TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A

Posted: November 5, 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:	56

First Seen:	November 5, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A is a Trojan that steals pictures from the infected PC by creating copies of the files that are sent to a remote server. TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A's unusually pic-grabbing attack can snatch up to twenty thousand separate files at one time, making TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A a rich potential source of compromised visual data and resources. SpywareRemove.com malware experts haven't found any symptoms associated with TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A, which tries to avoid being detected while TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A attacks the PC in question. Because TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A is both unusual and relatively new in terms of malware, you should use regularly-updated and competent anti-malware products to remove TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A... hopefully before TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A has a chance to steal anything on your computer.

TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A: the Indiscriminate Art Thief

Although most spyware-based Trojans attempt to monitor text-based data (such as web forms or keyboard input), TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A is unique in that its attack functions are devoted to finding and grabbing picture files. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have found that current versions of TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A steal only JPG and JPEG-based pictures, although, for some reason, memory dump files (files useful for identifying the causes of program crashes that are identified by the file type of DMP) also are stolen.

Fortunately, TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A's theft doesn't damage the original files. Instead of transmitting the original files, TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A scans the infected PC's C, D and E drives for the right file types and creates copies of up to twenty thousand such files. These copies are uploaded to a remote FTP server and may be used to conduct further attacks (compromising accounts, blackmailing affected individuals, etc). PC users who store sensitive information in picture formats should be aware that TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A is active in the wild and can be a danger to their computer.

Locking TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A into the Slammer Mid-Heist

SpywareRemove.com malware experts are unable to find any obvious symptoms of TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A's attacks and note that warnings from suitable anti-malware programs may be the only signs you get of a TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A infection. Like similar PC threats, TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A may be distributed through spammed website links, browser exploits or even other malware, such as Zlob and Zbot-based Trojans. Overall strong browser security and basic web-browsing security habits should be used to protect your PC from both TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A and other forms of malware. While current distribution numbers for TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A infections are low, TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A still is a viable threat and will probably be installed without your consent.

While TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A (also identified as BDS/Wasew.A) hasn't been found to include any unusual defenses, TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A is compatible with most versions of Windows. At this time, Mac and Linux-based operating systems appear to be incompatible with TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A. PCs that are infected by TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A should be disinfected by competent anti-malware software as an assurance that all of TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A's components and system changes are deleted.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\ List{malware path and filename} = "{malware path and filename}:*:Enabled:{Port}"