Shiotob

Posted: October 9, 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:	26

First Seen:	October 9, 2013
Last Seen:	May 5, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Shiotob is a family of spyware programs designed for hiding from the victim while stealing any accessible information that could be profitable to criminals, such as identity-related information or account login info. Malware research team has found e-mail to be the major infection vector for Shiotob variants, which usually are distributed through general spam attacks that are disguised as package notifications or invoices. Since Shiotob, like any traditional spyware program, gathers your information while doing its best to conceal itself, detecting or deleting Shiotob without the availability of appropriate anti-malware software may be considered a challenging job, at best.

The Package Arrival that Heralds a Soon-To-Be Heist Against Your Computer

Shiotob is one of many Trojans that use e-mail spam as a favorite means of distribution. While Shiotob e-mail messages do require that you open and launch the disguised file attachment, these attachments are mislabeled to confuse their victims, and usually are accompanied by semi-believable messages regarding hotel reservations or package delivery services. Troj/Agent-AAJO, Troj/Zbot-BWI, Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.QXN and Trojan.Gamarue.E are some of the other Trojans that have been known to use the same distribution strategies as Shiotob. As usual for such PC threats, Shiotob's installer is hidden inside a ZIP archive, and this file compression may prevent some security programs from detecting it.

Although Shiotob installs itself with no fanfare, malware experts have found the consequences of a typical Shiotob infection to be quite alarming. Prominent security risks tied to Shiotob include:

The potential installation of a new threat that's downloaded by Shiotob (as per the instructions Shiotob receives from its C&C server).
The theft of basic system information, such as the status of the UAC, which may be exploited and used in additional attacks.
The theft of account login information for major FTP clients, e-mail clients and any websites that are accessed through major brands of Web browsers.
The modification of your Internet connectivity and browser settings to allow Shiotob to communicate with its servers without being blocked.

Getting Tabs on the Invisible Shiotob Spy

Members of Shiotob's family often use memory process-injecting attacks to insert their own damaging code into the processes of other applications, including a variety of basic Windows components. Since you should assume that Shiotob is open by default unless additional steps are taken to disable Shiotob, SpywareRemove.com malware research team recommends booting into Safe Mode before scanning your computer to remove Shiotob.

Shiotob should be removed as quickly as possible – since any information stolen during its attacks will remain in criminal possession even after you've deleted Shiotob from your PC. Account passwords and other sensitive data that may be compromised always should be changed to prevent account hijacks and other abuses. On the other hand, if you follow the advice of SpywareRemove.com malware research team and don't habitually open suspicious e-mail attachments at the drop of a hat, your computer will not be likely to be infected with Shiotob at all.

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:

DHL-Worldwide-Delivery-Notification-[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip

File name: DHL-Worldwide-Delivery-Notification-[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip
Mime Type: unknown/zip
Group: Malware file

DHL-International-Delivery-Notification_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip

File name: DHL-International-Delivery-Notification_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip
Mime Type: unknown/zip
Group: Malware file

DHL_ONLINE_SHIPPING_PREALERT_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip

File name: DHL_ONLINE_SHIPPING_PREALERT_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip
Mime Type: unknown/zip
Group: Malware file

DHL_Express_POST-NOTIFICATION_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip

File name: DHL_Express_POST-NOTIFICATION_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip
Mime Type: unknown/zip
Group: Malware file

Booking_Hotel_Reservation_Details_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip

File name: Booking_Hotel_Reservation_Details_[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS].zip
Mime Type: unknown/zip
Group: Malware file

execoumixer.exe

File name: execoumixer.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

playwd.exe

File name: playwd.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

winquser.exe

File name: winquser.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

winzhlp.exe

File name: winzhlp.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "ProxyEnable" = "0"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "GlobalUserOffline" = "0"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "random value name" for example, "winzhlp" or "winquser" = "[MALWARE PATH] -autorun", for example "%APPDATA%\winquser.exe"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\[VERSION NUMBER]\[RANDOM NUMBERS AND CHARACTERS] (default) = "[BINARY VALUES]"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\userinit.exe "Debugger" = "[MALWARE PATH]" for example C:\Windows\System32\execoumixer.exe

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

armyclub.netquickring.netbodoyizu.comckirarhobrw.mrbasic.comeotukposed.sendsmtp.comereso.netevishop.netfirerice.comgenubajom.servegame.comlahobenom.servegame.comnepcuibeg.sytes.netoraomana.ccpeertag.comquickring.netricepad.netrivadolti.sendsmtp.comropohexa.comsafeoil.nettamnia.comtekiharob.sytes.netufoconklpef.sytes.netuvoceconeht.myftp.org