Security News > 2021 > December > Emotet now spreads via fake Adobe Windows App Installer packages
The Emotet malware is now distributed through malicious Windows App Installer packages that pretend to be Adobe PDF software.
The threat actors behind Emotet are now infecting systems by installing malicious packages using a built-in feature of Windows 10 and Windows 11 called App Installer.
Appinstaller file, the Windows browser will prompt if you wish to open the Windows App Installer program to proceed.
Once you agree, you will be shown an App Installer window prompting you to install the 'Adobe PDF Component.
Once a user clicks on the 'Install' button, App Installer will download and install the malicious appxbundle hosted on Microsoft Azure.
A day later, Emotet spam campaigns began, with emails hitting users' mailboxes with various lures and malicious documents that installed the malware.