myhelpfuldownloads.com tab opens in Google Chrome

[Ukellele]

Hi,

After opening a QR code link for Whatsapp Web an extra tab opened with myhelpfuldownloads.com URL and an add for Scanguard.

This is quite a new laptop I am setting up after having it repaired and wiped by Lenovo customer support, so I am quite surprised there is already adware on it. I can't figure out where it came from. Perhaps syncing my Google Chrome after logging in brought along something, but I can't discover what it is or how to disable it.

Attached all the logs as per instructions. I hope someone can help me figure this one out. Many thanks in advance

Addition.txt

FRST.txt

MalwareBytes_Threat_scan_log.txt

[Android8888]

Hello Ukellele and

My screen name is Android8888 but if you wish you can call me Rui which is my real name. I will be helping you with your malware issues. Please ask questions if anything is unclear.

I suggest printing out each set of instructions or copy them to a Notepad file and reading the entire post before proceeding. It will make following them easier.

Read all of my instructions very carefully because any mistake you can make during the cleaning process may have serious consequences such as leaving the computer unbootable.

Please DO NOT run any tools on your own or make any other changes to your computer and follow the directions in the order listed during the malware removal process, otherwise you can worsen the situation rather than solve it.

Make sure to run all tools from the computer's Desktop and with Administrator privileges (i.e. right-click the tool icon and select Run as administrator).

Please run one scan at a time.

Once started the malware removal process has to be completed. Even if your computer appears to be running better after performing a first set of instructions, it may still be infected as some infections are difficult to remove and can leave remnants on the System. Please consider it clean and safe only when I declare it free of malware.

With that being said let's start.

Next,

Follow the instructions below to execute a fix on your system using FRST, and provide the log in your next reply.

• Download the attached fixlist.txt file, and save it on your Desktop (or wherever your FRST64.exe executable is located); DO NOT open or modify that file!
• Right-click on the FRST executable and select Run as Administrator;
• Click on the Fix button;
  
  Credits: Aura
• On completion, a message will come up saying that the fix has been completed and it'll open a log in Notepad;
• Please attach the fixlog.txt in your next reply;
  

Next,

• Download Junkware Removal Tool (JRT) and move it to your Desktop;
• Right-click on JRT.exe and select Run as Administrator;
• Press on any key to launch the scan and let it complete;
  
  Credits: Bleeping Computer and Aura
• Once the scan is complete, a log will open. Please attach that log in your next reply;
  

Next,

• Download AdwCleaner and move it to your Desktop;
• Right-click on AdwCleaner.exe and select Run as Administrator;
• Accept the EULA (I accept), let the database update, then click on Scan;
• Let the scan complete. Once it's done, make sure that every item listed in the different tabs is checked and click on the Cleaning button. This will kill all the active processes;
  
  Credits: Aura
• Once the cleaning process is complete, AdwCleaner will ask to restart your computer, do it;
• After the restart, a log will open when logging in. Please attach that log in your next reply;
  

Next,

Please scan your computer with ESET Online Scanner.

• Click on this link to open ESET Online Scanner in a new window.
  
  1. Click on the Scan Now button to download the esetonlinescanner_enu.exe file. Save it to your Desktop.
  2. Close all your programs and browsers and disconnect any USB flash drives from the computer.
  3. Please disable your antivirus program to avoid potential conflicts, improve the performance and speed up the scan.
  4. Double click on esetonlinescanner_enu.exe to start ESET Online Scanner. It will open a window with the Terms of Use.

• Check mark Download latest version of ESET Online Scanner and click the Accept button.
• Click Yes to accept any security warnings that may appear.
• Under Computer scan settings, check mark Enable detection of potentially unwanted applications.
• Then click Advanced settings and check mark the following options:
  
  • Enable detection of potentially unsafe applications
  • Clean threats automatically
    
• Click the Scan button.
• ESET will then download updates for itself, install itself, and begin scanning your computer. Please be patient as this can take some time.
• When the scan completes, click List Threats.
• Click Export, and save the file to your Desktop using a unique name, such as ESETScan. Include the contents of this report in your next reply.
• Click the Back button.
• Click the Finish button.
  

Note: If nothing is found, it will not produce a log.

Please re-enable your antivirus program.

 

In your next reply please attach:
The fixlog.txt;
The JRT.txt log;
The AdwCleaner clean log;
The ESET log (if it produced one).

After performing the steps above, how is the computer running? Does it still opening the extra tab with myhelpfuldownloads.com URL and the add for Scanguard.

Thank you.
Rui

fixlist.txt

[Ukellele]

Thank you for your help Rui. I think it's fixed  it found PUP.Optional.Legacy on my system, and I don't have the extra tab pop open anymore.

 

Attached are all the logs that were produced.

Fixlog.txt

AdwCleaner[S0].txt

JRT.txt

[Android8888]

Hi Ukellele,

These are good news, but you did not attached the AdwCleaner clean log (something like AdwCleaner[C0].txt) which is located at C:\AdwCleaner\AdwCleaner[C0].txt.

Can you attached that log please? In the meanwhile, are there any issues or concerns with the computer?

Rui

[Ukellele]

Hello Rui, sorry for the late response.

Actually my Google Chrome is still opening extra tabs to malicious sites. On my work computer (where I also logged into Chrome and synced my profile data) also tabs are opening, which are being blocked by zscaler protection.

On my own laptop they are now being blocked by MalwareBytes and I am getting a notification. I have included the logs of 4 protection events today.

Also attached are the Adw Cleaner logs now.

Can you advise me on how to clear my Google Chrome profile from adware?

AdwCleaner[C0].txt

ProtectionEvent_10102017_1.txt

ProtectionEvent_10102017_2.txt

ProtectionEvent_10102017_3.txt

ProtectionEvent_10102017_4.txt

[Android8888]

Hello Ukellele.

Okay, please perform the following steps in the order listed.

Read the information in the link below and clear the cache, cookies and history of Google Chrome:

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?hl=en

Read the information in the link below and reset Google Chrome settings to default:

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en

Now let's remove all synced data from Chrome. To do that follow the instructions in this link: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/6386691?hl=en-GB

Close all Chrome windows. IMPORTANT: Chrome cannot be running for the next step. If needed, print this information or use another browser to read the information.

Press the Windows key + R at the same time, to bring up the run dialog box.

Type in (or copy/paste) the following text and press Enter:   %localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\

Press Ctrl + A  at the same time to select all the files and folders. Note: In some computers is Ctrl + T at the same time to select all the files and folders.
Hold down the Ctrl key and simultaneously click once on the files Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak. This will unselect these two files.
With all the files selected (except for your Bookmarks), press the Delete key and click Yes to delete the files and folders.

Restart your computer now and make sure there are no longer any redirects or other browser issues.

Rui

[Ukellele]

Hello Rui,

 

Thanks for [roviding me with the steps to clear the Chrome data. I have done all of them and am not encountering the popups anymore.

 

Many thanks,

Kelly

[Android8888]

Hi Kelly,

You're very welcome!

Are there any issues or concerns with the computer?

 

[Ukellele]

Hi Rui,

No, no issues so far, thanks.

[Android8888]

Hello Kelly.

Thank you for the feedback.

If all is running well it is advisable to check for outdated programs. To complete the process the next step is to check the vulnerabilities of your System.
Outdated programs contains security vulnerabilities that are exploited by malware in order to infect the computer without the user's knowledge. Usually this is one of the ways that more contributes to the infection of your computer.

Run a program like Personal Software Inspector (PSI) or FileHippo Update Checker to see what programs need to be updated.

After performing the updates, you can delete the following tools used in the removal process:
FRST and the logs it produced (FRST.txt, Addition.txt and Fixlog.txt), and delete also the folder C:\FRST
AdwCleaner (Open the tool, click on File and then click Uninstall) and delete also the folder C:\AdwCleaner
Junkware Removal Tool (JRT).

You can keep ESET and perform a scan to your System once in a while.

To help keep malware off your system below I have included a number of recommendations for how to protect your computer in order to prevent future malware infections. Please consider using these ideas to help secure your computer.

Keep your Windows Operating System up-to-date.

Keep your AntiVirus program up-to-date.

Please note: Many installer offer third-party downloads that are installed automatically when you do not uncheck certain checkboxes. While most of the time not being malicious you usually do not want these on your computer. Be careful during the installation process and you will avoid seeing tons of new unwanted toolbars in your favorite web browser.

Keep Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) updated and perform a regular scan to your system as it will make it harder for malware to reside on your computer.
A tutorial on using MBAM can be found here and a complete guide here

Please Note: Only the paid for version has real time capabilities. Please Note: Only the paid for version has real time capabilities. Please go here and scroll down to find a comparison list of the two versions.

A free non-resident utility to prevent the installation of ActiveX-based malware is JavaCool's SpywareBlaster, available here

Please keep these programs up-to-date and run them whenever you suspect a problem to prevent malware problems. A number of programs have resident protection and it is a good idea to run the resident protection of one of each type of program to maintain protection. However, it is important to run only one resident program of each type since they can conflict and become less effective. That means only one antivirus, firewall and scanning anti-spyware program at a time. Passive protectors, like SpywareBlaster can be run with any of them.

Note that there are a lot of rogue programs out there that want to scare you into giving them your money and some malware actually claims to be security programs. If you get a popup for a security program that you did not install yourself, do NOT click on it and ask for help immediately. It is very important to run an antivirus and firewall, but you can't always rely on reviews and ads for information. Ask in a security forum that you trust if you are not sure.

A similar category of programs is now called "scareware." Scareware programs are active infections that will pop-up on your computer and tell you that you are infected. If you look closely, it will usually have a name that looks like it might be legitimate, but it is NOT one of the programs you installed. It tells you to click and install it right away. If you click on any part of it, including the 'X' to close it, you may actually help it infect your computer further. Keeping protection updated and running resident protection can help prevent these infections. If it happens anyway, get offline as quickly as you can. Pull the internet connection cable or shut down the computer if you have to. Contact someone to help by using another computer if possible. These programs are also sometimes called 'rogues', but they are different than the older version of rogues mentioned above.

Another most feared threat at the moment is an infection by a Ransomware. A Ransomware infection is a program that ransoms the data or functionality of your computer until you perform an action. This action is typically to pay a ransom in the form of Bitcoins or another payment method. I advise you to read more info on this terrible threat here and here.

Please keep your programs up to date. Vulnerabilities in are often exploited in order to install malware on your PC.

Be careful with flash drives, as they can spread infections. See this post on USB/flash drive safety.

Stay away from P2P software; even with a clean P2P program, their networks are often riddled with malware.

Don't click on attachments or links in e-mail, and read your e-mail in text-only mode for the highest safety.

Don't click on links received in instant message programs.

A HOSTS file will prevent Internet Explorer from communicating with sites known to be associated with adware or spyware. A good regularly updated HOST file is MVPS HOSTS File, available here

For much more useful and complete information, please read the following links to fully understand PC Security and Best Practices:
So how did I get infected in the first place
Answers to common security questions - Best Practices

Hopefully these steps will help to keep you error and malware free. If you run into more difficulty, we will certainly do what we can to help.

Happy surfing and stay safe.

Android8888

[AdvancedSetup]

Glad we could help. :)If you need this topic reopened, please send a Private Message to any one of the moderating team members. Please include a link to this thread with your request. This applies only to the originator of this thread.Other members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread. Thanks!