Revision 271076562 of "Play mp3.exe (trojan)" on enwiki

{{Orphan|date=February 2009}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2009}}
{{Wikify|date=January 2009}}

''play_mp3.exe'' is a [[trojan]]. It is an [[executable file]] downloaded from a website which promises the user a free [[MP3]] or [[MPG]] player.

Spreading through [[peer-to-peer file sharing]] networks, users download files (going by a variety of names) which are disguised as MP3s or MPGs. Instead of sharing music or video these files simply direct the user to a web page from where, they are promised, they can download a free media player.

They will then install the PLAY_MP3.EXE executable, which, when run, installs the Downloader-UA.h downloader. Oddly the user is also shown, and asked to accept, a lengthy license agreement permitting the installation of the adware programs "SurfingEnhancer" and "FBrowsingAdvisor" onto the user`s PC.

Once installed the PLAY_MP3.EXE file can perform a number of malicious activities including displaying adware, installing unwanted programs, hijacking the user`s system and communicating with third parties. The promised media player then turns out to be a web-based player which offers only a limited range of saved tracks.

As a note on naming, trojans may have different versions of themselves, each with a different name and possibly slightly different behavior. These various versions are called strains, and trojans and their strains can also be grouped into families. Play_MP3.exe (and its over 220 alternatively named strains) are part of Downloader-UA.h downloader, Trojan.AdClicker, and Adware Generic2.AARK families.

[[Category:Trojan horses]]