Tranwos

Posted: June 10, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	95

First Seen:	June 11, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Tranwos is a member of one of the most common PC threat categories to date – the dual-purpose backdoor Trojan and Trojan downloader. Designed to disable your PC's security so that Tranwos can install other malware, Tranwos also enjoys the advantage of a limited use of file encryption, which increases the difficulty of detecting and deleting Tranwos – especially before its payload has been launched. Deleting malware installed by Tranwos without deleting Tranwos will, naturally, only give Tranwos an opening to repeat its attacks, and SpywareRemove.com malware experts emphasize the need to uproot a Tranwos infection thoroughly to prevent prolonged attacks against your computer.

Tranwos Enjoy a Key Windows Feature: Irony

File encryption, or an organized scrambling of file data to make it indecipherable without the proper key, often is used as a threat by ransomware Trojans and Police Ransomware Trojans of various types, but the Tranwos Trojan puts the idea of encryption to a different use: defending itself. This is not the only time SpywareRemove.com malware experts have seen the Encrypting File System, a baseline security feature for Windows, being abused in this manner, although most such PC threats tend to be enclosed in archive files (such as ZIPs or RARs). As a result of its encryption, which applies to both its files and its folder containers, Tranwos cannot be detected by relevant anti-malware tools until Tranwos actually is executed. This protection also prevents secondary operating systems from accessing Tranwos's file contents. Tranwos's hiding location of choice, a randomly-named folder inside the often-cluttered Temp folder, also is difficult to detect from a visual/manual viewpoint.

SpywareRemove.com malware research team's leans towards Tranwos being a Trojan downloader that is intended mainly to install other PC threats that serve more focused purposes in aggression than itself. However, Tranwos does include a robust backdoor function, as well as connectivity with a variable number of Command & Control servers that may configure Tranwos for other attacks of its own. Backdoor Trojans like Tranwos are significant security risks, and usually are classified as high-level threats when fully functional.

Keeping Tranwos from Making Swiss Cheese of Your Firewall

Backdoor Trojans like a typical Tranwos infection usually are accompanied by other PC threats that are downloaded in the background. In terms of compatibility, SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn that Tranwos is able to affect most versions of Windows, including modern versions like Windows 7. Tranwos also is a very newly-identified Trojan and may not be detectable at all by outdated security programs (even when discounting Tranwos's encryption defenses).

Updated and potent anti-malware utilities should be put to the task of deleting Tranwos, which does not have any major symptoms to accompany its attacks. Because of Tranwos's additional defenses, SpywareRemove.com malware experts also warn that you may need extra tools, such as programs for bypassing NTFS permissions, to remove all of Tranwos's components. This particularly is true if you lack access to your Windows computer's admin account.

Tranwos

Threat Metric

Tranwos Enjoy a Key Windows Feature: Irony

Keeping Tranwos from Making Swiss Cheese of Your Firewall

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