Unwanted outbound connection with Firefox on startup

[Steff]

Hello.

Few days ago I've been the victim (by my own fault) of a pretty bad adware/malware infection, which I've mostly cleaned out at this point using various software (Malewarebytes included - and it did a great job).

However, there's one thing I cannot get rid of, and it's mentioned in the title: every time I start up Firefox, it makes an outbound connection to an IP I will post down below. The domain seems to be torrentz2.eu . I will mention that I have tried the following thus far, and it hasn't cleaned it up: fresh Firefox install, starting with an incognito window, running Malewarebytes and doing a full scan, running Hitman Pro, running Adwcleaner, disabling and removing all the addons/extensions. Cleaning browser cache and cookies, too.

All of the above have mostly dealt with everything else, it's just this one last thing that I can't remove. I will post a screenshot of the Malewarebytes report window. If there is any more information needed I will gladly post it.

Thank you for reading this.

 

By the advice of the automated reply, I will post the ADDITION and FRST files.

 

Addition.txt

FRST.txt

Edited April 29, 2018 by Steff

[Malwarebytes]

***This is an automated reply***

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the Malware Removal for Windows Help forum. Being infected is not fun and can be very frustrating to resolve, but don't worry because we have a team of experts here help you!!

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First, if you haven't done so, please run a Threat Scan with the latest version of Malwarebytes. This may resolve your malware infection issue without the need for additional support. Click "Reveal Hidden Contents" below for details:

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If you do not have Malwarebytes, please download it here and install. Be sure to post back the log as shown below.

1. Open Malwarebytes for Windows
2. To the left, click Scan > Scan Types.
   
3. Select Threat Scan. Threat Scan is the most thorough and recommended scan method available.
   
4. Click Start Scan

Next, if you're still experiencing issues after running Malwarebytes, then technical logs will be required to assist you. Click "Reveal Hidden Contents" below and follow the instructions to run the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool:

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1. Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to the disclaimer.
2. Press the Scan button.
   
3. It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please copy and paste it to your reply.
4. The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). If you've run it before it may not and you may need to select it manually.

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[Steff]

I have fixed this. It was not malware, but rather a result of Firefox prefetching links.

[kevinf80]

Hello Steff and welcome to Malwarebytes,

Your other Browser Chrome is definitely exploited and should be reinstalled asap....

If your Chrome Bookmarks are important do this first: Go to this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Export-Bookmarks-from-Chrome follow the instructions and Export your Bookmarks from Chrome, save to your Desktop or similar. Note the instructions can also be used to Import the bookmarks..... Continue for a clean install: Download Chrome installer and save to install later: https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/browser/desktop/index.html https://www.google.com/intl/en_usa/chrome/browser/desktop/index.html Next, Open Chrome and sign into your account, open a new tab and type or copy paste chrome://settings/syncSetup hit enter... In the new window that opens "Sync everthing" will probably be selected, scroll down to and select "Managed sync data on Google Dashboard" A new window will open, scroll down to and select "Reset Sync" that will clear synced data from Google Server... Continue to next step to completely Uninstall Chrome.... Next. Uninstall Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95319?hl=en-GB follow those instructions, ensure the option to "Also delete your browsing data" is selected. <<--- Very important!! Navigate to C:\Users\Your user name\Appdata\Local from that folder delete the folder named Google (you will need to show hidden files/folders to see the folder Appdata) For XP that will be My Computer > C:\ Documents and Settings\Your User Name\Application Data\Roaming How to show hidden files and folders for windows: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/show-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-vista/ Next, Install Google Chrome : Next, Import your Bookmarks... (instructions in the first step) Next, Install uBlock Origin for Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en   Thank you,   Kevin..

[Steff]

Oh yes, that is also the case, I forgot about that. Thank you very much for your dilligence and observation.

You guys are doing God's work on this forum.

[kevinf80]

You`re very welcome Steff, to remove FRST and its created files and folders do the following:

Right click on FRST here: C:\Users\mustb\Downloads\FRST64.exe and rename to uninstall.exe when complete right click on uninstall.exe and select "Run as Administrator" That action will remove FRST and all created files and folders... Next, Read the following links to fully understand PC Security and Best Practices, you may find them useful.... Answers to Common Security Questions and best Practices Do I need a Registry Cleaner? Take care and surf safe Kevin...

[kevinf80]

Glad we could help.

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Thanks