PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM

Posted: July 22, 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:	16

First Seen:	July 22, 2013
Last Seen:	March 17, 2021
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

A variant of the well-developed Trojan Zeus or Zbot banking Trojan, PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM is distributed through spam e-mail messages and may, once PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM compromises your PC, use your own computer's resources for further spam-distributing attacks. However, SpywareRemove.com malware experts are even more concerned with PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM's other attack capabilities, which include linking your PC to a botnet through a backdoor vulnerability and stealing confidential information. Despite its relatively humble means of infecting new computers, PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM is classified as a high-level PC threat, and robust anti-malware software should be considered mandatory for removing PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM or blocking its installation before PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM can do significant damage to your privacy or PC security.

PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM: A Gift of Fire... to Burn Up Your Bank Account

While the Zeus of myth was a noted distributor of thunderbolts, Trojans created with the Zeus kit like PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM are only slightly less dangerous to your PC than a direct lightning strike could be. PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM and other members of this well-updated family are notorious for having sophisticated self-defenses (such as injecting their own code into the processes of other programs or, in some variants, rootkit installation techniques) to enable them to launch their attacks without any interference from your PC's basic security features. Based on SpywareRemove.com malware experts long familiarity with Zeus and its output, the following attacks should be considered particularly probable during any PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM or other Zeus infection:

The theft of private information, such as a website or software account login. Zeus variants like PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM Trojans are especially known for trying to steal bank account information, which they may do through nearly-undetectable Man-in-the-middle attacks that intercept information as it's transferred through your browser. They also may inject malicious content into your browser, such as changes to a bank's page that request other information that PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM may proceed to steal.
A backdoor vulnerability that allows PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM and related PC threats to control your computer through a remote server's commands. This control can be used to delete programs, transfer files, install other malware or disable important security features.
PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM, in particular, also has been linked to botnets that commit DDoS attacks and distribute spam to other victims. These attacks exploit your PC's resources automatically and may, in severe cases, even cause some noticeable performance issues.

Unhooking Your PC from PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM's Web of Bots

It's no accident that PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM has been found to include heavy support for botnet attacks – PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM is itself, distributed by those same attacks via e-mail messages. The e-mail spam typically includes a malicious file attachment that, once it's launched, installs PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers and others in the industry estimate that PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM and other high-level PC threats most likely are responsible for the recent increase in spam attacks, which have roughly doubled from early 2013 to this month.

To keep your PC safe from well-known infection vectors for PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM, you always should use anti-malware software to check files from unsafe sources before opening them. Since PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM is perfectly capable of harvesting a set of e-mail addresses and using them to send spam attacks under the disguise of a known contact, you also may wish to do the same precautions whenever receiving unusual messages from friends, coworkers and family members.

Of course, removing PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM always should use potent anti-malware software, as always is the best means of removing Trojans with sophisticated and multi-layered defenses. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers also recommend using extra security steps as required to disable PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM, such as switching to Safe Mode or booting from an uninfected flash drive.

PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM

Threat Metric

PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM: A Gift of Fire... to Burn Up Your Bank Account

Unhooking Your PC from PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AM's Web of Bots

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