SVC:MBAMSwissArmy Rootkit

Posted: September 5, 2012

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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	27

First Seen:	September 5, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

SVC:MBAMSwissArmy is an alert for a rootkit-based PC threat that's infecting a component of the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program. Besides being a warning for a high-level threat to your computer's safety, some cases of SVC:MBAMSwissArmy alerts have been verified as false positives, or fake warnings due to unintentional program conflicts. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you update any anti-malware programs as regularly as possible, which should minimize false positives for SVC:MBAMSwissArmy. However, if SVC:MBAMSwissArmy is a real alert, SVC:MBAMSwissArmy should be treated as a serious compromise of your PC's safety, and anti-malware software should be used to delete SVC:MBAMSwissArmy without damaging the file that SVC:MBAMSwissArmy is infecting.

Dispelling the Mirage of SVC:MBAMSwissArmy on the Horizon

The majority of fake SVC:MBAMSwissArmy alerts are linked to Avast-brand software, specifically, Avast 7.0.1426. Because 7.0.1426 is an outdated version of Avast, updating your software should stop inaccurate SVC:MBAMSwissArmy alerts from appearing. In the meantime, if you're certain that SVC:MBAMSwissArmy is a false positive, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you configure your anti-malware software to ignore the 'mbamswissarmy.sys' file – a feature that any reputable anti-malware product should possess, and one that should be used whenever a confirmed 'safe' file is inaccurately-detected as malicious. The mbamswissarmy.sys file is required by associated software and its deletion may force you to reinstall the relevant anti-malware program.

Dealing with a Real SVC:MBAMSwissArmy... Before It Deals Poorly with Your Computer

In some cases, SVC:MBAMSwissArmy can also be a real rootkit that's infecting your anti-malware software's files. Such infections can be used to control what PC threats your anti-malware scanners are capable of detecting or removing, and SpywareRemove.com malware research team also notes that it allows SVC:MBAMSwissArmy to launch along with the MBAM program automatically – without any type of separate file or memory process that victims might discern.

Since rootkits are high-level threats that are often associated with banking Trojans and other types of spyware, you should always scan your entire PC if you have any cause to suspect that you have a real SVC:MBAMSwissArmy infection. You may also need to boot your PC in Safe Mode or launch an OS from a USB drive device to start your operating system without SVC:MBAMSwissArmy or related PC threats interfering with your attempts at removing SVC:MBAMSwissArmy. Rootkits, whether SVC:MBAMSwissArmy or otherwise, should never be tolerated, since they use advanced techniques, such as code-injection attacks, to compromise your PC's security and allow remote attackers to access your PC.

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:\Windows\system32\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys

File name: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys
File type: System file
Mime Type: unknown/sys
Group: Malware file