PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y

Spectating the PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y detection usually means that your computer is in big danger. This malware can correctly be named as ransomware – sort of malware which encrypts your files and asks you to pay for their decryption. Deleteing it requires some peculiar steps that must be taken as soon as possible.

PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y detection is a virus detection you can spectate in your system. It generally shows up after the preliminary actions on your PC – opening the suspicious e-mail, clicking the banner in the Web or installing the program from suspicious resources. From the moment it appears, you have a short time to do something about it until it begins its malicious activity. And be sure – it is much better not to await these destructive effects.

What is PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y virus?

PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y is ransomware-type malware. It searches for the files on your disk drives, encrypts it, and after that asks you to pay the ransom for receiving the decryption key. Besides making your documents locked, this virus also does a lot of damage to your system. It modifies the networking settings in order to avoid you from reading the elimination tutorials or downloading the anti-malware program. Sometimes, PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y can additionally stop the launching of anti-malware programs.

PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y Summary

Summarizingly, PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y virus actions in the infected PC are next:

  • SetUnhandledExceptionFilter detected (possible anti-debug);
  • Behavioural detection: Executable code extraction – unpacking;
  • Yara rule detections observed from a process memory dump/dropped files/CAPE;
  • Creates RWX memory;
  • Possible date expiration check, exits too soon after checking local time;
  • Dynamic (imported) function loading detected;
  • Reads data out of its own binary image;
  • CAPE extracted potentially suspicious content;
  • Unconventionial language used in binary resources: Russian;
  • The binary contains an unknown PE section name indicative of packing;
  • The binary likely contains encrypted or compressed data.;
  • The executable is compressed using UPX;
  • Authenticode signature is invalid;
  • Ciphering the documents kept on the target’s disk drives — so the victim cannot open these files;
  • Blocking the launching of .exe files of anti-malware apps
  • Blocking the launching of installation files of security tools

Ransomware has actually been a headache for the last 4 years. It is difficult to imagine a more dangerous virus for both individuals and businesses. The algorithms used in PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y (typically, RHA-1028 or AES-256) are not hackable – with minor exclusions. To hack it with a brute force, you need more time than our galaxy already exists, and possibly will exist. But that virus does not do all these terrible things immediately – it can take up to a few hours to cipher all of your documents. Therefore, seeing the PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y detection is a clear signal that you have to begin the removal process.

Where did I get the PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y?

Ordinary ways of PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y distribution are typical for all other ransomware examples. Those are one-day landing websites where victims are offered to download the free software, so-called bait e-mails and hacktools. Bait e-mails are a quite modern tactic in malware distribution – you get the email that imitates some regular notifications about shippings or bank service conditions updates. Inside of the e-mail, there is an infected MS Office file, or a link which opens the exploit landing page.

Malicious email spam

Malicious email message. This one tricks you to open the phishing website.

Preventing it looks quite simple, but still requires a lot of recognition. Malware can hide in different places, and it is much better to prevent it even before it goes into your system than to rely on an anti-malware program. Common cybersecurity knowledge is just an important item in the modern-day world, even if your relationship with a computer stays on YouTube videos. That may save you a great deal of money and time which you would spend while seeking a solution.

PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y malware technical details

File Info:

name: 1A81407B77C5753AE7FC.mlwpath: /opt/CAPEv2/storage/binaries/f0d9ce7be6598e6746f05791a669ca6cfd14d8c9a79f8149a3fa8c8a0a09e835crc32: FE07CACFmd5: 1a81407b77c5753ae7fc6d4c1057e68esha1: 88c5506ce180bb29d24a6ba375f757e8fc17687esha256: f0d9ce7be6598e6746f05791a669ca6cfd14d8c9a79f8149a3fa8c8a0a09e835sha512: 6e9c081ce8b8dbdd6bc793f167d838931ae5e22cf155c40359d4acac8a23ae1c638276bba21462560114d7d2c7b549a9910c5abefbca85a8e1058aab7081b0b3ssdeep: 3072:vQeKo556VALkeqJbPSUNYpbtDDYgRH89Gr5QgRNRm56B5RLn63DwkxgktQpk:vQe955wfToUNYp5DDYgRH84118oD88HNtype: PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windowstlsh: T1FDF3129BC55587ABFFC8183E4E4DA8344207AA31C9E9720CF561C5CF74B5EA5DA2033Asha3_384: b9e420320144a4657eb8a4696f5908e43a4135740eb2389ba90b8cf24cbf215e86100cd33715891a6045ba53bc7f2877ep_bytes: 60be00a041008dbe0070feff57eb0b90timestamp: 2011-11-29 22:21:08

Version Info:

CompanyName: This is Free Software under the terms of the GNU GPL v2FileDescription: Windows CryptContext Generator (WinCG)FileVersion: 5.2.1.1InternalName: WinPTLegalCopyright: Copyright (C) 2010 Andre SchulzOriginalFilename: WinCGProductName: CryptContext GeneratorProductVersion: 5.2.1.1Translation: 0x0409 0x04b0

PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y also known as:

Lionic Trojan.Win32.Zbot.l!c
Elastic malicious (high confidence)
DrWeb Trojan.PWS.Panda.655
MicroWorld-eScan Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378
FireEye Generic.mg.1a81407b77c5753a
McAfee Artemis!1A81407B77C5
Cylance Unsafe
Sangfor Trojan.Win32.Generic.ky
CrowdStrike win/malicious_confidence_100% (W)
Alibaba TrojanPSW:Win32/Kryptik.c09c1f59
K7GW Trojan ( 003c36381 )
K7AntiVirus Trojan ( 003c36381 )
BitDefenderTheta Gen:NN.ZexaF.34232.kmKfaCpkqVhk
VirIT Trojan.Win32.Banker.EA
Symantec ML.Attribute.HighConfidence
ESET-NOD32 a variant of Win32/Kryptik.WMS
TrendMicro-HouseCall TSPY_ZBOT.WJI
ClamAV Win.Trojan.Zbot-16142
Kaspersky HEUR:Trojan.Win32.Generic
BitDefender Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378
NANO-Antivirus Trojan.Win32.Zbot.dlbmxn
Avast FileRepMalware
Tencent Win32.Trojan.Zbot.Kush
Ad-Aware Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378
Emsisoft Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378 (B)
Comodo Malware@#1rczywtk9thrt
VIPRE Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT
TrendMicro TSPY_ZBOT.WJI
McAfee-GW-Edition PWS-Zbot.gen.nc
Sophos Mal/Generic-R + Mal/Ransom-AL
Ikarus Trojan.SuspectCRC
Jiangmin TrojanSpy.Zbot.bjfk
Webroot W32.Trojan.Gen
Avira TR/Crypt.ULPM.Gen
MAX malware (ai score=100)
Antiy-AVL Trojan/Generic.ASMalwS.18654D8
Microsoft PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y
ViRobot Trojan.Win32.A.Zbot.169472.ER[UPX]
ZoneAlarm HEUR:Trojan.Win32.Generic
GData Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378
Cynet Malicious (score: 100)
AhnLab-V3 Spyware/Win32.Zbot.C144888
VBA32 TrojanSpy.Zbot
ALYac Gen:Variant.Symmi.19378
Malwarebytes Malware.AI.4241109684
APEX Malicious
Rising Spyware.Zbot!8.16B (CLOUD)
SentinelOne Static AI – Malicious PE
Fortinet W32/Zbot.MZ!tr
AVG FileRepMalware
Panda Trj/pck_Noupack.a
MaxSecure Trojan.Malware.3631818.susgen

How to remove PWS:Win32/Zbot.Y?

About the author

Robert Bailey

Security engineer focused on malware behavior, removal workflows, and Windows hardening. Robert reviews threat articles for practical accuracy, checking detection names, symptoms, and cleanup steps before publication.

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