Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A

Last Update: May 25, 2013 by webmaster , Comments: 17

Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A is a harmful Trojan that may cause enough damage to make the infected computer unstable. This malware is part of the Alureon family, which mostly targets the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the compromised PC. Among other things it is capable of is stealing data by intercepting Internet traffic and extract information from it. Backdoor is the other strength of this Trojan. Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A may open a connection on your PC that will allow remote attacker to control it. This link can also be use to gather vital data from the compromised computer including user’s credentials.

There are a number of methods how Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A may infiltrate a computer. However, security expert ruled that vulnerabilities from Windows operating system are the major cause of infection. Other sources of the infection can be derived from some Trojans that was made to physically drop Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A on target computer. There are also new variants of Alureon that are linked to the spread of this aged malware. Do not ignore links from emails, chat programs, and social networking sites. It can also be used by an attacker to deploy this threat.

Upon infection, Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A modifies part of the Master Boot Record and appends some code, which makes it Trojan’s repository. Each time Windows starts, it runs on its own and loads other harmful code making Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A a dominant threat. It can actually end processes that are related to security and antivirus programs. With a disabled antivirus, there is no way that you can delete this threat. For this reason, we provide an alternative solution to remove Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A. See the complete guide below.

Type	Trojan
Sub-Type	Rootkit/MBR
OS Affected	Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

What are the Symptoms of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A Infection?

Warning and alerts from installed antivirus program may be the only visual sign of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A infection. Refer to image below for a screenshot of the detection.

Follow these Procedures to Remove Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A

Procedure 1: Start Computer in Safe Mode

Restart your computer in Safe Mode with Networking

- Turn on the computer and immediately press F8 on the keyboard to enter Windows Advanced Options screen. Make sure to hit the F8 button before Windows logo appears on the screen. Failure to do this will boot Windows normally. If that happens, please repeat the process until you successfully boot into Windows Advanced Options. Please see image below for reference.

- From the selections, choose Safe Mode with Networking. Please use keyboard's arrow up/down to navigate between selections and press Enter to proceed.Safe mode loads minimal driver and processes, thus, there is no chance that Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A will run during this mode.

Procedure 2: Scan and remove Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A files and process with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware

To remove Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the button below. This tool is effective in getting rid of Trojans, viruses and malware.

1. After downloading, please install the program using the default settings.
2. At the end of the installation, please make sure that it will download necessary updates.
3. Once update has completed. The tool will launch.
4. Thoroughly scan the computer and remove all threats detected by this anti-malware program.

Double-check for bits and pieces of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A using Microsoft Safety Scanner

MS Safety Scanner is a free security tool that offers on-demand virus scanning and helps remove threats from the infected computer. It is a stand-alone program that works even with existing antivirus program.

Important: Each download of Microsoft Safety Scanner expires 10 days after the acquisition date. If this period lapses, you need to download the same program from the same location again. New download contains newer virus definition and database to detect and clean most recent viruses.

To use this tool in removing Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A, please follow this procedure.

1. Download Microsoft Safety Scanner from official web site. Click on the button below.

2. Save the file to a convenient location such as Desktop.
3. Once the download completes, browse the folder and double-click on the file msert.exe. Icon for this file looks like this.

4. If Windows prompts for a security warning and ask if you want to run the file, click on Run. For Windows Vista/7 users, you may right-click on the file and select Run as administrator from the selection.

5. On initial run, the tool will display End User License Agreement, please accept the terms and click Next. Continue on the process until you reach the Scan Type window.
6. Select on Full scan to entire the system and detect any presence of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A. Then, click Next button to begin the scan process. Scanning may take a while, please be patient.

7. Once Microsoft Safety Scanner finished on scanning the computer, it will display the result. If it finds presence of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A and other malware, the tool removes them automatically.
8. Click on Finish button to close the tool.

Procedure 4: Remove Rootkit Trojan with Avast aswMBR

A Trojan often drops malware using an advance technology known as rootkit. It hides the installation of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A from your anti-virus program and injects malicious code to running Windows processes. To complete the clean-up process, you also need to scan and remove rootkit Trojan.

1. Download aswMBR from Avast server. Save it to your computer.

2. Double-click on the file aswMBR.exe to run the program.
3. If it prompts you to download the latest Avast! virus definition, please click Yes. This is necessary to identify most recent version of the Trojan as well as hidden files of Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A.

4. Click on Scan button to start checking your computer for presence of rootkit Trojan and other viruses. It will display a message "Scan finished successfully" when done.

5. Click Fix or FixMBR to start removing infection. If aswMBR contains the latest Avast! virus definition file, it will automatically clean infected files on your PC.

Protect your PC from Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A or Similar Attack

Turn On Security Features of your Internet Browser

Internet Explorer - Activate SmartScreen Filter

Internet Explorer versions 8 and 9 has this feature called SmartScreen Filter. It helps detect phishing web sites and protect you from downloading malicious files online. You may have avoided Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A virus if this has been active on your PC. To turn on SmartScreen Filter, follow these steps:

1. Please open Internet Explorer.
2. On top menu, select Tools (IE 9). For IE 8, please look for Safety menu.
3. Select SmartScreen Filter from the drop-down list and click on Turn on SmartScreen Filter.

4. Please restart Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome's Enable Phishing and Malware Protection

With Google Chrome's Phishing and Malware Detection feature, you will have lesser risks browsing the web. It will display a warning when the site you are trying to visit is suspicious. To enable Phishing and Malware Protection, please do these steps:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Customize and control Google Chrome (3-Bars Icon) located on top right corner of the browser.
3. Select Settings from the drop-down list.
4. Once on the settings page, click on Show advanced settings... at the bottom of the page to see the rest of the Chrome setup.
5. Locate Privacy section and mark 'Enable phishing and malware protection'.

6. Please restart Google Chrome. New settings keep your browser safe while surfing the web.

Mozilla Firefox - Block Attack Sites and Web Forgeries

Phishing and Malware Protection is a built-in feature on Firefox version 3 or later. It warns you when a page you are trying to visit contains phishing content or an attack site designed to drop threats on the computer. To help you keep safe while browsing the Internet using Firefox, please follow this guide:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. On top menu, click on Tools. Then select Options from the list.
3. Select Security and put a check mark on the following items:

• Warn me when sites try to install add-ons
• Block reported attack sites
• Block reported web forgeries

S.M.A.R.T. Data Recovery VBS:Malware-Gen