Fake Stuxnet Cleaner

As if Stuxnet were not enough of a problem by itself, now Symantec is reporting that they have found a Trojan ‘in the wild’ that is claimed to clean the Stuxnet infection from a computer. They report that this ‘free software program’ is being offered under the bogus name of “Microsoft Stuxnet Cleaner”. Symantec has tested the program and it wipes out the content of the C Drive and changes file extensions for .exe, .mp3, .jpg, .bmp and .gif so that the files cannot be opened using standard software. Symantec has labeled this as “Trojan.Fadeluxnet”.

That this is apparently being offered as a ‘free software tool’ should be a major warning. Secondly, a legitimate free Microsoft anything would only be available from a Microsoft web site. Finally, a “Microsoft Stuxnet Cleaner” would most likely be included as part of a standard Windows update package, not a stand alone product.