

Punkey Malware

Threat Metric

A Financially Deadly Combination of Threats

The Proper Cure to a Trojan Cocktail

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