Encyclopedia entry
Updated:
Nov 03, 2008
| Published:
Jan 10, 2008
Aliases
MBR Rootkit
(other)
-
Win-Trojan/MBRtool
(AhnLab)
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Win32/Mebroot.A
(CA)
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W32/MBRtroj.B
(Frisk (F-Prot))
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Backdoor.Win32.Sinowal.c
(Kaspersky)
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StealthMBR
(McAfee)
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W32/Sinowal.ALH
(Norman)
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Mal/Sinowa-A
(Sophos)
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Trojan.Mebroot
(Symantec)
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TROJ_MEBROOT.U
(Trend Micro)
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Trojan.PWS.Sinowal.IK
(VirusBuster)
Alert Level
(?)
Severe
Antimalware protection details
Microsoft recommends that you download the
latest definitions
to get protected.
Detection initially created:
Definition: 1.45.287.0
Released: Oct 07, 2008
|
Summary
PWS:Win32/Sinowal.gen!C is a component of the greater Win32/Sinowal family.
Symptoms
Due to its advanced stealth features, there may be no discernable symptoms of a PWS:Win32/Sinowal.gen!C infection.
Technical Information (Analysis)
PWS:Win32/Sinowal.gen!C is a component of the greater Win32/Sinowal family.
Win32/Sinowal is a family of password-stealing and backdoor trojans. These trojans may try to find a cryptographic certificate on the infected computer and install a certificate on the computer to mislead users in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Web transactions. Some Win32/Sinowal components may also use advanced stealth functionality, or try to perform certain operations from the context of a trusted process such as explorer.exe in order to bypass local software-based firewalls.
Payload
Steals Sensitive Data/ Provides Advanced Stealth/Backdoor Functionality
Components generically detected as PWS:Win32/Sinowal.gen!C may differ in the functionality that they provide for this multi-component family. In the wild they have been observed to provide password stealing functionality, allowing them to steal sensitive data; or advanced stealth functionality, allowing them to avoid detection and hide their components from affected users. When behaving in this fashion, this component also provides backdoor functionality that allows a remote attacker to access and control the affected machine.
For more information on Sinowal's advanced stealth functionality, including its novel use of MBR modification, please see the
VirTool:WinNT/Sinowal.A description elsewhere in our encyclopedia. This feature of this family was novel enough to receive media interest in early 2008 (although it appears from our investigation that this functionality may have been in use for a couple of months prior to this discovery).
Prevention
Take the following steps to help prevent infection on your system:
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Enable a firewall on your computer.
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Get the latest computer updates.
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Use up-to-date antivirus software.
-
Use caution with attachments and file transfers.
Enable a firewall on your computer
Use a third-party firewall product or turn on the Microsoft Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall.
To turn on the Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP
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Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click Network and Internet Connections. If you do not see Network and Internet Connections, click Switch to Category View.
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Click Change Windows Firewall Settings.
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Select On.
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Click OK.
To turn on the Windows Firewall in Windows Vista
-
Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click Security.
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Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.
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Select On.
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Click OK.
Get the latest computer updates
Updates help protect your computer from viruses, worms, and other threats as they are discovered. You can use the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP to automatically download future Microsoft security updates while your computer is on and connected to the Internet.
To turn on Automatic Updates in Windows XP
-
Click Start, and click Control Panel.
-
Click System.
-
Click Automatic Updates.
-
Select a setting. Microsoft recommends selecting Automatic. If you do not choose Automatic, but you choose to be notified when updates are ready, a notification balloon appears when new downloads are available to install. Click the notification balloon to review and install the updates.
Use up-to-date antivirus software
Most antivirus software can detect and prevent infection by known malicious software. To help protect you from infection, you should always run antivirus software that is updated with the latest signature files. Antivirus software is available from several sources. For more information,
see http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/vista.mspx.
Use caution with attachments and file transfers
Exercise caution with e-mail and attachments received from unknown sources, or received unexpectedly from known sources. Use extreme caution when accepting file transfers from known or unknown sources.
Recovery
