Remote-access Guide

famous remote access trojans

by Selmer Veum Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Remote Access Trojan Examples

  1. Back Orifice. Back Orifice (BO) rootkit is one of the best-known examples of a RAT. ...
  2. Sakula. Sakula, also known as Sakurel and VIPER, is another remote access trojan that first surfaced in November 2012.
  3. Sub7. Sub7, also known as SubSeven or Sub7Server, is a RAT botnet. ...
  4. PoisonIvy. ...
  5. DarkComet. ...

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 is a remote access trojan (RAT)?

A common way of expanding this beachhead on the target machine is through Remote Access Trojans (RATs). This type of malware is designed to allow a hacker to remotely control a target machine, providing a level of access similar to that a remote system administrator.

What is remote access toolkit malware?

This type of malware is designed to allow a hacker to remotely control a target machine, providing a level of access similar to that a remote system administrator. In fact, some RATs are derived from or based upon legitimate remote administration toolkits.

What is the Sakula Trojan?

Sakula, also known as Sakurel and VIPER, is another remote access trojan that first surfaced in November 2012. It was used in targeted intrusions throughout 2015. Sakula enables an adversary to run interactive commands and download and execute additional components.

What is the ZeuS trojan?

Zeus, also known as Zbot, is a Trojan horse malware discovered in 2007 after the cyberattack on the United States Department of Transportation. It uses the man-in-browser keystroke logging and form-grabbing method to steal banking information. A key capability of Zeus is to create a botnet consisting of infected machines.

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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 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.

Are remote access Trojans 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.

Which of the following is a remote access Trojan?

A remote access Trojan (RAT) is a malware program that includes a back door for administrative control over the target computer. RATs are usually downloaded invisibly with a user-requested program -- such as a game -- or sent as an email attachment.

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 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.

Can Windows Defender detect Trojans?

Although, Windows Defender is not capable of handling all kinds of viruses, malware, trojan, and other security threats. You can trust it for basic Firewall protection, but not beyond based on the antimalware capabilities it offers.

Is ratting a computer illegal?

The law also punishes unauthorized access to a computer or computer network, with penalties ranging from a class B misdemeanor to a class D felony (punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both).

Are RAT tools illegal?

Although gaining access to another person's system is illegal in most countries, law-enforcement agencies and some companies have been using Remote Access Trojan (RAT)–like intrusion tools for years.

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 backdoor Trojan?

Backdoor malware is generally classified as a Trojan. A Trojan is a malicious computer program pretending to be something it's not for the purposes of delivering malware, stealing data, or opening up a backdoor on your system.

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.

What is a backdoor Trojan?

Backdoor malware is generally classified as a Trojan. A Trojan is a malicious computer program pretending to be something it's not for the purposes of delivering malware, stealing data, or opening up a backdoor on your system.

What is remote access malware?

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.

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.

Are PUPs malware?

Type and source of infection. Detections categorized as PUPs are not considered as malicious as other forms of malware, and may even be regarded by some as useful. Malwarebytes detects potentially unwanted programs for several reasons, including: They may have been installed without the user's consent.

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 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.

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 ...

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.

Who created DarkComet?

5. DarkComet. DarkComet is created by Jean-Pierre Lesueur, known as DarkCoderSc, an independent programmer and computer security coder from France. Although this RAT application was developed back in 2008, it began to proliferate at the start of 2012.

Can a RAT remote access trojan be used on a computer?

Since RAT remote access trojan will probably utilize the legitimate apps on your computer, you’d better upgrade those apps to their latest versions. Those programs include your browsers, chat apps, games, email servers, video/audio/photo/screenshot tools, work applications…

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.

Can an attacker record video?

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

What is remote access trojan?

The Remote Access Trojan is a type of malware that lets a hacker remotely (hence the name) take control of a computer. Let’s analyze the name. The Trojan part is about the way the malware is distributed. It refers to the ancient Greek story of the Trojan horse that Ulysses built to take back the city of Troy which had been besieged for ten years. In the context of computer malware, a Trojan horse (or simply trojan) is a piece of malware which is distributed as something else. For instance, a game that you download and install on your computer could actually be a Trojan horse and it could contain some malware code.

How does Bro Network Security Monitor work?

The Bro Network Security Monitor, another free network intrusion detection system. The tool operates in two phases: traffic logging and traffic analysis. Just like Suricata, Bro Network Security Monitor operates at multiple layers up to the application layer. This allows for better detection of split intrusion attempts. The tool’s analysis module is made up of two elements. The first element is called the event engine and it tracks triggering events such as net TCP connections or HTTP requests. The events are then analyzed by policy scripts, the second element, which decide whether or not to trigger an alarm and/or launch an action. The possibility of launching an action gives the Bro Network Security Monitor some IPS-like functionality.

Why do hackers use RATs?

As such, they can be seen as weapons. Hackers around the world use RATs to spy on companies and steal their data and money. Meanwhile, the RAT problem has now become an issue of national security for many countries, including the USA.

When was Darkcomet created?

DarkComet was created back in 2008 by French hacker Jean-Pierre Lesueur but only came to the cybersecurity community’s attention in 2012 when it was discovered that an African hacker unit was using the system to target the US government and military.

Can a game be a Trojan horse?

For instance, a game that you download and install on your computer could actually be a Trojan horse and it could contain some malware code. As for the remote access part of the RAT’s name, it has to do with what the malware does. Simply put, it allows its author to have remote access to the infected computer.

Can a hacker use a remote computer?

The controlling hacker can also operate the power functions of a remote computer, allowing a computer to be turned on or off remotely. The network functions of an infected computer can also be harnessed to use the computer as a proxy server and mask its user’s identity during raids on other computers.

RAT Logic

No one’s saying that a RAT has to be all that complicated. The main processing loop accepts messages that tells the malware to execute commands and send results back.

Stealthy RAT

As noted by security pros, DNSMessenger is effectively “file-less” since it doesn’t have to save any commands from the remote server onto the victim’s file system. Since it uses PowerShell, this makes DNSMessenger very difficult to detect when it’s running. Using PowerShell also means that virus scanners won’t automatically flag the malware.

Varonis Edge

We’ve recently introduced Varonis Edge, which is specifically designed to look for signs of attack at the perimeter, including VPNs, Web Security Gateways, and, yes, DNS.

How does the Trojan horse spread?

It spreads via Outlook harvesting, where the Trojan reads emails from the victim’s computer and sends phishing emails containing a Word document to the victim’s contacts , making it appear as if the content is from a trusted source.

What is a ransomware?

Ransomware —Encryption based malware that disables access to user data with a demand for ransom.

What is Petya's exploit?

Ransomware Petya (and its variant, NotPetya) uses the same EternalBlue exploit as WannaCry to remotely infect unsuspecting victims via an email phishing attack.

How many computers did Emotet shut down?

Emotet became famous in 2018 after infecting the Fürstenfeldbruck hospital in Germany, forcing them to shut down 450 computers. In the same year, the US Department of Homeland and Security identified it as among the most destructive malware.

When was the first computer virus?

The first known computer virus, Brain, in 1986, developed by brothers Amjad and Basit Farooq Alvi from Pakistan, came into existence as an anti-piracy tool. However, not all the malicious programs since then have had ethical motives. Some have become important parts of history due to the sophistication of their codes, which continue to impress researchers to this date.

What is the most dangerous malware in 2021?

In 2021, law enforcement and judicial authorities disrupted what’s touted as the world’s most dangerous malware, Emotet. It's a computer malware, first detected in 2014 and primarily targets the banking and health institutions.

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