Zeus virus is also known as Zbot Trojan. It is an influential and silently operating Trojan horse which uses its malicious functions to steal sensitive, personally identifiable information and banking credentials.
Zeus malware Trojan horse virus is spread on a large scale through the RIG Exploit Kit. This new version is labeled as “Chthonic,” and it first emerges in 2007 when it hit more than 150 banks all over the world.
This malware is still active and still ongoing, as a Trojan which is used for the distribution of ransomware.
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The malware has been named with different names, but its fundamental characteristic remained similar, and a notable malware is Zbot. Post the infection on your computer; it sends an alert system update and security pop up message.
However, whenever it offers to scan your computer, it provides you with the 24*7 tech support number which claims to help fix the problems, do not trust them.
This alert is not real, and the issues you are informed do not exist at all, its a scam by the cybercriminals to mislead their victims.
Important Note: These “Windows ZEUS Virus Detected” alerts are nothing more than a scam. Microsoft does not send any unsolicited email messages or make unwanted phone calls to request personal or financial information or fix your computer.
Treat all unwanted phone calls or pop-ups with skepticism. Do not provide/give/send any personal information.
The scammers will typically make attempts to get the victim to allow remote access to their computer.
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After remote access is gained, the scammers rely on confidence tricks usually involving utilities built into Windows (Like Event Viewer, etc.) and other software to obtain the victim’s trust to pay for the supposed “support” services. The scammers steal the victim’s credit card & account information.
Threat summary:
- Name: Zeus virus
- Type: Backdoor Trojan
- Danger level- High. “Windows detected ZEUS virus pop-up” will display frightening notes.
- Symptoms: an unexpected appearance of unauthorized software on your drive.
- Distributed methods: Infected .exe files, programs bundles, email attachments, malicious websites.
Modus operandi of Zeus Trojan
This virus was the prior malware with the variants that was developed for gaining people's banking credentials, so it is not surprising that there are hundreds of sources claiming that almost every banking Trojan has a part of Zeus virus in them.
The fact of the matter is that just by making changes in the configuration files of this Trojan’s toolkit, this virus can be customized to collect virtually any piece of information that the cybercriminals desire to gather.
The are many different methodologies in which Zeus Trojan can evoke the information it requires. The experts have observed on two major ones:
- The FTP, POP3 or Internet Explorer which gathers the credentials and passwords automatically from a Protected Storage (PStore) once the virus infects the computer.
- Zeus also keeps a check and monitors the websites frequently visited, sometimes giving out a form for the survey which has added extra fields to the fill-in forms, asking the users to enter additional information which is not required for the original website.
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For example, in these other fields, you may be asked to give information about birth details or a share your telephone number, instead of the original required and requested username and password.
The second method of operation is Zeus also connects with the command-and-control server which gives out clues to carry out malicious activities on the infected computers.
It can download files, shut down and reboot your device, also, delete the system files, which may cause your operating system to crash. As a result, the virus victim may have to be forced to the full operating system reinstall.
MALWARE – methods of spreading on your system.
- Phishing a very widely-spread way of spreading Zeus Virus Alert, this method is designed to trick the victim into interacting with electronic media entity, which appears to be legitimate and trustworthy.
For example, people receive a pop up ads that looks similar to a regular windows notification that needs you to either click Yes or No.
In reality, this pop-up is, in fact, a disguised as a link to the Zeus virus, irrespective of what does not matter what you click on – any inter-communication with the box message will automatically redirect to any malicious Zeus-infested site or will outright begin to download the harmful virus.
Therefore, we strongly suggest our readers always to take care if they see any unwanted and unexpected pop-ups on their screen, especially when they are using their primary browser.
If you have an adware program on your computer, make sure to have it removed immediately, since some of its ads may serve as a potential link or infected page.
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- Another standard method is drive-by downloads as the name suggested by this method any unwanted content might get downloaded on your computer. It is even possible that the victim might be unaware that you’ve permitted to download without being aware that the file is potentially harmful.
You should be careful when opening new e-mails from an unknown sender or when visiting any suspicious and shady sites. Similarly, a drive-by installation will install the virus on your PC without your knowledge or actual consent – the techniques via which this happens are similar to the drive-by download.
- Fake Scanning: It installs a duplicate scanning program which automatically runs a false scan and displays fictitious threats.
- Program bundles- Free programs or programs downloaded from torrent or online storage sites are often the carriers for different adware, virus or Trojans.
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- Another unique feature of this MALWARE is its use of a hidden Virtual Network Computing (VNC) process in the memory that allows attackers to monitor victims without being noticed remotely.
- Pop-up Ads- If you are tempted with the Ads that show up on your PC, and if you mistakenly click them, it could be an entry point for such malware.
Points suggesting your PC has been compromised:
- The user may receive error ‘Internet Explorer could not display the page’ when attempting to access certain websites.
- Your computer runs slower than the usual.
- Web browser’s default homepage will change.
- Access to security-related websites will be blocked.
- You will get redirect to other web pages other than the one you don’t want to visit.
- Your system will freeze, hang or become unresponsive.
- You will receive annoying web browser pop-up messages.
- Unwanted toolbars appear at the top of your browser.
What can Zeus do to your computer?
As observed before, Zeus Virus Alert can be used for a wide variety of illegal activities. Listed below is a general idea of its abilities so that you know how necessary it is to keep your machine safe from it.
System annihilation
Trojan Horses are an offensive capability of bringing mayhem to your system. The Zeus Virus detected popup – it corrupts your files, formats your hard-drive, deletes your installed programs or outright corrupts your entire system unusable.
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Spying
One of the most common is keystroke logging. This method monitors and records your keyboard entries and sends them to the hacker afterward. That way the cybercriminal can crack your passwords or gain all sorts of personal information about you.
Moreover, the virus can be used to show to the hacker what is currently happening on your screen. However, the scariest spying which can be done by Zeus is hacking into your installed webcam. Unbelievable but this is a truth – the malicious software can even use your camera to spy on you.
Electronic money theft
Another standard method uses by most Trojan Horses. The virus can get into your system, and into your bank accounts and then extract the money without your knowledge . In fact,the victim might realize that there has been such an activity until after the crime has already been done.
Once the extraction has been done, there’s virtually no way to have to get your money back from the criminal.
One of the reasons why this trojan known as Zeus Virus is so successful in stealing people’s money is because it uses the grabbing method. This is the more effective way for busting user’s passwords than keystroke logging.
Botnet and mining
Once infected your computer can be made part of a botnet – a network of coordinated machines that serve a specific common purpose. In this case, the use of the botnet would probably be used for sending out fake and spam Emails messages or further spreading of the virus throughout the Internet.
The Zeus Virus Detected has arguably the most significant botnet among all Trojan Horse viruses. It was estimated that only in 2009 over 3.9 million computers had been made part of Zeus’s botnet. Another possibility is that your computer can be turned into a cyber-currency mining tool.
This means that the hacker uses commands which makes the virus gain cyber money (such as bitcoins) from your computer’s work.
