Virus Encyclopedia

Welcome to the Virus Encyclopedia of Panda Security.

GoldenEye

 
Threat LevelModerate threat
DamageHigh
DistributionNot widespread

Effects

GoldenEye is a Potentially Unwanted Program, also known as PUP.

Due to their features or means of distribution, these programs can affect users' consent, awareness or control over operations like:

  • Installation.
  • The modifications carried out on the computer.
  • The behavior of the program.
  • The way user's personal data is processed.
  • Uninstallation.

 

The evaluation criteria of PUPs are based on the proposals suggested by the Anti-Spyware Coalition, organization of which Panda Security is a member.

 

It captures certain information entered or saved by the user, with the corresponding threat to privacy:

  • Keystrokes, in order to obtain information for accessing online banking services, passwords and other confidential information.

 

Means of transmission 


GoldenEye does not spread automatically using its own means. It needs the 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.

Further Details  

GoldenEye has the following additional characteristics:

  • It is 1024 bytes in size.