Vigua.a
Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are assessment reports for different malware threats which have been collected and analyzed by our research team. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards evaluate and rank threats using several metrics including real-world and potential risk factors, trends, frequency, prevalence, and persistence. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are updated regularly based on our research data and metrics and are useful for a wide range of computer users, from end users seeking solutions to remove malware from their systems to security experts analyzing threats.
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards display a variety of useful information, including:
Ranking: The ranking of a particular threat in EnigmaSoft’s Threat Database.
Severity Level: The determined severity level of an object, represented numerically, based on our risk modeling process and research, as explained in our Threat Assessment Criteria.
Infected Computers: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
See also Threat Assessment Criteria.
| Threat Level: | 80 % (High) |
| Infected Computers: | 8 |
| First Seen: | March 31, 2021 |
| Last Seen: | March 19, 2023 |
| OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
Vigua.a, or more precisely PUA:Win32/Vigua.A, is a generic detection used by the Microsoft Defender (formerly the Windows Defender). This is the main anti-malware component of the Windows OS and this detection denotes an item that it has found to have suspicious or unwanted characteristics or capabilities. In most cases, users that see a security alert about a file flagged as Vigua.a likely have a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) installed on their computers.
PUPs can be equipped with various, intrusive and unwanted capabilities and can fall into different categories - adware, browser hijackers, etc. Adware applications are predominantly focused on the delivery of annoying advertisements to the user's device. The advertisements may take different forms - pop-ups, banners, notifications and more. These advertisements are likely to promote untrustworthy or even unsafe destinations or software products. Users may see advertisements for phishing schemes, technical support frauds, free giveaways, shady adult sites, etc.
Browser hijackers, on the other hand, are focused on taking control of several important browser settings. They modify the homepage, new tab page, and the default search engine to now open a promoted Web address, usually belonging to a fake search engine. It must be noted that most PUPs have data-harvesting capabilities and can collect various data from the system. They may continuously capture and exfiltrate browsing-related data, device details, or even sensitive account information, banking details and payment data.
It must be noted that the Vigua.a detection doesn't necessarily mean that the flagged item is a PUP. It is quite common for generic detections to incorrectly label legitimate files and applications, meaning that the security alert could be a false positive.
