Virus Encyclopedia
Welcome to the Virus Encyclopedia of Panda Security.
MSNPhoto.G | |
Threat Level Damage Distribution |
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| Common name: | MSNPhoto.G |
| Technical name: | W32/MSNPhoto.G.worm |
| Threat level: | Medium |
| Type: | Worm |
| Effects: |
It spreads and affects other computers.
It uses stealth techniques to avoid being detected by the user.
It uses anti-monitoring techniques in order to prevent it being detected by antivirus companies.
It spreads
, through instant messaging.
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| Affected platforms:
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Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95 |
| First detected on: | Oct. 18, 2007 |
| Detection updated on: | Oct. 18, 2007 |
| Statistics | No |
Proactive protection: | Yes, using TruPrevent Technologies
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Brief Description | |
MSNPhoto.G is a worm that spreads by copying itself, without infecting other files. It uses stealth techniques to avoid being detected by the user: - It uses several third-party rootkits to hide the items it introduces on the affected computer.
It uses several methods in order to avoid detection by antivirus companies: - It prevents scanning tools from running, such as Windows Registry Editor, FileMonitor, etc.
- Its code is encrypted and it is only decrypted when it is going to run. Because of this, its code is not legible through a memory dump.
- It terminates its own execution if it detects that a debugging program is active.
MSNPhoto.G uses the following propagation or distribution methods: - Exploiting vulnerabilities with the intervention of the user: exploiting vulnerabilities in file formats or applications. To exploit them successfully it needs the intervention of the user: opening files, viewing malicious web pages, reading emails, etc.
- Instant messaging: it sends links pointing to a copy of itself to all users included in the infected user's contacts list.
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