Classification

Category :

Malware

Type :

Worm

Aliases :

Acanze.A Acanze

Summary

Acanze.A is simple email worm of Italian origin written in Visual Basic. Due to the coding techniques used the worm will only work properly under Italian Windows versions.

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

Upon execution Acanze.A will create a hidden system file named 'login.bat' into %WINDOWS% directory. It will then set a registry key:

  • " HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\msnmsgr = "C:\WINNT\login.bat"

The key allows Windows to start the bat file each time a user logs on.

Under Italian versions of Windows additional files will be dropped and the attributes to both file set to hidden system.

  • " %WINDOWS%\SYSTEM\HOTPLUG.dll
  • " C:\Programmi\Windows NT\netapi.dll

The worm will then check whether a connection to an Italian site can be established. If so it will create email messages containing copy of its body and send them to recipients in Outlook's Contact list.