What Is Zeus Malware?

What is Zeus Malware?: Zeus malware (a Trojan Horse malware) is also known as Zeus virus or Zbot. This malware runs on different versions of Microsoft Windows and is supposed to carry out malicious activities at the victim’s computer. The reason for making the Zeus malware banking trojan was to steal banking records by man-in-the-browser keystroke logging and form grabbing malware.

Zeus malware is also used to install CryptoLocker ransomware. The primary ways of infecting are through phishing schemes and drive-by downloads. The malware infection was first recognized stealing information from the United States Department of Transportation in 2007. By March 2009, it became the most widespread malware across the internet Zeus malware.

According to, security company, Prevx; Zeus malware virus compromised over 74,000 FTP website accounts. This detail was brought to light in 2009. Zeus malware trojan attacks include companies like BusinessWeek, NASA, ABC, Play.com, Bank of America, Monster.com, Amazon, and Cisco.

Zeus malware tricks users of tech support scams into giving the scam artists money. The pop-up messages claim to have identified a virus in the computer, but in actuality, they might have no viruses malware at all malware. The hackers/scammers might use the Event viewer or Command prompt to make the user believe that their computer is compromised malware.

The threat posed by Zeus malware Trojan malware decreased when its original creator retired in 2010. This paved the way for several variants to show up on the scene when the source code became public, making this distinct malware consistent and dangerous once again malware.

What Does Zeus Malware Do To Computers?

Zeus malware can do a variety of things once it affects a system, however, it actually has two main sections of functionality malware.

Primarily, it creates a botnet, which is a network of individual computers infected with malicious programs. It is managed as a group without the owners’ knowledge by a command and control server under the control of the Zeus malware’s owner. The botnet enables the owner to gather massive amounts of information or execute large-scale attacks malware.

The malware is designed to recognize when the user is on a banking website and records the keystrokes used to log in. Now, Zeus trojan has been mainly neutralized, the Trojan malware lives on as its components are used (and built upon) in a large number of new and emerging Zeus malware.

How Can Zeus Malware Be Detected?

The malware is really tough to detect, even with up-to-date antivirus as it is designed with stealth techniques to hide – this is another reason why it has become one of the largest botnets on the Internet malware.

Who Does The Zeus Malware Target?

According to Damballa, Zeus malware infected 3.6 million PCs in the U.S.A in 2009. Thereby, it is vital to learn and share the knowledge about steering clear of such attacks malware. Avoid clicking on hostile or suspicious links in emails or on websites, and always keep the antivirus protection up to date. Some antivirus software doesn’t claim to reliably prevent infection and is capable of preventing some infection attempts against Zeus malware.

The Unanticipated FBI Crackdown Zeus Malware

Zeus malware hackers in Eastern Europe successfully infected computers across the globe using the Zeus virus, this information was officially confirmed by the FBI in October 2010. Initially, the botnet was circulated to the victims through the email. After the user opened the emails, the malware malicious program stealthily installed itself on the victimized computer Zeus malware. After successful entry, it secretly started to capture account numbers, passwords and other important data used to log into online banking accounts.

The harvested information from the victim’s computer helped the hackers take over the victims’ bank accounts and make unapproved transfers of thousands of dollars. The misappropriated funds were sent out to other accounts controlled by a network of money mules who received a commission for their assistance malware. The hackers recruited money mules from overseas to play it safe advanced endpoint protection.

The money mule account operators created bank accounts using fake documents and false names. As soon as the money was transferred to their accounts, they encashed and smuggled it to the hackers or wired it to them. The FBI arrested over 90 people in the US, and 10 in the UK and Ukraine on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. The gang swindled approximately $70 million.

Hamza Bendelladj, a Thailand national, was arrested in 2013 and deported to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was known as Bx1 online who was the mastermind behind Zeus malware attacks. He was held responsible for operating SpyEye – a bot functionally similar to ZeuS. He was also suspected of operating Zeus botnets advanced endpoint protection malware.

The Online fraudster was charged with several counts of wire fraud, computer fraud and abuse malware. The official papers from the court declared that between 2009 and 2011 Bendelladj and others developed, marketed, and sold various versions of the SpyEye virus advanced endpoint protection Zeus malware.

They also sold the component parts online which helped the other online criminals customize their versions malware to add methods of collecting victims’ personal and financial information advanced endpoint protection Zeus malware. He was also accused of advertising SpyEye on the online forums devoted malware to cyber and other crimes. The SpyEye botnet control server was based in Atlanta and the charges in Georgia relate only to SpyEye malware.

What is Zeus Malware and How To Prevent it?

As the old saying goes – “prevention is better than cure,” it is best to stay protected through safe internet practices. Avoid visiting websites that are unknown or suspicious malware, websites that deal with adult content, illegal downloads or illegal free software advanced endpoint protection malware. The owners of these websites have no issues letting malware owners host their software on the site advanced endpoint protection Zeus malware.

On the other hand, by simply not clicking on social media messages or links in email, you can stay safe advanced endpoint protection malware. Treat all messages equally and if the message arrives from a source affiliated with Zeus Trojan malware, chances are the message could pose a possible threat malware.

Make use of the two-factor authentication, whereby the financial website triggers a confirmation code to be sent to your mobile device and confirm the login is legit. Recently, a few offshoots from Zeus malware-infected smart devices, too. Below are a few tips for individuals and businesses advanced endpoint protection malware:

For Individual Users:

1. Never visit suspicious websites
2. Be careful when opening e-mails or attachments from unknown sources.
3. Back up your files regularly
4. Have the popup blockers enabled always
5. Keep your computer OS and antivirus software up-to-date

For Businesses (Corporates):

1. Implement stringent controls on privileged accounts
2. Have a proper data backup and recovery plan
3. Make sure all the corporate-connected devices are up to date

Since the advent of BYOD, users have been accessing corporate data from outside of the office and through preferred networks malware. This makes it all the more vulnerable for hackers to infiltrate through the defense systems to steal potential banking details from websites that deal with a lot of online fund transactions, e.g., e-commerce sites, banking sites, online ticket booking sites and so on advanced endpoint protection malware. A powerful, updated antivirus solution is a must to stay away from such vulnerabilities advanced endpoint protection malware.

When it comes to the business safety, antivirus products are not a viable option. The ideal way to disarm Zeus malware is to have an advanced endpoint protection system in place. Xcitium Advanced Endpoint protection (AEP) is such a solution which provides real-time protection for all of your endpoints malware.

Xcitium AEP isolates malware (including ransomware) from penetrating your company’s local area network at the device layer and executes them in an isolated or restricted system environment malware. It is the most intelligent endpoint protection solution that offers multiple layers of protection against both known and unknown threats malware. Basically, the Advanced Endpoint Protection can easily scan the endpoints and remove the malware if it already exists on the device malware.

The Xcitium AEP offers complete 360-degree protection for the endpoints malware connected to the corporate network both locally and virtually. It combines numerous security techniques to defend the corporate network and endpoints with complete protection. Some of the robust features include malware:

Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) –  It blocks malicious activities by monitoring the behavior of the code.

Containment Technology – This works on Artificial Intelligence and moves the unknown files in a virtual isolated container. This file is later analyzed and the intention of the file is known malware. It ensures that the users can run programs and applications on their enterprise endpoints; however, the known good applications run as usual while the unknown suspicious files run in the virtual environment malware.

IT and Security Manager – It is a single console to ensure efficient IT security and device management. It provides a complete report on the status of each device and its level of security malware.

The Zeus Trojan has infected millions of computers across the globe in a relatively short time. The original creator is no longer running Zeus Malware however, the code is still very much available online to customize per hacker needs malware. In order to prevent, the corporate networks and endpoints falling victim to the financial data theft, it we recommend choosing Xcitium AEP.

For further details on Xcitium Advanced Endpoint Protection, contact us at EnterpriseSolutions@Xcitium.com or +1 888-256-2608.

See Also:

EDR
Endpoint Security
Trojan Virus