Remote-access Guide

commonly used remote access trojans

by Dr. Shaun Koch IV Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Common Remote Access Trojans

  • Sakula. Sakula is a seemingly benign software with a legitimate digital signature, yet it allows attackers complete...
  • KjW0rm. KjW0rm is a worm written in VBS, which makes it difficult to detect on Windows machines. It also uses...
  • Havex. Havex is a RAT that targets industrial control systems (ICS). It grants attackers full control over...

There are a large number of Remote Access Trojans. Some are more well-known than others. SubSeven, Back Orifice, ProRat, Turkojan, and Poison-Ivy are established programs. Others, such as CyberGate, DarkComet, Optix, Shark, and VorteX Rat have a smaller distribution and utilization.

Full Answer

What are some examples of remote access trojans?

Remote Access Trojan Examples. 1 1. Back Orifice. Back Orifice (BO) rootkit is one of the best-known examples of a RAT. It was made by a hacker group named the Cult of the Dead Cow ... 2 2. Sakula. 3 3. Sub7. 4 4. PoisonIvy. 5 5. DarkComet.

What ports do Trojans use?

Trojan Ports This is a list of known common ports that are used by remote access trojans (RATs). Please note that this is not a complete list as new trojans are being released into the wild on an almost daily basis. Unless otherwise noted, all ports are TCP. 1 (UDP) - Sockets des Troie 2 Death 20 Senna Spy FTP server

What is rat Trojan and how does it work?

It infects the target computer through specially configured communication protocols and enables the attacker to gain unauthorized remote access to the victim. RAT trojan is typically installed on a computer without its owner’s knowledge and often as a trojan horse or payload.

What are some of the most common trojans?

34555 (UDP) - Trinoo (for Windows) 35555 (UDP) - Trinoo (for Windows) 37237 Mantis 37651 Yet Another Trojan - YAT

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Which is the best Remote Access Trojan?

Blackshades is a Trojan which is widely used by hackers to gain access to any system remotely. This tool frequently attacks the Windows-based operating system for access.

What are remote access Trojans used for?

Remote access trojans (RATs) are malware designed to allow an attacker to remotely control an infected computer. Once the RAT is running on a compromised system, the attacker can send commands to it and receive data back in response.

Which of the following is a remote Trojan?

Troya is a remote Trojan that works remotely for its creator.

What was the first Remote Access Trojan?

The oldest RAT was first developed in 1996 [10], however legitimate remote access tools were first created in 1989 [11]. Since then, the number of RATs has grown rapidly. The first phase was marked by home-made RATs. In these years, everyone made their own RAT, however these did not prosper and were not heavily used.

Which connection is most commonly used in RATs?

RAT infections are typically carried out via spear phishing and social engineering attacks. Most are hidden inside heavily packed binaries that are dropped in the later stages of the malware's payload execution.

Is remote access Trojan illegal?

Law enforcement officials say that simply possessing a remote-access tool isn't illegal. In fact, remote-access tools are often used for IT support purposes in corporate environments.

What are the common backdoor?

7 most common application backdoorsShadowPad. ... Back Orifice. ... Android APK backdoor. ... Borland/Inprise InterBase backdoor. ... Malicious chrome and Edge extension backdoor. ... Backdoors in outdated WordPress plugins. ... Bootstrap-Sass Ruby library backdoor.

Which of the following is a type of Trojan?

Trojan-Downloader is a special type of trojans which can download & install new versions of malicious programs. Explanation: Trojan-Downloader is another type of trojans that can download & install new versions of malicious programs.

What is a Remote Access Trojan which is installed by SMS spoofing used for?

Malware may also be used to install a backdoor to a system by taking advantage of some vulnerability in the software. For example, Remote Access Trojans are used to create such backdoors, allowing the attacker access to your system from a remote location.

What is a remote access tool?

Remote access programs and tools (sometimes referred to as RATs) allow access and manipulation of systems remotely from another location. Many remote access programs are legitimate tools used by all types of users to access files and data on remote computers.

Is TeamViewer a RAT?

The JS script then launches the malware, which installs a version of TeamViewer, a remote administration tool (RAT), modified by the attackers. As in earlier attacks, the attackers use a malicious DLL library to hide the graphical user interface in order to control the infected system without the user's knowledge.

What is remote access software?

Remote access software enables a technician to get access to a computer remotely, meaning without having to be near it. The computer has to be reachable through a network connection or across the internet.

How do I know if someone is accessing my computer remotely?

You can try any of these for confirmation.Way 1: Disconnect Your Computer From the Internet.Way 2. ... Way 3: Check Your Browser History on The Computer.Way 4: Check Recently Modified Files.Way 5: Check Your computer's Login Events.Way 6: Use the Task Manager to Detect Remote Access.Way 7: Check Your Firewall Settings.More items...•

Can an Iphone get a remote access Trojan?

The iOS Trojan is smart and spies discretely, i.e. does not drain a battery. The RCS mobile Trojans are capable of performing all kinds of spying you can expect from such a tool, including location reporting, taking photos, spying on SMS, WhatsApp and other messengers, stealing contacts and so on.

What is a Remote Access Trojan which is installed by SMS spoofing used for?

Malware may also be used to install a backdoor to a system by taking advantage of some vulnerability in the software. For example, Remote Access Trojans are used to create such backdoors, allowing the attacker access to your system from a remote location.

Is a backdoor malware?

A backdoor is a malware type that negates normal authentication procedures to access a system. As a result, remote access is granted to resources within an application, such as databases and file servers, giving perpetrators the ability to remotely issue system commands and update malware.

What is RAT software?

RAT can also stand for remote administration tool, which is software giving a user full control of a tech device remotely. With it, the user can ac...

What’s the difference between the RAT computer virus and RAT software?

As for functions, there is no difference between the two. Yet, while remote administration tool is for legit usage, RAT connotes malicious and crim...

What are the popular remote access applications?

The common remote desktop tools include but are not limited to TeamViewer, AnyDesk, Chrome Remote Desktop, ConnectWise Control, Splashtop Business...

How do remote access Trojans work?

The Remote Access Trojans get themselves downloaded on a device if the victims click on any attachment in an email or from a game. It enables the attacker to get control over the device and monitor the activities or gaining remote access. This RAT makes itself undetected on the device, and they remain in the device for a longer period of time for getting data that may be confidential.

What is the most powerful Trojan?

One of the most powerful Trojans that are popularly used by the attacker or hacker is Remote Access Trojan. This is mostly used for malicious purposes. This Trojan ensures the stealthy way of accumulating data by making itself undetected. Now, these Trojans have the capacity to perform various functions that damages the victim.

What is the advantage of remote access?

Advantage of Remote Access Trojans : It can be used to capture screenshots. The attacker can activate the webcam, or they can record video. The RAT can be used to delete the files or alter files in the system. It can also be used to capture screenshots.

What is a keylogger used for?

It can be used to monitor the user by using some spyware or other key-logger.

Can an attacker record video?

The attacker can activate the webcam, or they can record video.

How are Remote Access Trojans Useful to Hackers?

Attackers using remote control malware cut power to 80,000 people by remotely accessing a computer authenticated into SCADA (supervisor y control and data acquisition) machines that controlled the country’s utility infrastructure. RAT software made it possible for the attacker to access sensitive resources through bypassing the authenticated user's elevated privileges on the network. Having access to critical machines that control city resources and infrastructure is one of the biggest dangers of RAT malware.

Why do attackers use remote devices?

Instead of storing the content on their own servers and cloud devices, attackers use targeted stolen devices so that they can avoid having accounts and servers shut down for illegal content.

What is remote control software?

Legitimate remote-control software exists to enable an administrator to control a device remotely. For example, administrators use Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) configured on a Windows server to remotely manage a system physically located at another site such as a data center. Physical access to the data center isn’t available to administrators, so RDP gives them access to configure the server and manage it for corporate productivity.

Why do attackers use RATs?

RATs have the same remote-control functionality as RDPs, but are used for malicious purposes. Attackers always code software to avoid detection, but attackers who use a RAT risk being caught when the user is in front of the device and the mouse moves across the screen. Therefore, RAT authors must create a hidden program and use it when the user is not in front of the device. To avoid detection, a RAT author will hide the program from view in Task Manager, a Windows tool that lists all the programs and processes running in memory. Attackers aim to stay hidden from detection because it gives them more time to extract data and explore network resources for critical components that could be used in future attacks.

How to protect yourself from remote access trojans?

Just like protecting yourself from other network malware threats, for remote access trojan protection, in general, you need to avoid downloading unknown items; keep antimalware and firewall up to date, change your usernames and passwords regularly; (for administrative perspective) block unused ports, turn off unused services, and monitor outgoing traffic.

What is a RAT trojan?

RAT trojan is typically installed on a computer without its owner’s knowledge and often as a trojan horse or payload. For example, it is usually downloaded invisibly with an email attachment, torrent files, weblinks, or a user-desired program like a game. While targeted attacks by a motivated attacker may deceive desired targets into installing RAT ...

What Does a RAT Virus Do?

Since a remote access trojan enables administrative control , it is able to do almost everything on the victim machine.

How does RAT malware work?

Once get into the victim’s machine, RAT malware will hide its harmful operations from either the victim or the antivirus or firewall and use the infected host to spread itself to other vulnerable computers to build a botnet.

Why do RATs use a randomized filename?

It is kind of difficult. RATs are covert by nature and may make use of a randomized filename or file path structure to try to prevent identification of itself. Commonly, a RAT worm virus does not show up in the lists of running programs or tasks and its actions are similar to those of legal programs.

Is Sub 7 a trojan horse?

Typically, Sub 7 allows undetected and unauthorized access. So, it is usually regarded as a trojan horse by the security industry. Sub7 worked on the Windows 9x and Windows NT family of OSes, up to and including Windows 8.1. Sub7 has not been maintained since 2014. 4.

Is RAT a legit tool?

As for functions, there is no difference between the two. Yet, while remote administration tool is for legit usage, RAT connotes malicious and criminal activity.

What are the key elements of a remote access trojan?

The two key elements of any remote access trojan are the client and the server . Additional elements may include the builder, plug-ins and crypter. In this context, a server is the program installed on the victim’s device, which is configured to connect back to the attacker. The client is the program used by the attacker to monitor and control infected victims: it allows the visualization of all active victim infections, displays general information about each infection, and allows individual actions to be performed manually on each victim.

How many remote access trojan families were there in 1996-2018?

Figure 1: Timeline of 337 well-known remote access trojan families during 1996-2018. They are ordered by the year in which they were first seen or reported by the community. The last decade clearly shows a significant growth compared with the previous 16 years.

What is remote access software?

Remote access software is a type of computer program that allows an individual to have full remote control of the device on which the software is installed. In this research we distinguish between remote access tool and remote access trojan. A remote access tool refers to a type of remote access software used for benign purposes, such as TeamViewer [1] or Ammyy Admin [2], which are common tools used by billions of users worldwide. Remote access trojans, referred to in this paper as RATs, are a special type of remote access software where (i) the installation of the program is carried out without user consent, (ii) the remote control is carried out secretly, and (iii) the program hides itself in the system to avoid detection. The distinction between tools and trojans was created by defenders to make clear the difference between benign and malicious RATs, however in the underground, attackers claim all RATs are remote access tools.

What is a builder in a RAT server?

The builder is a program used to create new RAT servers with different configurations. When attackers move infrastructure quickly, launch new attacks and require flexibility, builders save time and provide agility.

Why do attackers use crypters?

To be more efficient and hard to detect, attackers use crypters to make the RAT servers fully undetectable (FUD). Crypters are programs that take a given program, read the code, encrypt it with a key, and automatically create a new program that contains the encrypted code and key to decrypt it. Upon execution the key will be used to automatically decrypt the original program. Crypters are used to avoid detection by anti-virus engines.

Who is the operator in a RAT?

The operator (s) is the actor who purchases the software (or a licence) and carries out the attacks. This actor has the knowledge of who the target is, the possible scams or attacks that can be carried out with the software, and which characteristics are needed when purchasing a RAT.

Do RATs support plug-ins?

To add more capabilities to the existing RAT, some malware authors rely on plug-ins. This is not a widely used capability, however the most popular RATs support plug-ins. Good plug-ins are craved by the cybercrime community. These plug-ins are one of the main differentiators in terms of cost in the underground market.

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