McRAT

Posted: March 1, 2013

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:	2/10
Infected PCs:	70

First Seen:	March 1, 2013
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

McRAT is a backdoor Trojan and RAT (Remote Administration Tool) that allows criminals to have access to your computer, as well as direct control over it. Recent attacks involving McRAT have been known to use zero-day Java vulnerabilities that may be launched through other PC threats or through contact with websites that host malicious content. There aren't any symptoms of McRAT's installation, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers are forced to propose the utilization of anti-malware scanners to block, detect or delete McRAT attacks from these vectors.

McRAT: the Rodent Clawing Its Way Through Your Browser's Security

McRAT uses an unusual Java exploit to attack vulnerable PCs. This exploit, which may launch from any hacked or malicious site that's loaded by a browser with Java enabled, enables the memory of the Java Virtual Machine to be overwritten. Once this occurs, McRAT is installed on your computer without your permission. SpywareRemove.com malware experts also have noted that McRAT's exploit most likely is rarely seen because of its unreliability: in many cases, this attempted drive-by-download attack will fail and cause Java to crash.

However, McRAT's exploit is defined as 'zero-day,' meaning that Java does not have a patch to correct this vulnerability. As a result, any PC users who are running Java versions v1.6 Update 41 or v1.7 Update 15 are in danger of being infected by McRAT. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers usually recommend that you disable Java-related features for sites that you don't trust implicitly, and, in this case, doing so can help block drive-by-download attacks like McRAT. Patching Java regularly also is recommended, since security updates will reduce the number of vulnerabilities that your browser needs to ward off – even if they will not help you against McRAT's current attacks.

What McRAT Leaves Behind After Digging a Warren in Your Hard Drive

McRAT is designed to allow criminals to take over your PC by issuing commands from a remote server, or C&C (Command and Control) server. Through this means of access, criminals may use McRAT to modify your system settings, steal information, delete files, remove programs or install other malware (such as fake Police Trojans, browser hijackers that redirect you to suspicious sites and rogue defragger programs). There aren't any discreet symptoms that are associated with McRAT, and SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn that you shouldn't expect to be able to detect McRAT attacks by eye.

However, appropriate anti-malware applications should be able to detect and delete McRAT, which hasn't been found to exert any unusually-robust defenses against such software. Since McRAT can install other PC threats that will make the job of disinfecting your PC even more complicated than it is with McRAT, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts heavily encourage an immediate reaction against any possible McRAT infection.

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:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\AppMgmt.dll

File name: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\AppMgmt.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\{Value}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\AppMgmt\Parameters\"ServiceDll" = C:\Documents and Settings\admin\AppMgmt.dllHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\AppMgmt\Parameters\"ServiceDll" = %SystemRoot%\System32\appmgmts.dll