Remote-access Guide

off-the-shelf remote access trojans

by Donavon Bosco Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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A recent example of a RAT becoming a commercial, “off the shelf” tool for criminals in this way was the Imminent Monitor Remote Access Trojan (IM-RAT). IM-RAT provided cybercriminals easy access to victims’ machines.

Full Answer

What is remote access trojan (RAT)?

What is Remote Access Trojan (RAT)? A remote access Trojan (RAT) is a malware program that opens a backdoor, enabling administrative control over the victim’s computer. RATs are typically downloaded together with a seemingly legitimate program, like a game, or are sent to the target as an email attachment.

What is systembc ransomware?

SystemBC is making its mark as a popular tool used in high-profile ransomware campaigns. By Charlie Osborne for Zero Day | December 17, 2020 -- 12:29 GMT (04:29 PST) | Topic: Security A Remote Access Trojan (RAT) on sale in underground forums has evolved to abuse Tor when maintaining persistence on infected machines.

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.

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Can a Trojan give remote access?

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 are the main features of a remote access Trojan?

RAT (remote access Trojan)Monitoring user behavior through keyloggers or other spyware.Accessing confidential information, such as credit card and social security numbers.Activating a system's webcam and recording video.Taking screenshots.Distributing viruses and other malware.Formatting drives.More items...

How is remote access Trojan delivered?

RAT is delivered using files downloaded through torrents.

What are the variant of remote access Trojan?

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.

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...•

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.

How can I remotely access another computer over the Internet?

You can set up remote access to your Mac, Windows, or Linux computer.On your computer, open Chrome.In the address bar, enter remotedesktop.google.com/access .Under “Set up Remote Access,” click Download .Follow the onscreen directions to download and install Chrome Remote Desktop.

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.

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.

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.

Can Norton detect RATs?

Antivirus software like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Webroot, or Norton, can detect RATs and other types of malware if they infect your devices.

What are RAT files?

what is a . rat file? The Rating files that are used for PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) Web rating system implementations are known as RAT files. RAT file extension was developed by W3C as well as the PICS program which is used for performing content-based website ratings.

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.

Which programming language is commonly used to create remote access Trojans?

For remote attacks on servers the Python language is popular among hackers.

What is data sending Trojan?

A data-sending Trojan is a kind of Trojan virus that relays sensitive information back to its owner. This type of Trojan can be used to retrieve sensitive data, including credit card information, email addresses, passwords, instant messaging contact lists, log files and so on.

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 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 is Darkcomet no longer available?

The reason is due to its usage in the Syrian civil war to monitor activists as well as its author’s fear of being arrested for unnamed reasons.

What is the back orifice?

Back Orifice has 2 sequel variants, Back Orifice 2000 released in 1999 and Deep Back Orifice by French Canadian hacking organization QHA. 2. Sakula. 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.

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.

How to check if my computer is safe?

Open the command prompt better as administrator, type “ system.ini ”, and press Enter. Then, a notepad will pop up showing you a few details of your system. Take a look at the drivers section, if it looks brief as what the below picture shows, you are safe. if there are some other odd characters, there may be some remote devices accessing your system via some of your network ports.

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.

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 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 happens if you remove the internet from your computer?

Removing the Internet connection from the device disables remote access to your system by an attacker. After the device can no longer connect to the Internet, use your installed anti-malware program to remove it from local storage and memory. Unless you have monitoring configured on your computer, you won't know which data and files transferred to an attacker. You should always change passwords across all accounts, especially financial accounts, after removing malware from your system.

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.

Why are remote access Trojans important?

Remote Access Trojans fulfill an important function for hackers. Most attack vectors, like phishing, are ideal for delivering a payload to a machine but don’t provide the hacker with the ability to explore and interact with the target environment. RATs are designed to create a foothold on the target machine that provides the hacker with the necessary level of control over their target machine.

How does PhoneSpector work?

One of these is PhoneSpector, which bills itself as being designed to help parents and employers but acts like malware. The software can be installed by getting the device owner to click on a link and enter a product key on their device. It then monitors the device while remaining undetectable to the user.

What is PhoneSpector?

PhoneSpector offers the hacker the ability to monitor a wide variety of activities on the device. This includes monitoring phone calls and SMS messages (even those that were deleted) as well as app activity. PhoneSpector even provides a customer service helpline in case a hacker gets in a bind. 4.

Is Androrat still used?

Despite the age of the source code (last update in 2014), AndroRAT continues to be used by hackers. It includes the ability to inject its malicious code into legitimate applications, making it easy for a hacker to release a new malicious app carrying the RAT.

Do remote access Trojans exist?

Many different Remote Access Trojans exist, and some hackers will modify existing ones or develop their own to be better suited to their preferences. Different RATs are also designed for different purposes, especially with RATs geared specifically to each potential target (desktop versus mobile, Windows versus Apple and so on).

What is a Remote Access Trojan?

Sometimes referred to as a “remote administration tool” due to their similarity to legitimate IT admin tools like TeamViewer and LogMeIn, a remote access trojan is essentially a hidden backdoor into another user’s computer. This backdoor gives the person operating the RAT a whole range of different functions that can be used for malicious purposes, depending on which particular RAT platform they’re utilizing.

How Do Remote Access Trojans Spread?

As with most malware infections, RATs typically come through malspam, phishing and spearphishing campaigns. For example, a user may receive a phishing email carrying a malicious pdf or Word document, or the mail may contain a URL that takes the victim to a webpage for a fake software plugin and a message that a required tool is missing or needs updating. Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader and similar popular products are often spoofed for just this kind of trick due to their wide adoption across platforms.

How Can CISOs Protect Against Remote Access Trojans?

In the past, RATs were difficult to develop and required a high degree of proficiency to operate. They were anything but “fire-and-forget” tools. They required threat actors to invest time and effort in inserting the malware into victims’ systems, manually operate the connection and then carry out whatever nefarious activities they had planned. As we have seen, things have changed more recently, and like other crimeware such as ransomware as a service, malware developers have seen and grasped the opportunity to make profit by selling easy access to tools that others do not have the skill to make for themselves.

Where Are Remote Access Trojans Used?

Malware developers use Remote Access Trojan (RAT) tools to gain full access and control over a user’s computer, including mouse and keyboard control, file access, and network resources.

What Is The Best Trojan Remote Access?

Hackers commonly use Blackshades to gain remote access to computers. Windows-based operating systems are frequently targeted by this tool. The Trojan has infected 500,000 systems worldwide until now.

What Can You Do With A Remote Access Tool?

The remote access programs and tools (sometimes called RATs) allow remote access and manipulation of systems from another location. All types of users can use remote access programs to access files and data on remote computers, and many of them are legitimate tools.

What Is Trojan Ddos?

An infected computer is used to launch a DoS attack from a pre-defined address using this type of malicious program. The malicious user infects a number of computers with this type of Trojan in advance (for example, as part of a mass spam mailing) in order to conduct a successful DoS attack.

What Is The Purpose Of A Trojan Horse?

In general, a Trojan is designed to damage, disrupt, steal, or in general cause some other harm to your data or network.

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