CamuBot Trojan

What is CamuBot?

CamuBot is a high-end trojan-type virus that infiltrates the system and gathers banking credentials. It entered the scene in August, 2018.

At time of research, CamuBot targets only users holding business accounts with certain Brazilian banks. As compared to other similar viruses, CamuBot is very sophisticated and does much greater damage than a plain information-tracking trojan.

One of the main differences between regular trojans and CamuBot is that CamuBot does not hide itself or attempt to infiltrate systems without users' consent. Cyber criminals call potential victims and claim to be bank employees. These people state that a new security module has been released and encourage users to install it onto their computers.

Before doing so, users are advised to close all running applications and run the installer as Administrator. The entire installer interface may seem legitimate, since it contains a bank icon, minimum system requirements, and other details common to regular installation set-ups. This appearance helps cyber criminals to gain victims' trust and infiltrate CamuBot into their systems.

After system infiltration, CamuBot adds itself to an exception list of the Windows Firewall and installed anti-virus suite, so that it is not eliminated. Once the "module" is installed, users are encouraged to perform a small transaction to confirm their credentials. Users are redirected to a malicious website that has identical appearance to the bank's website.

Entered login credentials (usernames/passwords) are immediately saved on a server controlled by CamuBot's developers. CamuBot uses proxy to communicate with the remote server and cyber criminals use victims' IP addresses when logging into hijacked accounts. In addition, CamuBot bypasses biometric authentication (e.g., external devices).

If victims use such authentication, CamuBot installs a driver to imitate it. The presence of CamuBot trojan might cause significant financial issues. As mentioned above, cyber criminals target users who have business accounts. Thus, they might gain access to the accounts of various company owners/CEOs.

In most cases, these accounts hold much more money than the average account holder. Therefore, even a single successful infection might allow cyber criminals to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.

If you have a business account with any Brazilian bank and have recently installed a "security module", there is a possibility that your computer is infected with the CamuBot trojan. Therefore, you should immediately remove any recently installed software, scan the system with a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite, and eliminate all threats.

Although CamuBot is a high-end trojan, it can be compared to other less sophisticated information-tracking viruses. Despite their simplicity, however, they are as dangerous as CamuBot. The list of examples includes TrickBot, Adwind, Emotet, Lokibot, and many others.

Unlike CamuBot, most information-tracking trojans record a wide range of information, rather than just bank credentials. In any case, cyber criminals might gain access to bank accounts, social networks, email services, and so on. Therefore, the presence of this malware can lead to significant financial loss and even identity theft.

How did CamuBot infiltrate my computer?

As mentioned above, cyber criminals proliferate CamuBot manually. They call victims and trick them into downloading/installing malware. They do not call people at random, they purchase personal information from other criminals who distribute rogue apps that monitor users' web browsing activity.

Ultimately, cyber criminals receive telephone numbers, email addresses, and other contacts, thus allowing them to target only those people who have business accounts with Brazilian banks. This malware distribution method is quite uncommon.

In most cases, cyber criminals proliferate viruses using chain infections (one malware proliferates another), spam email campaigns, fake software update tools, and unofficial software download sources. Spam campaigns proliferate malicious attachments (e.g., Microsoft Office documents) that, once opened, infiltrate malware into the system.

Fake software updaters infect computers by exploiting old software bugs/flaws or simply downloading and installing viruses rather than updates.

Third party software download sources (free file hosting websites, freeware download websites, peer-to-peer [P2P] networks, and others) present malicious executables as legitimate software, thereby tricking users into downloading and installing malware.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Lack of knowledge and careless behavior are the main reasons for computer infections. The key to safety is caution. Therefore, pay close attention when browsing the Internet and downloading, installing, and updating software. Think twice before opening email attachments.

If you believe that a file is irrelevant or has been received from a suspicious/unrecognizable email address, you should never open it. Furthermore, download your programs from official sources only, using direct download links. Third party downloaders/installers often include rogue apps, and thus these tools should never be used.

The same applies to software updates. Be sure to keep installed software up-to-date, however, to achieve this, use only implemented functions or tools provided by the official developer. Having a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite is also paramount, since these tools can detect and terminate viruses before they do any damage.

If you believe that your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

CamuBot installing drivers that mimic biometric authentication:

Said driver entry in the list of installed programs:

Update 19 February, 2020 - CamuBot Trojan's mode of operation has altered. Attacks that take over the banking account via connection to the victim’s infected desktop device - have decreased. The newest tactics now include cross-channel fraud.

While the malware is still used to monitor the account through the desktop, it is abused to trick users to permit access to a mobile device and from it - to the targeted bank's mobile application. Subsequently, the linked devices add even more authority, which allows the cyber criminals to make fraudulent transactions from the bank's mobile app.

The account can then be linked with phone numbers belonging to the criminals or the victim's number can be hijacker (SIM swapping). This can enable the criminals to abuse multi-step authentication processes and successfully execute various transactions.

What is more, CamuBot's cross-channel attacks have potential to be used long-term, hence granting the cyber criminals access and control over an affected account for multiple operations. More information can be found in Security Intelligence's article on the CamuBot Trojan.

Instant automatic malware removal:

Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:

By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by RCS LT, the parent company of PCRisk.com.

Quick menu:

• What is CamuBot?
• STEP 1. Manual removal of CamuBot malware.
• STEP 2. Check if your computer is clean.

How to remove malware manually?

Manual malware removal is a complicated task - usually it is best to allow antivirus or anti-malware programs to do this automatically.

To remove this malware we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. If you wish to remove malware manually, the first step is to identify the name of the malware that you are trying to remove. Here is an example of a suspicious program running on a user's computer:

If you checked the list of programs running on your computer, for example using task manager, and identified a program that looks suspicious, you should continue with these steps:

 Download a program called Autoruns. This program shows auto-start applications, Registry, and file system locations:

Restart your computer into Safe Mode:

Windows XP and Windows 7 users: Start your computer in Safe Mode. Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, click OK. During your computer start process, press the F8 key on your keyboard multiple times until you see the Windows Advanced Option menu, and then select Safe Mode with Networking from the list.

Video showing how to start Windows 7 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows 8 users: Start Windows 8 is Safe Mode with Networking - Go to Windows 8 Start Screen, type Advanced, in the search results select Settings. Click Advanced startup options, in the opened "General PC Settings" window, select Advanced startup. Click the "Restart now" button.

Your computer will now restart into the "Advanced Startup options menu". Click the "Troubleshoot" button, and then click the "Advanced options" button. In the advanced option screen, click "Startup settings". Click the "Restart" button. Your PC will restart into the Startup Settings screen. Press F5 to boot in Safe Mode with Networking.

Video showing how to start Windows 8 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Windows 10 users: Click the Windows logo and select the Power icon. In the opened menu click "Restart" while holding "Shift" button on your keyboard. In the "choose an option" window click on the "Troubleshoot", next select "Advanced options". In the advanced options menu select "Startup Settings" and click on the "Restart" button.

In the following window you should click the "F5" button on your keyboard. This will restart your operating system in safe mode with networking.

Video showing how to start Windows 10 in "Safe Mode with Networking":

Extract the downloaded archive and run the Autoruns.exe file.

In the Autoruns application, click "Options" at the top and uncheck "Hide Empty Locations" and "Hide Windows Entries" options. After this procedure, click the "Refresh" icon.

Check the list provided by the Autoruns application and locate the malware file that you want to eliminate.

You should write down its full path and name. Note that some malware hides process names under legitimate Windows process names. At this stage, it is very important to avoid removing system files. After you locate the suspicious program you wish to remove, right click your mouse over its name and choose "Delete".

After removing the malware through the Autoruns application (this ensures that the malware will not run automatically on the next system startup), you should search for the malware name on your computer. Be sure to enable hidden files and folders before proceeding. If you find the filename of the malware, remove it.

Reboot your computer in normal mode. Following these steps should remove any malware from your computer. Note that manual threat removal requires advanced computer skills. If you do not have these skills, leave malware removal to antivirus and anti-malware programs.

These steps might not work with advanced malware infections. As always it is best to prevent infection than try to remove malware later. To keep your computer safe, install the latest operating system updates and use antivirus software.

To be sure your computer is free of malware infections, we recommend scanning it with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.