A new, very hazardous cryptocurrency miner virus has been spotted by safety and security scientists. The malware, called Atlthunk.exe can contaminate target victims utilizing a selection of means. The main point behind the Atlthunk.exe miner is to use cryptocurrency miner tasks on the computers of victims in order to acquire Monero tokens at targets cost. The outcome of this miner is the elevated power costs and also if you leave it for longer amount of times Atlthunk.exe might also damage your computers parts.
Atlthunk.exe: Distribution Methods
The Atlthunk.exe malware utilizes 2 prominent approaches which are made use of to infect computer targets:
- Payload Delivery by means of Prior Infections. If an older Atlthunk.exe malware is released on the sufferer systems it can immediately update itself or download a more recent version. This is feasible through the integrated upgrade command which gets the launch. This is done by linking to a certain predefined hacker-controlled server which offers the malware code. The downloaded virus will obtain the name of a Windows service and also be placed in the “%system% temp” place. Vital buildings as well as operating system setup data are transformed in order to allow a persistent and also quiet infection.
- Software Program Vulnerability Exploits. The most recent variation of the Atlthunk.exe malware have been discovered to be caused by the some ventures, widely recognized for being used in the ransomware attacks. The infections are done by targeting open services through the TCP port. The assaults are automated by a hacker-controlled structure which seeks out if the port is open. If this problem is satisfied it will certainly check the solution and also get info about it, including any variation as well as arrangement information. Exploits and also prominent username as well as password combinations might be done. When the make use of is caused against the prone code the miner will certainly be released along with the backdoor. This will certainly present the a double infection.
Aside from these techniques other strategies can be utilized too. Miners can be dispersed by phishing emails that are sent in bulk in a SPAM-like manner and also rely on social design methods in order to perplex the targets into believing that they have obtained a message from a legit solution or company. The virus documents can be either straight connected or placed in the body materials in multimedia material or message web links.
The crooks can additionally create harmful touchdown pages that can pose vendor download web pages, software program download portals and various other regularly accessed locations. When they use comparable sounding domain to reputable addresses as well as protection certifications the users may be pushed into connecting with them. In some cases just opening them can set off the miner infection.
Another strategy would certainly be to use haul carriers that can be spread using those methods or through file sharing networks, BitTorrent is one of the most prominent ones. It is frequently used to disperse both reputable software and also documents and pirate content. Two of one of the most popular haul service providers are the following:
Various other approaches that can be thought about by the bad guys include making use of internet browser hijackers -hazardous plugins which are made compatible with one of the most popular web internet browsers. They are uploaded to the pertinent repositories with fake customer reviews as well as programmer qualifications. In many cases the summaries might include screenshots, videos and intricate descriptions encouraging terrific feature enhancements and also performance optimizations. Nonetheless upon setup the actions of the impacted browsers will certainly alter- customers will find that they will certainly be redirected to a hacker-controlled touchdown web page and also their setups may be modified – the default web page, search engine and brand-new tabs page.
Atlthunk.exe: Analysis
The Atlthunk.exe malware is a traditional case of a cryptocurrency miner which depending upon its configuration can create a variety of hazardous actions. Its primary goal is to execute intricate mathematical tasks that will certainly benefit from the offered system sources: CPU, GPU, memory and also hard disk area. The way they work is by connecting to an unique server called mining swimming pool from where the required code is downloaded and install. As quickly as among the tasks is downloaded it will certainly be started simultaneously, several instances can be performed at as soon as. When a provided job is finished one more one will certainly be downloaded and install in its area as well as the loophole will certainly proceed until the computer system is powered off, the infection is removed or another comparable event occurs. Cryptocurrency will be awarded to the criminal controllers (hacking team or a single hacker) directly to their pocketbooks.
An unsafe feature of this classification of malware is that examples like this one can take all system resources as well as almost make the sufferer computer pointless up until the danger has been completely eliminated. Most of them feature a persistent setup which makes them really difficult to get rid of. These commands will make modifications to boot choices, configuration files and Windows Registry values that will certainly make the Atlthunk.exe malware start instantly as soon as the computer is powered on. Access to healing menus as well as choices may be blocked which renders lots of manual elimination overviews practically pointless.
This specific infection will arrangement a Windows solution for itself, adhering to the carried out security analysis ther adhering to actions have been observed:
. During the miner operations the associated malware can connect to already running Windows services and also third-party mounted applications. By doing so the system administrators might not observe that the source lots comes from a different process.
Name | Atlthunk.exe |
---|---|
Category | Trojan |
Sub-category | Cryptocurrency Miner |
Dangers | High CPU usage, Internet speed reduction, PC crashes and freezes and etc. |
Main purpose | To make money for cyber criminals |
Distribution | Torrents, Free Games, Cracked Apps, Email, Questionable Websites, Exploits |
Removal | Install GridinSoft Anti-Malware to detect and remove Atlthunk.exe |
These type of malware infections are specifically effective at executing advanced commands if set up so. They are based on a modular framework enabling the criminal controllers to coordinate all type of dangerous behavior. One of the prominent instances is the alteration of the Windows Registry – adjustments strings connected by the operating system can cause significant performance disturbances as well as the inability to gain access to Windows services. Relying on the range of modifications it can also make the computer totally unusable. On the various other hand manipulation of Registry values coming from any type of third-party installed applications can sabotage them. Some applications might fail to introduce altogether while others can all of a sudden stop working.
This certain miner in its present variation is concentrated on mining the Monero cryptocurrency having a customized version of XMRig CPU mining engine. If the campaigns prove successful then future versions of the Atlthunk.exe can be released in the future. As the malware uses software program vulnerabilities to infect target hosts, it can be part of a hazardous co-infection with ransomware as well as Trojans.
Removal of Atlthunk.exe is strongly suggested, since you take the chance of not just a huge electrical power expense if it is operating on your PC, but the miner may additionally do other unwanted tasks on it as well as even damage your PC completely.
Atlthunk.exe removal process
STEP 1. First of all, you need to download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
STEP 2. Then you should choose “Quick scan” or “Full scan”.
STEP 3. Run to scan your computer
STEP 4. After the scan is completed, you need to click on “Apply” button to remove Atlthunk.exe
STEP 5. Atlthunk.exe Removed!
Video Guide: How to use GridinSoft Anti-Malware for remove Atlthunk.exe
How to prevent your PC from being reinfected with “Atlthunk.exe” in the future.
A Powerful Antivirus solution that can detect and block fileless malware is what you need! Traditional solutions detect malware based on virus definitions, and hence they often cannot detect “Atlthunk.exe”. GridinSoft Anti-Malware provides protection against all types of malware including fileless malware such as “Atlthunk.exe”. GridinSoft Anti-Malware provides cloud-based behavior analyzer to block all unknown files including zero-day malware. Such technology can detect and completely remove “Atlthunk.exe”.