Mal/EncPk-AGE Description

Spam email attacks that take advantage of important news stories is a common social engineering tactic that criminals use to infect their victims’ computers with malware. We’ve seen it over and over again in events such as the London 2012 Olympics and with celebrity deaths as was the case with Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson. Presidential elections in the United States are also a prime news source that criminals exploit for their attacks. We saw it repeatedly after the 2008 elections in the United States. Scammers are taking advantage of the current presidential elections involving Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. The Mal/EncPk-AGE Trojan dropper is a component of a widespread attack that begins with fake email messages from CNN and other news sources. If you suspect that your computer has become infected with the Mal/EncPk-AGE Trojan dropper, it is important to scan your computer thoroughly with a reliable, strong anti-malware program in order to avoid the loss of your stored information and private data.

There are multiple components involved in a Mal/EncPk-AGE malware attack. It all begins with a malicious spam email message titled ‘CNN Breaking News – Mitt Romney Almost President’. This email message claims to be a CNN news alert and contains bogus stories that are eye catching and can prompt computer users to click on them. The main story in this malicious email message claims that Mitt Romney is winning with sixty percent of the vote! Clicking on these stories leads to malicious websites that contain the Mal/JSRedir-H redirect, a dangerous JavaScript Trojan that directs computer users to attack websites containing the BlackHole Exploit Kit.

Using the BlackHole Exploit Kit, criminals will attempt to exploit simultaneously vulnerabilities in software and operating systems in order to install Mal/EncPk-AGE on your computer. This Trojan dropper will usually take the form of an executable file disguised as a fake update for Flash Player or other popular software. Mal/EncPk-AGE’s payload involves installing a backdoor on your computer, which criminals can then use to set up other malware on the compromised computer. One of the most worrying aspects of this attack is that it gives the impression of be using a new version of the BlackHole Exploit Kit, meaning that many computers that were previously well protected against this exploit kit may now be vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.

Type: Malware

How Can You Detect Mal/EncPk-AGE?

Important Article Disclaimer