View source for Avatar rootkit: the continuing saga

{{Publication
|Botnet=Avatar,
|Feature=File download,
|Year=2013
|Date=2013-08-21
|Editor=ESET Welivesecurity
|Link=http://www.welivesecurity.com/2013/08/21/avatar-rootkit-the-continuing-saga/
|Author=Aleksandr Matrosov, Eugene Rodionov, Anton Cherepanov,
|Type=Blogpost
|Abstract=Back at the beginning of May we posted preliminary information about Win32/Rootkit.Avatar rootkit (Mysterious Avatar rootkit with API, SDK, and Yahoo Groups for C&C communication). One of the major questions not covered in that previous research was this: What payload and plugins does Avatar install onto infected machines? We continue our research and are still tracking this malware family. In the middle of July we detected a repacked Win32/Rootkit.Avatar with an active command and control (C&C) server. In this blog post we confirm that Avatar in-the-wild activity continues, and disclose some new information about its kernel-mode self-defense tricks.
}}