18 march, 2010
Suspicious.XX
Risk Level 1: Very Low
Discovered: March 16, 2010
Updated: March 16, 2010 11:44:49 PM
Type: Trojan, Virus
Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP
SUMMARY
Suspicious.XX is a detection technology designed to detect entirely new malware threats without traditional signatures. This technology is aimed at detecting malicious software that has been intentionally mutated or morphed by attackers.Protection
- Initial Rapid Release version March 16, 2010 revision 038
- Latest Rapid Release version March 16, 2010 revision 038
- Initial Daily Certified version March 16, 2010 revision 037
- Latest Daily Certified version March 16, 2010 revision 037
- Initial Weekly Certified release date March 17, 2010
Threat Assessment
Wild
- Wild Level: Low
- Number of Infections: 0 - 49
- Number of Sites: 0 - 2
- Geographical Distribution: Low
- Threat Containment: Easy
- Removal: Easy
Damage
- Damage Level: Low
Distribution
- Distribution Level: Low
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Symantec’s antivirus products contain an highly sensitive detection technology designed to detect entirely new malware threats without traditional signatures. This technology is aimed at detecting malicious software that has been intentionally mutated or morphed by attackers.If one or more files on your computer have been classified as having a Suspicious.XX threat, this indicates that the files have suspicious characteristics and therefore might contain a new or unknown threat. However, given the sensitive nature of this detection technology, it may occasionally identify non-malicious, legitimate software programs that also share these behavioral characteristics. Therefore, it is recommended that users manually check all files detected as Suspicious.XX by Symantec antivirus products for potential misidentification, and submit any suspect files to Symantec Security Response for further analysis. For instructions on how to do this, read Submit Virus Samples.
In rare cases where a legitimate file has been misidentified and subsequently quarantined, your computer may behave abnormally or you may find that one or more applications no longer function as expected. In such rare situations, you should open the Quarantine in your Symantec antivirus product. From here, you may review the list of all files detected as Suspicious.XX and, if you identify a potential misidentification, restore the file from quarantine and allow it to run normally.
Recommendations
Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":
- Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.
- Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
- Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.
- Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.
- Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.
- Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.
- If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
- Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
- Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
- Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
- Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
- If Bluetooth is not required for mobile devices, it should be turned off. If you require its use, ensure that the device's visibility is set to "Hidden" so that it cannot be scanned by other Bluetooth devices. If device pairing must be used, ensure that all devices are set to "Unauthorized", requiring authorization for each connection request. Do not accept applications that are unsigned or sent from unknown sources.
- For further information on the terms used in this document, please refer to the Security Response glossary.