In Germany we noticed a new massive wave of “Rechnung” malware spammed mails continue today with a special scam inside.
' (Windows 10) or 'Windows cannot open this file' (Windows 7) or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your INK file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click 'Open with' and choose an application. Programs that open and convert INK files: Tablet PC by Microsoft Corporation. I reckon the best approach is to read the.lnk file the way it is supposed to be read. You can use COM to do so, the ShellLinkObject class implements the IShellLink interface. Get started with Project + Add Reference, Browse tab and navigate to c:windowssystem32shell32.dll. First of all, with regards, I understand you are just switching to a Mac.:) Files that.cannot. be opened on a Mac without dual-boot support, an emulator, or Wine on Mac include Windows executables (.exe), dynamic link libraries (.dll), or related files. Oddly enough, Safari 4+ can open.hta applications with ease. SuperUser reader Jez wants to know how to open.lnk files to view the ‘contents’ and edit them if needed: A.lnk file in Windows is an actual file intended to be a shortcut to another file, but I really do want to view the contents of the.lnk file itself. Finds Windows shortcut (.lnk) files. Options are to search all folders within user's desktop, start menu, and taskbar, or only folders with valid hot-key (Ctrl-Alt-) activators; and to display all.lnk files found, or only those with hot-key activators.
The messages received today have diverse subject lines (“Abbuchung”, “Lastschrift”, “Amtsgericht”). The email bodies are also differently written, however have the same meaning – the information that money have been debit directly from the user’s account.
The malware comes attached in “Rechnung.zip” archive as “zertifikat.ssl” (WORM_AUTORUN.PB). Additionally to this the archive includes another file “Rechnung.txt.lnk”. Note that the file has double extensions, unlike zertifikat.ssl. Due to the default Windows Explorer configuration the extensions of known files are kept hidden so that mostly this file Rechnung.txt.lnk is displayed as Rechnung.txt in the archive as after it is extracted on disk.
Only one statement consistently exists in all email samples we’ve found, and is highlighted below:
Figure 1: email sample of spammed message
In the said statement, the initiators point out that the recipient doesn’t have to care the “zertifikat.ssl” file since this is only the certificate for the invoice itself. The criminals try to lure users assuring that the file Rechnung.txt.lnk is the only one that needs to be double checked. Indeed… this is true! A file with the .SSL extension, like the malware file zertifikat.ssl, wouldn’t execute on simple double click, but it would when a .LNK file connecting to it is opened, which in this case is “Rechnung.txt.lnk”.
Similar to Autorun.inf and .PIF files, LNK files execute automatically the path inside their code:
Figure 3: Binary code of Rechnung.txt.lnk
Mac Reader For .lnk File Converter
To make sure that the SSL file is properly executed, this particular “Rechnung.txt.lnk” file calls the system’s commandline c:WindowsSystem32cmd.exe to execute the zertifikat.ssl from the current directory. The execution through LNK files is not a special trick. It is one of the usual functionalities and features of Windows operating system, without them our life would be like Internet without Web 2.0.
Lnk File Fix
When an experienced user try to open the LNK file even with an editor, he will be confused by seeing the contents of the file zertifikat.ssl. Actually to view the original file, the user needs to rename it first by using the command line (cmd.exe).
Users are advised to stay vigilant. The optical illusions in Windows operating system are considered to be features – not bad at all if they wouldn’t be exploited by criminals.
Mac Reader For .lnk Files
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