Threat Descriptions

Worm:W32/Tater.C

Classification

Category :

Malware

Type :

Worm

Platform :

W32

Aliases :

Worm:W32/Tater.C

Summary

Worm:W32/Tater.C typically arrives on the system via a drive-by download, or as part of the payload of another malware.

Removal

Based on the settings of your F-Secure security product, it will either move the file to the quarantine where it cannot spread or cause harm, or remove it.

A False Positive is when a file is incorrectly detected as harmful, usually because its code or behavior resembles known harmful programs. A False Positive will usually be fixed in a subsequent database update without any action needed on your part. If you wish, you may also:

  • Check for the latest database updates

    First check if your F-Secure security program is using the latest updates, then try scanning the file again.

  • Submit a sample

    After checking, if you still believe the file is incorrectly detected, you can submit a sample of it for re-analysis.

    Note: If the file was moved to quarantine, you need to collect the file from quarantine before you can submit it.

  • Exclude a file from further scanning

    If you are certain that the file is safe and want to continue using it, you can exclude it from further scanning by the F-Secure security product.

    Note: You need administrative rights to change the settings.

Technical Details

Once on the computer network, it can propagate to other nodes on the network via network shares and mapped drives. It also steals the user's credentials for online games.

Execution

On execution, the malware creates a copy of itself. It also drops a randomly-named DLL component in the %TEMP% Directory. Both these files will normally have Read-Only, Hidden and System attributes.

Next, the malware modifies the following Registry key to hide the Hidden/System Files in the Explorer window.

  • HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL Checkedvalue = dword:00000000

It also adds the following registry entry to ensure it is continually executed on startup, effectively allowing it to survive system reboots.

  • HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run [random] = [randomfilename]

Propagation

To propagate, Tater.C drops a copy of itself to all accessible drives, together with a corresponding AUTORUN.INF file to enable the file's automatic execution.

Activity

The worm steals the online credentials for users of online games. To do so, it monitors the following known game processes:

  • coc.exe
  • ragexe.exe
  • pol.exe
  • polcore.dll