How did Serv-U get installed on my computer?

RhinoSoft Privacy Policy

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, or fill out a form.

When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your: name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, or credit card information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

To personalize your experience

(your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
To improve our website

(we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
To improve customer service

(your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs)
To process transactions

Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.
To administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other site feature
To send periodic emails

The email address you provide for order processing, will only be used to send you information and updates pertaining to your order.

Note: If you would like to stop receiving email messages from us, please follow the unsubscribe instructions in the email you received.

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you place an order or enter, submit, or access your personal information.

We use secure technology to protect personally identifiable information. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our Database to be only accessed by those authorized with special access rights to our systems, and are required to keep the information confidential.

After a transaction, your private information (credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc.) will be kept on file for the minimum period required to comply with U.S. statues on retention of purchase information. (The current retention requirement is three years.)

Do we use cookies?

Cookies are small units of data that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.

We use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart, understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

If you prefer, you can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies via your browser settings. Like most websites, if you turn your cookies off, some of our services may not function properly. However, you can still place orders over the telephone or by contacting customer service.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety.

Third party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Because we value your privacy we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act), we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our website, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.

Your Consent

By using our site, you consent to our RhinoSoft Privacy Policy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page, and/or update the Privacy Policy modification date below.

This policy was last modified on January 19, 2012.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us through the contact options on our web site at www.RhinoSoft.com.

Serv-U - A Windows FTP Server

Serv-U is an FTP Server for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is a tool used to make hosting and sharing files easier. As with most tools, it can be used for the proper purpose, or it can be misused. When a tool such as Serv-U is installed on a computer without the owner's consent or knowledge, it can be exploited to behave much like a trojan.

Serv-U, as it is distributed by RhinoSoft.com, has always contained uninstall options under both the Serv-U Program Group and the "Add/Remove Programs" area in the Control Panel. One symptom of a hacked install is that these uninstall options are removed. When building a trojan utility, the first thing the hacker does is create a new installer to eliminate the standard uninstall options and customize the filenames to obscure their existence.

How Did Serv-U Get Installed?

Generally, the hackers are able to exploit some security hole in Windows. After a hacker gains access to your computer, it is easy for the hacker to gain control of higher functions such as installing software. Serv-U cannot install itself on your computer. It must be installed by a user of the computer or through automated means such as another program or a script running on the target computer. Additional software the hacker installs makes it easier for them to access your computer at a future time.

Hackers routinely use a compromised computer for its resources. After a target's computer has FTP software on it, the hacker can use it to host his own personal files. Your hard drive and bandwidth are valuable resources to a hacker.

What Do I Do?

The first step to secure a compromised system is to patch the hole so it cannot be exploited again. Microsoft Windows is your operating system. It is also the largest and most complex piece of software running on your computer. Because of this, it is the most likely source of security vulnerabilities and needs to be kept up to date. Make sure all the latest updates and patches are applied to your computer.

Just having a patched operating system isn't always enough. Another good idea is to install a personal firewall. A good personal firewall should secure your computer from unauthorized access. For examples of firewall software, please see the references at the end of this article.

There are a number of online and downloadable utilities that can help clean your system of software installed with a malicious intent. Some of these utilities are free while others must be purchased. The end of this article contains links to software that may assist you in the removal process. Please note that RhinoSoft.com does not endorse or support any of the software contained in these links.

If none of these tools are able to detect anything wrong with your computer, or if the problem remains, there is little that can be done to recover from the hack. Under these circumstances, the only way to restore control over your system is to backup your files and re-format the system. This is the one way to be sure your system security is restored. After the format is complete, make sure that all Windows updates are applied, add a personal firewall, and make sure to follow the safe computing tips.

General Information

This site has a large library of legitimate processes and known trojan processes. One of our customers recommended it as a good resource when his virus scanner could not help him clean an infected machine.
http://www.processlibrary.com/

General safe computing tips can be found at:
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

One security analyst that investigated a machine hacked on his network (which contained a malicious Serv-U installation) documented his experience at:
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/75/363349

Trojan/Rootkit Removal Instructions:
Knowledge Base Article 1467

RhinoSoft Privacy Policy

Important information regarding Serv-U

Serv-U - A Windows FTP Server

How Did Serv-U Get Installed?

What Do I Do?

General Information

Windows Updates

Firewalls

Trojan Scanning Software