Monday, March 10, 2008

Peanut.Brittle Virus Removal

Aliases of Peanut.Brittle (AKA):

[Kaspersky] Backdoor.Peanut.b, Backdoor.Peanut.c
[Eset] Win32/Peanut.C trojan
[McAfee] BackDoor-GC.svr, Generic
[F-Prot] security risk or a "backdoor" program
[Panda] Bck/Ootlt.B.II, Bck/Peanut.0.2
[Computer Associates] Backdoor/Peanut.B, Win32.OOTLT.b, Win32.Peanut.C, Win32/Server.OOTLT.B!Trojan

How to Remove Peanut.Brittle from Your Computer

You can effectively remove Peanut.Brittle from your computer with Exterminate It!.

After installing the program, run a scan to display a list of the files associated with Peanut.Brittle in the Scan Result screen and remove these files. For information about running scans and removing malware files, see the Exterminate It! Help.

Peanut.Brittle Categorized as:

Trojan

A trojan is a program that is disguised as legitimate software but is designed to carry out some harmful actions on the infected computer.

Unlike viruses and worms, trojans don’t replicate but they can be just as destructive.

These days trojans are very common. Trojans are divided into a number different categories based on their function or type of damage.

Backdoor

Of all trojans, backdoor trojans pose the greatest danger to users’ PCs because they give their authors remote control over infected computers. They are downloaded, installed, and run silently, without the user’s consent or knowledge. Upon installation, backdoor trojans can be instructed to send, receive, execute and delete files, gather and transfer confidential data from the computer, log all activity on the computer, and perform other harmful activities.

How Did My PC Get Infected with Peanut.Brittle?

The following are the most likely reasons why your computer got infected with Peanut.Brittle:

  • Your operating system and Web browser's security settings are too lax.
  • You are not following safe Internet surfing and PC practices.

Downloading and Installing Freeware or Shareware

Small-charge or free software applications may come bundled with spyware, adware, or programs like Peanut.Brittle. Sometimes adware is attached to free software to enable the developers to cover the overhead involved in created the software. Spyware frequently piggybacks on free software into your computer to damage it and steal valuable private information.

Using Peer-to-Peer Software

The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) programs or other applications using a shared network exposes your system to the risk of unwittingly downloading infected files, including malicious programs like Peanut.Brittle.

Visiting Questionable Web Sites

When you visit sites with dubious or objectionable content, trojans-including Peanut.Brittle-, spyware, and adware, may well be automatically downloaded and installed onto your computer.

Detecting Peanut.Brittle

The following symptoms signal that your computer is very likely to be infected with Peanut.Brittle.

PC is working very slowly
Peanut.Brittle can seriously slow down your computer. If your PC takes a lot longer than normal to restart or your Internet connection is extremely slow, your computer may well be infected with Peanut.Brittle.

New desktop shortcuts have appeared or the home page has changed
Peanut.Brittle can tamper with your Internet settings or redirect your default home page to unwanted web sites. Peanut.Brittle may even add new shortcuts to your PC desktop.

Annoying popups keep appearing on your PC
Peanut.Brittle may swamp your computer with pestering popup ads, even when you're not connected to the Internet, while secretly tracking your browsing habits and gathering your personal information.

E-mails that you didn't write are being sent from your mailbox
Peanut.Brittle may gain complete control of your mailbox to generate and send e-mail with virus attachments, e-mail hoaxes, spam, and other types of unsolicited e-mail to other people.

Source: http://www.exterminate-it.com/

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