Troj/Invo-Zip

The Troj/Invo-Zip is a Trojan horse that is activated when a user downloads an attachment from a spam email. This is arguably one of the oldest tricks in the book; however, the Troj/Invo-Zip has been named as one of the top 10 worst computer malware programs of all time. Why? The Troj/Invo-Zip is spread by a particularly tricky email spam campaign and, once the Troj/Invo-Zip has infected a computer, it can cause very serious problems for the victims, including identity theft, which can make effective antivirus software a must have.

The Troj/Invo-Zip is emailed as an attachment, and the content of the email relates to a user's personal accounts. The content of the email campaigns vary, but two earmarked email messages that contain the Troj/Invo-Zip are: “Please find attached a statement of fees as requested, this will be posted today. The accommodation is dealt with by another section and I have passed your request on to them today. Kind regards,” and “There are the keys to recover your personal account. In order to use them later, please, preserve them in a sure place.”

As you can read, the above vague emails sound important and legitimate to most average internet users. However, the content of the emails do not explain what the emails are referring to – curious and unsuspecting users will think, “What account?” or “What statement?” Then without thinking it through, they quickly reason that the zipped attachment will explain all and click to download it. The key to remember here is that reputable companies and places that you have actual registered accounts with always have their logo or name as part of the email. The emails containing the Troj/Invo-Zip attachment are unidentified

Once downloaded, the Troj/Invo-Zip is unleashed. Trojans, unlike computer viruses, are not capable of self-replication, meaning that once you detect the Troj/Invo-Zip you can eradicate it and not worry about it coming back. However, there are several different types of Trojans that serve different devious purposes. Some Trojans are quite harmless and simply add funny or strange icons to a desktop, and others are able to stealthily update previously installed malware on a computer. However, the Troj/Invo-Zip is one of the most dangerous types as it actually allows a hacker full remote access to a user's computer.

Full remote access means that the hacker, through the Troj/Invo-Zip, can access every file in your computer at any time, just as if he were sitting in front of your computer using it in the flesh. As you can imagine, the possibilities with this type of control are endless. Hackers can steal passwords, online banking login details and credit card numbers with the help of the Troj/Invo-Zip. Some hackers have even been known to permanently delete critical documents for no evident reason, such as a graduate thesis or digital legal papers. So even though the Troj/Invo-Zip is unable to self-replicate, by the time you discover the Trojan and get rid of it, the damage can already be quite severe.

It will not be evident that the Troj/Invo-Zip has infected your computer; you’ll likely need an antivirus program scanning for malware to alert you. Antivirus software can also eradicate the Troj/Invo-Zip for you. The important golden rule to remember here, as far as preventing the Troj/Invo-Zip and all Trojans, is never download or open attachments unless you’re 110% sure the who the sender is.

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