VBS/SST-A

Posted: March 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:	31

First Seen:	March 6, 2012
Last Seen:	February 5, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

VBS/SST-A is a Visual Basic-based worm that's spread as fake Anna Kournikova .jpg files, typically through spam e-mail messages. Although somewhat infamous for its inclusion on the popular sitcom Friends, VBS/SST-A isn't capable of causing serious damage to your PC, although VBS/SST-A can propagate itself rapidly by exploiting Microsoft Outlook's address book for potential victims. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts recommend that caution around unusual e-mail file attachments is likely to serve well enough to prevent VBS/SST-A from infecting your PC. However, VBS/SST-A should be removed by qualified anti-malware programs as soon as its infection is detected, despite its lack of a significant payload, since to do otherwise only allows VBS/SST-A the chance to distribute itself to other computers.

VBS/SST-A – One Picture That Isn't Worth Viewing

VBS/SST-A is a simple worm that was, in fact, created in a matter of hours and, as such, is easily detected and removed by any brand of competent anti-malware scanner. Despite its similarity to more harmful worms like ILOVEYOU, all known versions of VBS/SST-A aren't explicitly designed to attack or damage your PC. In fact, although popular media has, in some cases, reported VBS/SST-A's payload to be destructive to files, the real VBS/SST-A has no ability to delete or damage your computer's files. Nevertheless, as an unwanted program without beneficial functions, VBS/SST-A should be deleted as soon as you suspect its presence and can access your choice of anti-malware programs.

VBS/SST-A enables its own propagation by stealing e-mail addresses from Outlook's address book and then sending spam messages to these addresses. This spam includes VBS/SST-A as a file attachment (named AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs), supposedly as a picture of athlete Anna Kournikova, although no picture is displayed if you do open the VBS/SST-A file. Typical VBS/SST-A spam can be identified via the following sample:

Subject: Here you have, ;O)
Hi:Check This!

How to Make Sure That VBS/SST-A Doesn't Harm Anyone Else

Although VBS/SST-A doesn't have a significant payload beyond spreading itself to new computers, new versions of VBS/SST-A have been noted to contact remote servers, which may allow VBS/SST-A to be used for other attacks. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts also note that, since VBS/SST-A is dependent on Outlook to find new targets, avoiding usage of Outlook's address book can help to prevent VBS/SST-A from spreading.

VBS/SST-A may also be identified by quite a few aliases, including its most well-known moniker as the Anna Kournikova worm – although VBS/SST-A is not, technically speaking, a virus. Other aliases include Kalamar.A, VBS/VBSWG.J@MM, OntheFly and Calamar. Because VBS/SST-A was first identified in 2001, it's unlikely that updated software is necessary to detect or delete VBS/SST-A, although some anti-malware programs simply may fail to detect VBS/SST-A due to its significant age and lack of other attacks besides its spam.

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:

AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs

File name: AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs
Mime Type: unknown/vbs
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{Subkeys}HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\OnTheFly

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

service-care.space