Trojan.WinLNK.Agent

Seeing your antivirus product report a file as 'Trojan.WinLNK.Agent' means that you might have fallen victim to a phishing email that is being used to distribute malware. The good news is that the malware might not be installed on your computer just yet – this is because the Trojan.WinLNK.Agent detection is used to describe malicious 'LNK' files that are crafted with the sole purpose of executing a malicious piece of code that fetches a cyber-threat from a remote server. We advise you to be extra careful when downloading documents from incoming email messages, especially if you do not know who the sender is – phishing emails are one of the most popular ways of distributing malicious software.

Keep in mind that not all 'LNK' files are dangerous – this is a legitimate file extension that trustworthy applications often use. However, due to its ability to execute arbitrary code, it may often be weaponized by cybercriminals.

If you have recently opened an unknown LNK file on your computer, then we advise you to run a full system scan to make sure that no malicious software was installed on your system. One of the latest email phishing campaigns that uses 'LNK' files to deliver malware is associated with the Coronavirus outbreak – cybercriminals are disguising their malicious files as newsletters regarding the Coronavirus and the events surrounding it.