Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell

Posted: August 23, 2016

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:	95

First Seen:	August 23, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell is a browser hijacker and banking Trojan that redirects its victims from legitimate bank domains to fraudulent ones. Currently, Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell's campaign only is confirmed for targeting Brazilians, most likely as a result of the increased activity provoked by the Olympic Games. Brazilian PC users should monitor their bank accounts for any unauthorized transactions and use anti-malware products for removing Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell infections before they can cause any damage.

Shelling out Reais to PowerShell Trojans

It's not unusual for threatening software to hijack different components of Windows in the course of their attacks. In 2016, malware experts have seen numerous examples of these threats using PowerShell, such as the PoS-targeting PowerSniff Ransomware. However, it's rarer for dedicated spyware to use similar techniques, which makes the confirmation of the new Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell campaign as mildly noteworthy.

Like many Trojans of the year, Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell only targets PCs with the Brazilian Portuguese set as the default language, making Olympics traffic a high priority. It uses fake mobile phone receipts transferred over e-mail to install itself and then launches an instance of PowerShell to a command-line and associated scripts. Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell uses this access to modify the proxy settings of Internet Explorer, thereby allowing the Trojan to hijack your Web server traffic. Past browser hijackers have launched similar attacks, included, perhaps, most infamously, DNS Changer.

Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell redirects the Web surfer from any of several, previously-specified bank websites, all of which are local to Brazil. Malware experts have found these attacks capable of causing various forms of damage, but especially exposure to copycat or 'phishing' sites that fake the appearance of bank websites. Victims may enter their password or other information, without realizing that their browser has loaded a separate, almost identical (but corrupted) website.

Powering Your Way Through the Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell Heists

Although malware analysts have noted regular activity from threat authors interested in hijacking Brazilian bank accounts with minor configuration changes, Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell's attacks are capable of impacting other regions potentially. Even more importantly than that, Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell's default payload modifies settings that are used by more browsers than just Internet Explorer: they also impact other browsing programs that don't provide separate proxy settings. Well-used products in that category include Chrome and Edge, although malware experts note that Firefox users have independent proxy settings that make them immune to the current Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell's hijackings.

Redirects to phishing sites may be visible from their minor anomalies in any Web addresses or Web page formats. PC users who believe their accounts or PCs compromised by Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell should notify their banks and change any critical login information immediately. After removing Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell with any suitable anti-malware tools, use Microsoft's recommended solutions for restoring default proxy settings for your version of Windows.

Precautionary anti-malware defenses become especially important when both Windows features and safe Web browsers can turn against your PC. Stay informed on the conventional means of receiving mobile phone receipts and, when in doubt, avoid clicking on files that could be installers for Trojan-Proxy.PowerShell.