A forum for reverse engineering, OS internals and malware analysis 

 #25816  by likeamirror
 Thu May 07, 2015 8:31 pm
Hello.

I ran a ZeuS binary in a virtual machine, but all I saw was the process briefly appearing in process explorer, and then disappearing. This could of course be the works of some sort of hook, but I doubt it.
So this is my question to anyone who have analyzed a ZeuS binary: Does it operate differently if it believe it is being executed in an emulated environment?
 #25818  by Cody Johnston
 Fri May 08, 2015 4:41 am
Most likely yes, depending on what it is packed with, it may have some detection for virtual machines (this is typical for a lot of malware). You can find some advice that may help you in bypassing those types of checks here (assuming you are using VirtualBox x64): http://www.kernelmode.info/forum/viewto ... =11&t=3478
 #25819  by EP_X0FF
 Fri May 08, 2015 7:34 am
likeamirror wrote:Hello.

I ran a ZeuS binary in a virtual machine, but all I saw was the process briefly appearing in process explorer, and then disappearing. This could of course be the works of some sort of hook, but I doubt it.
So this is my question to anyone who have analyzed a ZeuS binary: Does it operate differently if it believe it is being executed in an emulated environment?
Hello,

what you expect from it? Flashes and sparks on the screen?
 #25821  by likeamirror
 Fri May 08, 2015 10:09 am
EP_X0FF wrote:
likeamirror wrote:Hello.

I ran a ZeuS binary in a virtual machine, but all I saw was the process briefly appearing in process explorer, and then disappearing. This could of course be the works of some sort of hook, but I doubt it.
So this is my question to anyone who have analyzed a ZeuS binary: Does it operate differently if it believe it is being executed in an emulated environment?
Hello,

what you expect from it? Flashes and sparks on the screen?
I had some WMI rig set up on the registry to monitor it, and as mentioned in OP process explorer opened. I observed absolutely nothing other than it opening for a brief moment and then closing. I am asking if this is typical for a rootkit, or if it's just closing when it detects a VM.
Cody Johnston wrote:Most likely yes, depending on what it is packed with, it may have some detection for virtual machines (this is typical for a lot of malware). You can find some advice that may help you in bypassing those types of checks here (assuming you are using VirtualBox x64): http://www.kernelmode.info/forum/viewto ... =11&t=3478
Thanks a lot the response. :) I'll take a look at that thread.