Be cautious! The ComboJack Malware is on its way to steal your cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is a new hope of earning money for the people who want to become rich without much ado. However, it is one of the most unsafe methods you can opt for acquiring wealth. The value of these crypto currencies keeps on fluctuating constantly and thus it is highly identical to speculation.

In addition to this, there is always a chance of losing all your invested money if your system gets infected by a malware infection developed by cyber Criminals. Recently, the researchers have discovered a new threat i.e. the ComboJack Malware. This new malware infection was identified by the researchers from PaloAlto who explained their finding in a blog post.

This malware has the potential to steal all your cryptocurrency and other electronic funds. This malware infection modifying the payment and wallet information of the user as soon as it is copies it to the system’s clipboard. The victim unknowingly pastes this malicious payment and wallet information which is hard coded into the malware. As a consequence, they end up sending the money the crooks instead of the intended destination.

There are various methods of malware distribution used by the crooks but the most common method used for the distribution of ComboJack malware is forwarding Spam emails. The target geographical area is The United States of America. These spam emails contains PDF file and text stating that a passport was found and the user should download the PDF file which is the scanned copy of the document. As soon as the users download this PDF file their system gets infected because this PDF file is actually a RTF file which contains a remote object. This RTF file that exploits the CVE-2017-8579, an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Microsoft DirectX to loads the embedded remote object. When the technical procedure is fully completed, the malicious payload is delivered into an operating system.

Other then forwarding spam emails, the cyber criminals use various strategies for malware distribution which include –

1. Software Bundling: Software bundling is the process in which a malicious program is distributed with other free software, to get an unnoticed entry into your computer system. When a user installs a free application, the malicious programs gains a front door entry with the free application, the user has downloaded. Thus, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the installation screens while installing these free applications.
2. Infected Storage Devices: Your system can also get infected by using removable media such as USB hard drives and jump drives without scanning them with an anti-virus.
3. Malicious Websites or Malovalent Advertisments: The malicious websites are the ones which are created just for promoting the malware infections. Such websites include but are not limited to porn sites, torrent sites and other free downloading platforms. By visiting such websites, the adware infects the user’s computer without permission. Fake advertisements and updates like Flash player and windows updates which ask the user to update to the latest version are a few examples. When the users click on such links, their computer system gets infected. That is why, it is highly recommended to resist clicking on such links. Also avoid clicking on advertisements offering free stuff such as Win an iPhones, cars or free overseas trips etc.

The users who do not pay attention and blindly click on links or mail attachments then their system is more likely to get infected. So instead of going through a series of ComboJack removal guide be careful and make sure to follow the below mentioned precautionary tips –

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like 360 Total Security and Bull Guard so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.

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