Stephen Cooper @VPN_News UPDATED: May 18, 2021 Remote Access Trojans (RATs) are a type of malware threat that lets a hacker take control of your computer. The spying activities that the hacker may carry out once that RAT is installed vary from exploring your files system, watching activities on the screen, and harvesting login credentials.
Full Answer
What is remote access trojan (RAT)?
A Remote Access Trojan (RAT) is a type of malware that lets a hacker take control of your computer. The spying activities that the hacker may carry out once that RAT is installed vary from exploring your files system, watching activities on the screen,...
What should I do if I find a remote access trojan?
If Remote Access Trojan programs are found on a system, it should be assumed that any personal information (which has been accessed on the infected machine) has been compromised. Users should immediately update all usernames and passwords from a clean computer, and notify the appropriate administrator of the system of the potential compromise.
Which is the Best Antivirus for remote access trojan detection?
Remote Access Trojan Detection 1 Avast 2 AVG 3 Avira 4 Bitdefender 5 Kaspersky 6 Malwarebytes 7 McAfee 8 Microsoft Windows Defender 9 Norton 10 PC Matic 11 Sophos 12 Trend Micro More ...
What is the best remote access Trojan?
10 Best Remote Access Software (Remote Control Software) In 2022Comparison of Top Remote Access Tools.#1) NinjaOne (Formerly NinjaRMM)#2) SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support.#3) Atera.#4) Supremo.#5) ManageEngine Remote Access Plus.#6) RemotePC.#7) TeamViewer.More items...•
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.
Is remote access Trojan a 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.
What are the variants of remote access Trojan?
Common Remote Access TrojansSakula. Sakula is a seemingly benign software with a legitimate digital signature, yet it allows attackers complete remote administration capabilities over a machine. ... KjW0rm. ... Havex. ... Agent. ... Dark Comet. ... AlienSpy. ... Heseber BOT. ... Sub7.More items...
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 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.
Is someone using my computer remotely?
Open your Task Manager or Activity Monitor. These utilities can help you determine what is currently running on your computer. Windows – Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Mac – Open the Applications folder in Finder, double-click the Utilities folder, and then double-click Activity Monitor.
How can I find a hidden virus on my computer?
You can also head to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Open Windows Security on Windows 10, or Settings > Privacy and Security > Windows Security > Open Windows Security on Windows 11. To perform an anti-malware scan, click “Virus & threat protection.” Click “Quick Scan” to scan your system for malware.
Can someone RAT an Iphone?
So someone would need direct physical access to your iOS device and a computer to install a RAT exploit into it. Even if you accessed a web site or email with a RAT package hidden in it, it cannot execute or do anything on a normal iOS installation.
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 you get a RAT on your phone?
RAT infected Android devices can be remotely zombified by the perpetrator, allowing virtually unlimited access to photos, data and messages on the device. The Dendroid RAT provides full access to infected devices' camera and microphone, and can place calls or listen in on a user's phone conversations or text messages.
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.
Is making a computer virus illegal?
No. It is not against the law or a crime to make a computer virus, Trojan, or malware. However, if that virus spreads to other computers intentionally or by mistake, you've violated the law, and you could be held liable for any damages it causes.
Is it illegal to sell malware?
If you sell software without disclosing to the customer that the software contains malware or a crypter then you are exposing yourself to a lawsuit for products liability, invasion of privacy, fraud and misrepresentation, the cost of damages, and possibly criminal liability.
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.
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.
Can a Remote Access Trojan be installed to BIOS?
Access to the BIOS has been known to the world’s hackers since 2015. Many believe that the NSA was planting RATs and trackers on BIOS even earlier.
How is a Remote Access Trojan RAT different from a regular Trojan horse?
A Trojan is a virus that gets onto a victim computer by passing itself off as a legitimate piece of software. A RAT is a Trojan that the hacker can...
What is the Sakula Remote Access Trojan RAT?
Sakula is a RAT that is used to intrude on IT systems serving government departments and agencies, healthcare facilities, and other large organizat...
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.
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 ...
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.
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…
Introduction
In Jan 2021, Zscaler ThreatLabZ discovered new instances of the MINEBRIDGE remote-access Trojan (RAT) embedded in macro-based Word document files crafted to look like valid job resumes (CVs). Such lures are often used as social engineering schemes by threat actors.
Threat attribution
This attack was likely carried out by TA505, a financially motivated threat group that has been active since at least 2014. TA505 has been previously linked to very similar attacks using MINEBRIDGE RAT. The job resume theme and C&C infrastructure used in this new instance is consistent and in line with these former attacks.
Macro technical analysis
For the purpose of technical analysis of the attack flow, we will look at the macro-based Word document with the MD5 hash: f95643710018c437754b8a11cc943348
Stage 1: SFX archive
The content decoded using certutil.exe is a self-extracting archive (SFX) which we describe in this section of the blog.
Stage 2 – DLL Side Loading
The dropped binary defrender.exe is a legitimate TeamViewer application version 11.2.2150.0 which is vulnerable to DLL side loading. Upon execution, it loads the msi.dll binary present in the same directory. The msi.dll is the file that performs further malicious activity in the system.
Execution checks
At the very beginning, MINEBRIDGE RAT confirms that the DLL is not executed either via regsvr32.exe or rundll32.exe.
BITS Job download
The BITS job downloads a zip file by selecting a random C&C domain from the hardcoded list inside the DLL using path “/~4387gfoyusfh_gut/~3fog467wugrgfgd43r9.bin”. The downloaded DLL is dropped to a hardcoded filename “~f834ygf8yrubgfy4sd23.bin” in the %temp% directory.
What is remote access trojan?
Remote Access Trojans are programs that provide the capability to allow covert surveillance or the ability to gain unauthorized access to a victim PC. Remote Access Trojans often mimic similar behaviors of keylogger applications by allowing the automated collection of keystrokes, usernames, passwords, screenshots, browser history, emails, chat lots, etc. Remote Access Trojans differ from keyloggers in that they provide the capability for an attacker to gain unauthorized remote access to the victim machine via specially configured communication protocols which are set up upon initial infection of the victim computer. This backdoor into the victim machine can allow an attacker unfettered access, including the ability to monitor user behavior, change computer settings, browse and copy files, utilize the bandwidth (Internet connection) for possible criminal activity, access connected systems, and more.
How can remote access Trojans be installed?
Specially crafted email attachments, web-links, download packages, or .torrent files could be used as a mechanism for installation of the software. Targeted attacks by a motivated attacker may deceive desired targets into installing such software via social engineering tactics, or even via temporary physical access of the desired computer.
What is browser hijacker?
Browser hijackers, or simply hijackers, are a type of malware created for the purpose of modifying Internet browser settings without the user’s knowledge or consent. Typically, hijackers change the homepage and default search settings. However, some are known to inject advertisements—thus, they are qualified to be called adware, automatically redirecting users to potentially malicious destinations when they visit certain sites, and sometimes making drastic changes to the affected system. Some hijackers also contain keyloggers, which are capable of recording user keystrokes to gather potentially valuable information they enter into websites, such as account credentials.
What is a rogue scanner?
Rogue scanners, also known as fake scanners, fake AV, or rogueware, are pieces of code injected into legitimate sites or housed in fake sites. Their social engineering tactic normally involve displaying fictitious security scan results, threat notices, and other deceptive tactics in an effort to manipulate users into purchasing fake security software or licenses in order to remove potential threats that have supposedly infected their systems. Their warnings were deliberately crafted to closely resemble interfaces of legitimate AV or anti-malware software, further increasing the likelihood that users who see them will fall for the ploy. These malware can target and affect PCs and Mac systems alike. In 2011, known names in the security industry have noted the dramatic decline of rogue scanners, both in detection of new variants and search engine results for their solutions.
What are the different types of POS malware?
POS malware may come in three types: keyloggers, memory dumpers, and network sniffers.
What is POS malware?
Point-of-sale (POS) malware is software specifically created to steal customer data, particularly from electronic payment cards like debit and credit cards and from POS machines in retail stores. It does this by scraping the temporarily unencrypted card data from the POS’s memory (RAM), writing it to a text file, and then either sending it to an off-site server at a later date or retrieving it remotely. It is believed that criminals behind the proliferation of this type of malware are mainly after data they can sell, not for their own personal use. Although deemed as less sophisticated than your average PC banking Trojan, POS malware can still greatly affect not just card users but also merchants that unknowingly use affected terminals, as they may find themselves caught in a legal mess that could damage their reputation.
What is a DDOS attack?
DDOS, or Distributed Denial of Service tools, are malicious applications designed to mount an attack against a service or website with the intention overwhelming it with false traffic and/or fake requests. This has the desired effect of tying up all available resources dealing with these requests, effectively denying access to legitimate users.
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.
What is the next step in a phishing attack?
Once a hacker has gained initial access to a target machine, expanding and solidifying that foothold is the next logical step. In the case of a phishing attack, this involves using malware to take advantage of the access provided by the email.
What is ICS malware?
Malware targeting industrial control systems (ICS) is nothing new, with big names like Stuxnet and Industroyer designed to cause physical damage. However, some ICS-focused malware is targeted at controlling critical infrastructure.
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).
