We found that the fake installer was pushed to the victims’ machines through automatic updates of one torrent client ( downloadstudio) and three adblockers ( netshieldkitcom, myadblockcom and netadblockcom). Since then, we spent some time reverse engineering the malware and investigating its infection vector. In our first report, we stated that we did not know how this fake installer was being distributed. The backdoor is most active in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In fact, the installer’s main purpose was to open a backdoor to attacker-controlled servers in order to give its operators the ability to push additional malicious payloads to the infected machines.Ī map illustrating the distribution of Avast users protected from the FakeMBAM backdoor.
However, that was all just a pretense, because the installer did not actually install Malwarebytes.
This installer attempted to pass itself off as the legitimate Malwarebytes installer, mimicking it to a great extent – it was distributed under the same filename, it used the same icon and it created a Malwarebytes installation directory containing legitimate PE files digitally signed by Malwarebytes. We recently reported on a fake Malwarebytes installer that we detected on over 100,000 machines protected by Avast. We reverse engineered this backdoor and describe its inner workings in the second part of this post. Specifically, we’ll show how one torrent client and three adblockers surreptitiously installed the FakeMBAM backdoor through automatic updates. In this blog post, we’ll show that this trust might sometimes be misplaced.
Unfortunately, users often have no choice but to trust the developers that they will only use the update channel for its intended purpose and that they will protect it from malicious third parties.
However, automatic updates also carry an additional risk because they allow the software developers to push arbitrary code to users’ machines. This is commonly considered a good practice from the security point of view, since it allows for quick distribution of patches for critical vulnerabilities. If you want a secure, feature-rich, and more affordable internet security suite, go with McAfee.Many applications can be updated automatically and without any user interaction. If you don’t mind spending a little extra to get the best protection in 2021, go with Norton. Norton is better for overall security, performance, and extra features. For effective antivirus detection against computer viruses, worms, Trojan viruses, and more, the antivirus software has to be allowed to penetrate to a suitable level within the computer. The short answer is yes you can, but you definitely shouldn’t run them at the same time. If you want identity theft protection, Norton 360 with LifeLock Select is the better value compared to McAfee’s less expensive 10-device Family plan. These extra features arguably make Norton 360 Deluxe a more comprehensive offering than McAfee’s similarly priced Individual & Couples package.
It may even seem blatantly obvious to you that any PC user should be running an antivirus on Windows 10, but there are arguments against doing so. The short answer to the titular question is: Yes, you should still be running some kind of antivirus software in 2020. And there’s no good reason not to run an antivirus on Windows. If a website uses a security flaw in your browser or a plug-in like Flash to compromise your computer, it will often attempt to install malware-keyloggers, Trojans, rootkits, and all sorts of other bad things. Top-notch protection that’s bristling with features.Īn antivirus is your final layer of protection.
Here are the best Windows 10 antivirus in 2021 Which Free Antivirus is best for Windows 10? Norton is also our recommended antivirus software for 2021. Norton is better than Windows Defender in terms of both malware protection and the impact on system performance. Which is better Windows Defender or Norton 360? I strongly encourage you, to keep using your default antivirus, which is Windows Defender. NO! Windows Defender uses STRONG real-time protection, even offline. Do I need Norton with Windows 10 defender?