Troj/Rootkit-KK

Posted: February 6, 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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	14

First Seen:	February 6, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Troj/Rootkit-KK is a Trojan dropper that's spread by fake news sites – most prominently, by a CNN copycat site that's promoted via deceptive Facebook links. SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn to be watchful for faked status updates that warn about a United States attack on the Middle East, since not only is this attack nonexistent, but its link only exists to serve in the form of transportation to a site that installs Troj/Rootkit-KK. Troj/Rootkit-KK itself will, once launched, try to install a rootkit, which should be considered a high-level threat to any PC that's infected by Troj/Rootkit-KK. Since Troj/Rootkit-KK's Facebook scam has already infected tens of thousands of victims as of February 2012, extreme caution around unusual links from this site can be considered well-advised.

The Status Update That Fakes the End of the World to End Your Computer

Links to sites that promote Troj/Rootkit-KK have been noted for their proliferation throughout Facebook in the form of status updates. These realistic-looking messages can even appear in status updates by victims of Troj/Rootkit-KK who have had their accounts hijacked, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you verify the safety of any link or site before considering it a trustworthy download source. One sample of Troj/Rootkit-KK's favorite type of misleading message is noted below:

U.S. Attacks Iran and Saudia Arabia. F**k 🙁 [LINK] The Begin of World War 3?

Following the proffered link will take you to a fraudulent CNN news site that pretends to offer a movie file regarding this nonexistent news. If you try to access the video, you'll be asked to download a 'Flash update' that is, of course, Troj/Rootkit-KK instead of a real update from Adobe. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers remind that acquiring media updates only from their official sources can help as a preventative measure against both this Troj/Rootkit-KK attack and similar attacks that use fake Flash updates (a favorite delivery mechanism for other PC threats).

After the End of Troj/Rootkit-KK's Part in the Attack

Although Troj/Rootkit-KK is noted for its widespread proliferation throughout over sixty thousand computers in a matter of mere hours, SpywareRemove.com malware experts stress that Troj/Rootkit-KK is followed by a multi-step attack. Once Troj/Rootkit-KK is launched, Troj/Rootkit-KK will install Troj/Rootkit-JV, a rootkit that's capable of other attacks such as disabling your security programs, redirecting your web browser or stealing private information. Hpsus/FakeAV-J is a third type of related PC threat that may also be detected by available anti-malware software.

It's recommended that you delete Troj/Rootkit-KK and its payload with any appropriate anti-malware product that's at your disposal, since removing rootkits without assistance from suitable software can be difficult even for PC security experts. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts also recommend being ready to use Safe Mode, a boot from a removable hard drive or even a boot into a second OS, if necessary, to finish scanning your PC without interference from Troj/Rootkit-KK or other PC threats.

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\Application Data\tvbjuwht.log

File name: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\tvbjuwht.log
Mime Type: unknown/log
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{Subkeys}HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\\srxrwxyu.exe