Worm.Generic.24461

Posted: May 3, 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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	124

First Seen:	May 3, 2012
Last Seen:	March 15, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Worm.Generic.24461 is a generic detection for a worm that's often distributed by mass e-mail 'spam' messages, and is frequently used to identify members of the Win32/Mydoom family. Besides spreading through e-mail by exploiting the very resources of the computers that Worm.Generic.24461 infects, Worm.Generic.24461 may also include network-propagation functions that cause any PC that accesses a network-shared drive with an infected system to be next in line for infection by Worm.Generic.24461. Worm.Generic.24461 can also include support for backdoor Trojan functions, which SpywareRemove.com malware experts note as a high-level threat to the safety of any PC. Because Worm.Generic.24461 isn't guaranteed to have visible symptoms and may copy itself to multiple locations, you should use thorough anti-malware scans when attempting to detect and delete Worm.Generic.24461 from your computer.

How Worm.Generic.24461 Gets Around... and Around... and Around Again

Like almost all worms, Worm.Generic.24461 can include multiple methods of distributing itself clandestinely through such routes as e-mail and shared networks. Common Worm.Generic.24461 infection vectors that SpywareRemove.com malware researchers admonish to watch out for include:

E-mail-based attacks. An active Worm.Generic.24461 infection may not only use your computer's resources to send out e-mail messages with itself as an attachment, but can even steal your contact information to find suitable targets. Accordingly, it's imperative that you prevent Worm.Generic.24461 from spreading to friends, business partners and any other contacts that you've included in your e-mail address databases.
Network-based attacks. Worm.Generic.24461 may attempt to detect drives or folders that are shared on local networks so that Worm.Generic.24461 can infect any other PC that accesses those locations. Common exploits for accomplishing this do so without leaving symptoms or requiring the other PC's user to do so much as consciously open a file.
Removable hard drive-based attacks. Worm.Generic.24461 may use Autorun-based exploits to conceal and distribute itself on USB thumb drives and other types of media storage devices, automatically installing itself after the device is plugged in to a new computer.
P2P-based attacks. Worm.Generic.24461 can copy itself to the 'Shared' folders for P2P programs like Kazaa, enabling them to be automatically distributed to other computers via typical P2P file sharing methods.

Besides all of these propagation methods, Worm.Generic.24461 may also be present in multiple iterations on a single computer, and SpywareRemove.com malware research team recommends that you don't try to detect Worm.Generic.24461 without some automated assistance.

Why 'Generic' Doesn't Equate to 'Harmless'

Variants of Worm.Generic.24461 are often noted to be in collusion with various backdoor Trojans, which can hamper your computer's security in various ways, such as disabling security software, installing other PC threats, creating undesirable security settings changes or launching browser redirect attacks. Ultimately, the presence of any backdoor Trojan, and, therefore, Worm.Generic.24461, is equivalent to giving a criminal total reign over your PC, and this leads SpywareRemove.com malware experts to recommend Worm.Generic.24461's prompt and forceful deletion by a reputable anti-malware product.

Worm.Generic.24461 can also be identified by other names. Common aliases for Worm.Generic.24461 include W32/Mydoom.M!dam, Email-Worm.Win32.Mydoom.m, Worm:Win32/Mydoom.O@mm and Worm.Mail.Mydoom.dh.

Worm.Generic.24461

Threat Metric

How Worm.Generic.24461 Gets Around... and Around... and Around Again

Why 'Generic' Doesn't Equate to 'Harmless'

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