What is Win32:Evo-gen

What is Win32:Evo-gen?

Win32:Evo-gen is a detection name used by anti-virus Avast to identify trojans and files with trojan features. Avast anti-virus looks for particular behaviour that resembles that of a trojan or some other kind of malware, and uses the Win32:Evo-gen detection name to identify it. Thus, if your Avast anti-virus is detecting something by that name, there is something on your computer that’s displaying suspicious, Trojan-like behaviour.

Because the detection is generic, it’s difficult to tell what kind of trojan you could be dealing with, or if it’s an infection at all. Generally, trojans can record keystrokes and steal login credentials, download other malware onto the system, steal personal information, allow an attacker to remotely access the device, show advertisements, etc. Trojans are very serious computer infections but just because Avast detects Win32:Evo-gen does not mean your computer is actually infected.

It would be best to use a different anti-virus program to scan your computer to find out whether your computer is actually infected and whether you need to delete Win32:Evo-gen or not.

If your computer is actually infected, how did the trojan install

Trojans can enter computers in a variety of ways. You could infect your computer by opening a spam email, visiting infected websites, downloading something from an unreliable source, not updating your operating system and software, etc.

Spam email is often the culprit behind various malware infections because many users still open spam emails. Those emails are generally pretty obvious, although they can be much more sophisticated when they target specific people. If you receive an unsolicited email with an attachment, look for signs of it being malicious. Those signs usually include obvious grammar mistakes, awkward language, pressure to open the attachment, and a random email address. However, the best way to find out whether you’re dealing with a malicious attachment is to scan it with anti-malware software or a service like VirusTotal before opening it.

You cannot really protect yourself from malware on compromised websites, besides having anti-malware software running on your computer. However, you can avoid questionable download sources. Malware is often added to software cracks, torrents for popular TV series and films, so you can avoid all kinds of malware by not downloading pirated and illegal content.

Lastly, to prevent malware from using your system’s vulnerabilities, regularly install software updates. It would be best to enable automatic updates.

What do trojans do?

Trojans have different functionality, one might try to steal your login credentials by logging keystrokes, another might install additional malware onto your computer. However, whichever trojan you have, you need to get rid of it.

If your Avast anti-virus program, or any security program that uses Avast’s malware database, is detecting something as Win32:Evo-gen, you may be dealing with a trojan. Some number of users have reported that they get the Avast alert when they try to install the YouTube Downloader, a program for downloading YouTube videos. In any case, carefully check what is detected and why it may be exhibiting Trojan-like behaviour. If you are sure there’s nothing malicious about file, you can ignore the alert. However, if you do not recognize the file, you should scan your computer with a different anti-virus program.

Win32:Evo-gen removal

Avast uses Win32:Evo-gen for generic detection so it’s not clear whether a trojan is actually on your computer. To be sure, you should use an anti-virus program that does not use Avast’s malware database to scan your computer.