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Trojans reported to be mostly win32.Ramnit.c
(and related variants) is a dangerous
file infector with
IRCBot functionality which
infects .exe, and
.HTML/
HTM files, and
opens a back door that
compromises your computer. Using this backdoor, a remote attacker can access and instruct the infected computer to download and execute more malicious files. The infected .HTML or .HTM files may be detected as The infected .HTML or .HTM files may be detected as
Virus:VBS/Ramnit.A or
VBS/Generic.
Win32/Ramnit.A!dll is a related
file infector often seen with this infection. It too has
IRCBot functionality which
infects .exe, .dll and
.HTML/
HTM files and
opens a back door that
compromises your computer. This component is injected into the default web browser by
Worm:Win32/Ramnit.A which is dropped by a Ramnit infected executable file.
-- Note: As with most malware infections, the threat name may be different depending on the anti-virus or anti-malware program which detected it. Each security vendor uses their own naming conventions to identify various types of malware.- Understanding virus names
- VirusTotal Threat aliases for W32/Ramnit <- Win32.Ramnit!IK, W32.Ramnit!inf, Win32.Rmnet
- VirScan Threat aliases for W32/Ramnit <- Win32/Zbot, PWS.Panda.387, PE_RAMNIT, Trojan/Generic.arhm
- McAfee Threat aliases for W32/Ramnit - link 1 <- Trojan.Generic.KD, Win32/Zbot, W32/Cosmu
- McAfee Threat aliases for W32/Ramnit - link 2 <- SHeur3.AQRA, W32/Patched-I, Win32.Nimnul, W32/Pedalac
With this particular infection the safest solution and only sure way to remove it effectively is to reformat and reinstall the OS.
Why? The malware injects code in legitimate files similar to the
Virut virus and in many cases the infected files (
which could number in the thousands)
cannot be disinfected properly by your anti-virus. When disinfection is attempted, the files often become corrupted and the system may become unstable or
irreparable. The longer Ramnit.A remains on a computer, the more files it infects and corrupts so the degree of damage can vary.
Ramnit is
commonly spread via a
flash drive (usb, pen, thumb, jump)
infection where it copies Worm:Win32/Ramnit.A with a random file name. The infection is often
contracted by visiting remote,
crack and
keygen sites. These type of sites are
infested with a smörgåsbord of malware and a major source of system infection.
In my opinion,
Ramnit is not effectively disinfectable, so your best option is to perform a full reformat as there is
no guarantee this infection can be completely removed. In most instances it may have caused so much damage to your system files that it cannot be completely cleaned or repaired. Security vendors that claim to be able to remove file infectors
cannot guarantee that all traces of it will be removed as they may not find all the remnants. If something goes awry during the malware removal process there is always a risk the computer may become unstable or unbootable and you could loose access to all your data.
Further, your
machine has likely been compromised by the
backdoor Trojan and there is no way to be sure the computer can ever be trusted again.
It is dangerous and incorrect to assume the computer is secure even if your anti-virus reports that the malware appears to have been removed.
Many experts in the security community believe that once infected with this type of malware, the best course of action is to wipe the drive clean,
reformat and reinstall the OS. Please read:
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Whenever a system has been compromised by a backdoor payload, it is impossible to know if or how much the backdoor has been used to affect your system...There are only a few ways to return a compromised system to a confident security configuration. These include:
• Reimaging the system
• Restoring the entire system using a full system backup from before the backdoor infection
• Reformatting and reinstalling the system
This is what Jesper M. Johansson at Microsoft TechNet has to say:
Help: I Got Hacked. Now What Do I Do?.
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The only way to clean a compromised system is to flatten and rebuild. That’s right. If you have a system that has been completely compromised, the only thing you can do is to flatten the system (reformat the system disk) and rebuild it from scratch (reinstall Windows and your applications).
: If your computer was used for online banking, paying bills, has credit card information or other sensitive data on it,
all passwords should be changed immediately to include those used for taxes, email, eBay, paypal and any other online activities. You should
consider them to be compromised and change passwords from a clean computer, not the infected one. If not, an attacker may get the new passwords and transaction information. Banking and credit card institutions should be notified immediately of the possible security breach. Failure to notify your financial institution and local law enforcement can result in
refusal to reimburse funds lost due to fraud or similar criminal activity. If using a
router, you need to reset it with a strong logon/password before connecting again.
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