Trojan:W32/Hosts2.Gen

Classification

Trojan:W32/Hosts2.Gen, Trojan.Win32.Hosts2.gen

Summary

This detection is designed to flag hosts files with multiple entries that point to a single IP address or IP block. This is a characteristic of many trojans, which modify the hosts file to facilitate communications with a malicious remote server.

Removal

For corporate/business environments, please see the note below.

Once detected, the F-Secure security program will automatically handle a harmful program or file by either deleting or renaming 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

Corporate or business environments are special exceptions, as they may require machines in the network to use a customized hosts file with multiple entries for a single IP address/block. These customized hosts files may inadvertently trigger this detection, as they appear to have the same characteristics as a trojanized file.

To prevent the possibility of a false positive or false alarm, customized hosts files should be screened for malicious entries; if all entries are legitimate, the file can then be excluded from subsequent scanning.