TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY

Posted: November 29, 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:	9/10
Infected PCs:	42

First Seen:	November 29, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY is a Trojan dropper that uses 2010-era software vulnerabilities to install a variant of the backdoor Trojan Lurid (also known as Enfal). Once again, spam e-mail messages are the culprit behind the distribution of TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY's Trojan dropper campaign, with the messages forged to look like news articles about the recent devastation that was left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. If you make a habit of deleting unusual e-mails that request that you open their file attachments, your PC is unlikely to suffer an attack from TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY. However, a successful TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY attack compromises your PC's security sufficiently drastically that SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend immediate usage of powerful anti-malware software as soon as possible. Like all backdoor Trojans, TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY-installed Lurid Trojans can be responsible for a range of security and privacy-compromising attacks with minimal limitations on the damage that can be caused.

TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY: The Latest Bad News to Blow in as a Result of Hurricane Sandy

Malware distributors have a habit of using newsworthy events as plausible covers for their attacks, and TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY is one example of how human suffering is turned into Trojan infections with a little help from basic social engineering tactics. E-mails that distribute TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY have been found to use the title of a recent New York Times blog article on Hurricane Sandy, which may lead victims to thinking that the content is safe.

SpywareRemove.com malware experts also noted a second layer of obfuscation in the choice of using TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY to install malware. Because TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY exploits a Microsoft Office vulnerability (patched two years ago) to install its payload, inexperienced PC users may assume that TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY is safe – just because its file type is a legitimate RTF file. Fortunately, if you update your software regularly, you're already protected against TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY, which will try to install its variant of Lurid without any visible symptoms.

Why Reading TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY's Little Weather Report is a Bad Deal for Your Computer

TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY's payload, detected as BKDR_DLDR.A, is a minor variant of the preexisting Lurid Trojan. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers rate BKDR_DLDR.A infections, like most backdoor infections, as high-level PC threats due to the following issues (which are not a comprehensive list of BKDR_DLDR.A's attack features):

BKDR_DLDR.A may download and install other malware automatically.
BKDR_DLDR.A may monitor your personal information and upload it to a third party server so that it can be exploited by criminals.
BKDR_DLDR.A may delete files to disable programs or damage data.
BKDR_DLDR.A may make various changes to your system settings. These changes can disable applications, deactivate security features, affect your ability to view files or allow malware to launch with Windows.

As a default part of its routine, BKDR_DLDR.A will gather basic information about your PC (such as your operating system version) and transmit that info to its Command & Control server for future exploitation. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you delete TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY, BKDR_DLDR.A and related malware with suitable anti-malware utilities since TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY and its payload are advanced PC threats that will try to avoid being removed.

TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY

Threat Metric

TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY: The Latest Bad News to Blow in as a Result of Hurricane Sandy

Why Reading TROJ_ARTIEF.SDY's Little Weather Report is a Bad Deal for Your Computer

Leave a Reply