We're gradually updating threat actor names in our reports to align with the new weather-themed taxonomy. Learn about Microsoft threat actor names
Win32/Captiya
Detected by Microsoft Defender Antivirus
Aliases: No associated aliases
Summary
Windows Defender Antivirus detects and removes this threat.
Win32/Captiya is a trojan that tries to decode CAPTCHA. CAPTCHA is an acronym for 'Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart', which is usually used for creating new e-mail accounts. Decoded CAPTCHAs can be used to automatically register email accounts. The automatic mass creation of email accounts can be used for spamming or other malicious activities.
Win32/Captiya works in concert with Spammer:Win32/Newacc.A in order to automatically registers new e-mail accounts, and communicates with a Web Service in order to bypass CAPTCHA protection. Win32/Captiya communicates to remote sites in order to aid and complete the registration of new accounts.
Use the following free Microsoft software to detect and remove this threat:
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus for Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, or Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 and Windows Vista
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
You should also run a full scan. A full scan might find hidden malware.
Get more help
You can also visit our advanced troubleshooting page or search the Microsoft virus and malware community for more help.
If you’re using Windows XP, see our Windows XP end of support page.
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