With Halloween just around the corner, let’s share a scary development with you guys. The miscreants behind the infamous Emotet malware have disguised it into a new template that comes in the form of a Microsoft Word file.
The transmission vehicle being used for the latest iteration of this malware is email. The infected emails will contain a Microsoft Word file that contains malicious macros. As soon as you open the word file, you will be prompted to enable macros.
Emotet malware is being spread using catchy titles to the word documents such as resumes, invoices, purchase orders and even updated information on the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose is to trick you into opening the attachment somehow.
So, what exactly happens once you download the seemingly harmless word file and enable the macros therein? Well, the malware will be installed on your computer and will start sending out the pre-programmed spam emails.
That’s not all, the malware will also execute and install some other malware and malicious bots over your PC. The latest template of the Emotet malware has been disguised as an “Update Microsoft Word” message in order to “add a new feature”.
In the ordinary course of events, we seldom think twice before pressing the “enable editing” or “enable macros” button. After learning this disturbing chain of events, you should become super cautious about opening unsolicited emails.
Due to its seemingly harmless nature, Emotet has quickly become of the most widely spread malware globally. Once you have accidentally executed the malware, it is also capable of installing other malware such as TrickBot and QBot.
As if it wasn’t scary enough yet, the TrickBot and QBot malware are designed to steal any stored passwords, banking information and other assorted information that’s stored over the infected computer.
In view of the above, it is absolutely critical you do not fall victim to the Emotet malware in any way. Firstly, avoid opening suspicious MS Word attachments that have not originated from trusted sources. Secondly, never enable macros in case of untrusted files.
We hope this info proves helpful to you in protecting yourself from this apparently harmless, yet extremely dangerous malware called Emotet.
