Cypher
Hi Magsmom.
BACKDOOR TROJAN
I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, unfortunatly One or more of the identified infections is a BACKDOOR TROJAN. Backdoor Trojans are the most dangerous and most widespread type of Trojan. Backdoor Trojans provide the author or "master" of the Trojan with remote "administration" of victims machines. Unlike legitimate remote administration utilities, they install, launch and run invisibly, without the consent or knowledge of the user. Once installed, Backdoor Trojans can be instructed to send, receive, execute and delete files, harvest confidential data from the computer, log activity on the computer, change settings on the computer and more. Please read this article by Roger A. Grimes on Remote Access Trojans it will give you an Idea of the severity of the type of infection you have.
What are Remote Access Trojans and why are they dangerous
You are strongly advised to do the following:
Do NOT change your passwords from this computer as the attacker will be able to get all the new passwords and transaction records.
How do I respond to a possible identity theft and how do I prevent it
Because of the severity and the capabilities of this type of virus, (it cannot be known what changes to your system it has made or if it opened up other ways into your system) The only responsible course of action I can advise is to reformat your computer and reinstall windows.
Further reading:
When should do a reformat and reinstallation of my OS
Where to backup your files
How to backup your files in Windows XP
Restoring your backups
Should you have any questions please feel free to ask.
BACKDOOR TROJAN
I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, unfortunatly One or more of the identified infections is a BACKDOOR TROJAN. Backdoor Trojans are the most dangerous and most widespread type of Trojan. Backdoor Trojans provide the author or "master" of the Trojan with remote "administration" of victims machines. Unlike legitimate remote administration utilities, they install, launch and run invisibly, without the consent or knowledge of the user. Once installed, Backdoor Trojans can be instructed to send, receive, execute and delete files, harvest confidential data from the computer, log activity on the computer, change settings on the computer and more. Please read this article by Roger A. Grimes on Remote Access Trojans it will give you an Idea of the severity of the type of infection you have.
What are Remote Access Trojans and why are they dangerous
You are strongly advised to do the following:
- Disconnect the computer from the Internet and from any networked computers until it is cleaned.
- Back up all your important data except programs. The programs can be reinstalled back from the original disc or from the Net.
- Call all your banks, financial institutions, credit card companies and inform them that you may be a victim of identity theft and put a watch on your accounts. If you don't mind the hassle, change all your account numbers.
- From a clean computer, change all your passwords (ISP login password, your email address(es) passwords, financial accounts, PayPal, eBay, Amazon, online groups and forums and any other online activities you carry out which require a username and password).
Do NOT change your passwords from this computer as the attacker will be able to get all the new passwords and transaction records.
How do I respond to a possible identity theft and how do I prevent it
Because of the severity and the capabilities of this type of virus, (it cannot be known what changes to your system it has made or if it opened up other ways into your system) The only responsible course of action I can advise is to reformat your computer and reinstall windows.
Further reading:
When should do a reformat and reinstallation of my OS
Where to backup your files
How to backup your files in Windows XP
Restoring your backups
Should you have any questions please feel free to ask.
