Encyclopedia

Panda Internet Security 2010

Panda Internet Security 2010

Full protectión for complete peace of mind on the Internet.

PGPCoder.A

 
Threat LevelHigh threatDamageSevereDistributionNot widespread
Common name:PGPCoder.A
Technical name:Trj/PGPCoder.A
Threat level:Medium
Type:Trojan
Effects:  

It encrypts files with certain extensions, so that affected users will not be able to open them until they are decrypted.

Affected platforms:

Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95

First detected on:May 25, 2005
Detection updated on:May 25, 2005
StatisticsNo

Brief Description 

    

PGPCoder.A is a Trojan that encrypts all the files with any of the following extensions: ASC, DB, DB1, DB2, DBF, DOC (Word documents), HTM, HTML, JPG (pictures), PGP, RAR (files compressed with WinRAR), RTF, TXT (text files), XLS (Excel spreadsheets) and ZIP (files compressed with WinZip).

The user will not be able to open those files until they are decrypted. PGPCoder.A instructs users to send a message to an email address so that they can buy the decrypter.

PGPCoder.A does not spread automatically using its own means. It needs an attacking user's intervention in order to reach the affected computer. The means of transmission used include, among others, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, email messages with attached files, Internet downloads, FTP, IRC channels, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks, etc.

Visible Symptoms 

    

PGPCoder.A is difficult to recognize, as it does not display any messages or warnings that indicate it has reached the computer.

However, if you cannot access files with the extensions mentioned above, your computer is likely to have been affected by PGPCoder.A.

Last updated:  25/05/2005 

Thanks to Collective Intelligence, Panda's exclusive cloud-computing technology, the company's 2010 solutions leverage the knowledge gathered from the community of millions of Panda users around the world. Each new file received is automatically classified within six minutes and the Collective Intelligence servers classify more than 50,000 new malware samples every day. These technologies correlate information on malware received from each computer to continuously improve the protection level for the worldwide community of users. Panda's 2010 solutions have continuous, real-time contact with this vast knowledge base allowing the company to offer users the fastest response against the new malware that appears every day.

Virus News

Help your friends against viruses: share, save and subscribe to our security content. Thank you.

Share/Bookmark

Over 13 million users in 190 countries and 31,901 cities affected by the Maripos...

Panda Security and Defence Intelligence Coordinate Massive Botnet Shutdown with ...

New FTLog.A worm spreads through Fotolog social networking website, reports Pand...

[+ News ]