Alternate data streams (ads) are a feature of Microsoft’s Windows NTFS file system that can be used to add data to existing files, for instance text to a text file that does not become visible if the original file is opened in a text editor. The hidden nature of alternate data streams have made them attractive for malicious users who use the streams to store malicious files so that they are harder to detect by the user.
Streamarmor is an easy to use software program for the Windows operating system that can scan the contents of a hard drive for alternate data streams.
Streamarmor will automatically scan all files for alternate data streams and report its findings in the program’s interface. Each stream is rated as dangerous, suspicious or needs analysis which makes it easier for the user to identify potentially dangerous streams.
A snapshot of the data stream as well as additional information are displayed in the interface as well. Streamarmor uses the three online services Virus Total, Threat Expert and Malware Hash that can be used to scan streams that have been found by the program. The user needs to select one of the discovered streams and the check online button to do that. Only Virus Total is selected by default, the other two services have to be activated in the options.
The alternate data streams can also be viewed completely or saved to a file on the local system. An export option can furthermore save the report of the discovered streams as a html file.
Streamarmor is an excellent software to scan a computer system for alternate data streams. The integration of online threat scanners makes the program easy to work with. The tool is available for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.
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Nice program. I found 5 streams on all my drives.
None looked to be problems but I got rid of them.
I like that the program is easy to use and supports online look ups of threats. I’d personally would make a backup before deleting data streams, just in case.