Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ

Posted: January 23, 2014

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:	9/10
Infected PCs:	19

First Seen:	January 23, 2014
Last Seen:	January 20, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

In another case of poor website security being as much an issue for governments as for individuals, Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ is a Web-based PC threat that redirects victims from a legitimate domain for Brazil's city of Franca to a corrupted website, with other attacks expected as inevitable results. This isn't necessarily out of the norm for Brazil's government, and visitors to this website and five others similar to it may result in a compromise of your computer that installs threats without the presence of symptoms. Until these security issues are resolved, malware experts find it best to discourage contact with these hacked Web domains, although the use of strong browser security can mitigate the potential damage from Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ.

How a Trojan Redirect Happens at a Government Website

Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ is a simple Flash-based PC threat that's inserted into sites of either a compromised or harmful nature, such as the recently-attacked franca.sp.gov.br. This Brazilian government-run website, which provides information on a sub-division of the metropolis of São Paulo, normally includes information and resources for those who want to learn more about that specific region of Brazil. However, criminals recently inserted the 'extra' feature of Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ, which forces visiting Web browsers to load a corrupted website.

Blocking Flash can provide protection against Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ and similar attacks, although criminals often include backup attack methods to unleash when primary attacks fail to achieve the desired results. Most redirectors like Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ, Trojan.JS.Redirector.za or JS:Redirector-B attempt to expose their victims to attacks. These attacks may install threatening software, often including high-level PC threats like backdoor Trojans. Malware researchers' conclusions often note that individual attacks may be triggered with a lack of detectable symptoms, besides the warnings from any installed security software.

Keeping a Redirect from Having Its Way with Your Hard Drive

Although at least one major company in PC security has notified the Brazilian government about this breach, there has been no word about the removal of Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ from the website, nor any additional news about the other Brazilian government-run domains that also have been compromised. Avoiding these sites, and all other potentially compromised sites until their safety can be confirmed is, of course, important for your PC's safety. Malware experts also often stress the overall usefulness of browser security features for blocking Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ and related PC threats. Disabling Flash, disabling JavaScript, updating software routinely and using security products with risky site-blocking functions are some of the most important defenses available to the average PC user.

Until fresh news about the status of franca.sp.gov.br has arrived, you should consider any PC to visit that website to have the potential to be infected with several kinds of threats, including high-level PC threats that harm your PC security to an egregious degree. Again, security programs specialized in the detection and removal of such hostile software is your most reliable way of guaranteeing that Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ's redirects don't cost you more than just peace of mind.

Trojan:SWF/Redirector.EQ

Threat Metric

How a Trojan Redirect Happens at a Government Website

Keeping a Redirect from Having Its Way with Your Hard Drive

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