Analysis by: Jaime Benigno Reyes
ALIASES:

RiskTool.Win32.BitCoinMiner.coa (Kaspersky)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:

  • Threat Type: Hacking Tool

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Downloaded from the Internet, Dropped by other malware

This hacking tool arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites. It may be dropped by other malware.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: Varies
File Type: EXE, DLL
Memory Resident: No
Initial Samples Received Date: 03 May 2013
Payload: Mines bitcoins

Arrival Details

This hacking tool arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It may be dropped by the following malware:

  • TROJ_BITCOMINE.A

NOTES:

This hacking tool is a Bitcoin miner used to generate bitcoins.

It may be bundled with a malware to send to other machines and use the affected machine to mine for Bitcoins.

The affected machine uses high CPU power, which also requires more electricity. This may result in higher electricity bills.

This hacking tool can be run using the following format:

  • {hacking tool file name} {-options}

Options:

-a scrypt|sha256|solid|seconds; - hashing algorithm (scrypt, sha256 or solid), or time between
getwork requests 1..60, default 15
-A user-agent - Set custom User-agent string in HTTP header, default: Ufasoft bitcoin miner
-g yes|no - set 'no' to disable GPU, default 'yes'
-h - help
-i index|name - select device from Device List, can be used multiple times, default - all devices
-I intensity - Intensity of GPU usage [-10..10], default 0
-l yes|no - set 'no' to disable Long-Polling, default 'yes'
-o url - in form http://username:password@server.tld:port/path, stratum+tcp://server.tld:port, by default http://127.0.0.1:8332
-t threads - Number of threads for CPU mining, 0..256, by default is number of CPUs (Cores), 0 - disable CPU mining
-T temperature - max temperature in Celsius degrees, default: 83
-v - Verbose output
-x type=host:port - Use HTTP or SOCKS proxy. Examples: -x http=127.0.0.1:3128, -x socks=127.0.0.1:1080

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.300

Step 1

Before doing any scans, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 2

Remove the malware/grayware file that dropped/downloaded HKTL_BITCOMINE

     
    • TROJ_BITCOMINE.A

Step 3

Identify and terminate files detected as HKTL_BITCOMINE

[ Learn More ]
  1. Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the malware/grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. If the detected file is displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer but you cannot delete it, restart your computer in safe mode. To do this, refer to this link for the complete steps.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 4

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as HKTL_BITCOMINE. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check this Knowledge Base page for more information.


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