Zeus Virus: Becoming more powerful

 Zeus virus comes of revision 1.6 with the capability of attacking Firefox and Internet Explorer. A truth that gives a chance for the Google Chrome and Opera users to rejoice. In the 5.5 million computers it has a part in protecting, 1 in each 3000 has become infected. The BBC site informs that not only does Trusteer operate in the U.K, it also is found in the U.S.A.

Zeus is a financial malware.  It infects consumer PCs, waits for them to log onto a list of targeted banks and financial institutions, and then steals their credentials and sends them to a remote server in real time. Additionally, it may inject HTML into the pages rendered by the browser, so that its own content is displayed together (or instead of) the genuine pages from the bank’s web server. Thus, it is able to ask the user to divulge more personal information, such as payment card number and PIN, one time passwords and TANs, etc.

Zues Virus is understood to be the biggest culprit among the family of malware targeting the financial websites and institutions. According to some of the studies, as much as 44% of all financial malware are based upon Zeus. Despite such an alarming state, it is shocking to know that most of the Latest Security Software,  even if they are updated to the latest version,  are incapable of finding and removing Zeus Malware infections. In a recent study by Trusteer, it has been revealed that as much as as 55% of all the tested 10,000 computers, which were equipped with the latest updated security software and antivirus, were not able to detect and remove the traces of Zeus Virus.

The malware steals login information by recording keystrokes when the infected user is on a list of target websites. These websites are usually banks and other financial institutions. The user’s data is then sent to a remote server to be used and sold on by cyber-criminals. “We expect this new version of Zeus to significantly increase fraud losses, since nearly 30% of internet users bank online with Firefox and the infection is growing faster than we have ever seen before,” said Amit Klein, chief technology officer at Trusteer.

For more details on spread of infection visit:  thepcsecurity.com/latest-security-software-cannot-detect-zeus-virus/

Removal:
Run an updated antivirus software capable of detecting Zeus virus. Alternatively an online malware scanner like Trend Micro HouseCall or Windows Live OneCare safety scanner may also be used to scan your system for bot infection. More Online Anti-virus Scanners. Anti-malware softwares like Malware Bytes and Super Anti-Spyware can also be used.