Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo

Posted: March 15, 2013

Threat Metric

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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.

Ranking:	10,381
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	1,276

First Seen:	March 15, 2013
Last Seen:	October 13, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo is a Trojan that's used to install a more sophisticated PC threat than itself: a backdoor Trojan that can compromise your computer's security by allowing criminals to access it through a C&C server. Recent Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo attacks have been found to be distributed through e-mail spam messages that are themed after topics such as human rights activism in Tibet and Uyghur. The attacks that install Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo (and allow Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo to install other malware) use drive-by-download techniques that can allow an infection to take place without the PC user necessarily being aware of the activity. While having proper e-mail security always is useful, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you also have strong anti-malware software to delete Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo if the former ever should fail you.

Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo: Yet Another Red Alert for Opening Odd PDF Files

Spam e-mail messages carrying PDF file attachments are among the most used ways of spreading malware to new victims, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers, in particular, note the previous usage of Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo's installation exploit in similar PC threats like MiniDuke. Besides being targeted at pro-Tibetan and pro-Uyghur activists, the e-mails that install Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo Trojans are very similar to previous attacks, and require you to download and launch the file attachment before your PC is infected.

However, the vulnerability embedded in this PDF file will allow Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo to be installed as soon as the PDF file is launched. To minimize these types of vulnerabilities, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers encourage you to keep all Adobe software updated – which will correct many drive-by-download exploits as they're identified by the company in question. However, you always should be suspicious of e-mail messages that carry unusual files, and, in general, should scan them with appropriate anti-malware software before you open them.

The Total Possible Damage of a Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo Attack

While Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo's payload hasn't yet been analyzed conclusively, SpywareRemove.com malware experts, based on their familiarity with identical past attacks, note that PC threats installed by Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo Trojans are likely to include advanced spyware (covert surveillance and information theft) functions, as well as functions for disabling your PC's basic security features. However, there aren't any symptoms confirmed for either Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo or the backdoor Trojan that Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo installs. As such, you shouldn't expect to be able to identify a Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo infection visually.

As part of a multiple-threat attack with many files that use misleading file names, Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo should be deleted with suitable anti-malware software. SpywareRemove.com malware experts are forced to warn that attempting to delete Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo by hand is likely to either result in an incomplete removal of Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo or a deletion of the wrong files entirely.

Due to the strategic and structural similarities between Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo and MiniDuke (as well as similar PC threats), some PC security researchers speculate that Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo is distributed as part of a surveillance operation by the Chinese government. However, it appears to be equally likely that the original development of Trojan.Win32.Agent.hwoo and its installation techniques merely was 'borrowed' by independent – and relatively unpredictable – malware distributors that are unrelated to the Chinese government.

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:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp\AcroRd32.exe

File name: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp\AcroRd32.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

clbcatq.dll

File name: clbcatq.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

InfectFile.dll

File name: InfectFile.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

GetWorkType.dll

File name: GetWorkType.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

https://feed.streambrossearch.com/?q=