Kuluoz

Posted: June 20, 2012

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	60

First Seen:	May 9, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Kuluoz is a family of Trojans that are used to install other PC threats and steal personal information (such as passwords). The majority of Kuluoz variants are designed to install some form of fake security program (such as members of WinWebSec or FakeSysdef) that display fraudulent security pop-ups and system scans while simultaneously hindering the performance of your PC. Because Kuluoz is often distributed by spam e-mail that alleges to be from the UPS or a similar entity of good repute, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers particularly caution you to avoid file attachments from strange e-mails, particularly if they're in .zip format (one of Kuluoz's preferred formats). If you suspect that Kuluoz or its payload have infiltrated your computer, an exhaustive system scan by a reputable anti-malware product should be able to delete Kuluoz and anything that Kuluoz might have installed.

Kuluoz: a New Delivery Man for This Year's Scamware

Variants of Kuluoz have been reported since mid-2012, with different varieties of Kuluoz being dedicated to installing different types of PC threats. Many variants, such as TrojanDownloader:Win32/Kuluoz.A and TrojanDownloader:Win32/Kuluoz.B, will automatically initiate contact with a variety of both malicious and mundane sites (such as Google and Twitter), with the latter being included to conceal their harmful traffic requests. After contacting their C&C servers, Kuluoz Trojans will receive instructions that tell them which files to download and install – including scamware like Win Disk, Win HDD, S.M.A.R.T. Check, Security Shield 2012 and Winweb Security. These rogue defraggers and security programs offer up fake system information about various forms of damage or PC threats, but SpywareRemove.com malware researchers emphasize the fact that these warnings are wholly fake.

Some versions of Kuluoz have also been found to utilize spyware-based attacks. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have indicated that current versions of Kuluoz can use two distinct methods for stealing private information:

Monitoring login input for various browsers and file-management utilities, with vulnerable programs including Firefox, BitKinex, Chrome, Total Commander, Far Manager, SmartFTP, FileZilla, Bulletproof FTP and WinSCP.
Harvesting files of the following types: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Firefox password files, Opera password files and Thunderbird password files.

Dodging Kuluoz's E-mailed Bullet

Kuluoz is typically propagated by fake e-mail messages with covers that include UPS delivery notices and airline ticket confirmations. While these e-mails will try to convince you to view an included file attachment to confirm the information mentioned in their main bodies, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers note that reputable companies will never ask you to open e-mail file attachments. Kuluoz can be specifically recognized by some of its file names: Postetikett_Deutsche_Post_AG_DE482456.zip, FedEx_Label_ID_Order_83-27-4534US.zip, IRSPROFILE.zip, Print_Label_FedEx_AN173738US.zip, Label_Parcel_IN34-789-54UK.rarTicket_Delta_Air_Lines_US9760.zip and Label_US.6366NT.zip.

After being extracted from its zip file, Kuluoz will use misleading file names (such as csrss.exe) to make itself look like a normal part of Windows. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers suggest using anti-malware software to detect and remove Kuluoz and its payload, since this method is the easiest way to delete Kuluoz without risking any damage to your OS.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

%LocalAppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe

File name: %LocalAppData%\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

%LocalAppData%\pfranvvn.exe

File name: %LocalAppData%\pfranvvn.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file