Malware Bytes crushes Defender

[Goldanorack]

I wish it was, but as I said windows Defender Firewall service is stuck on Starting, not on Running, like shows the snapshot : 

and I can't access stop, start, pause, resume and restart, they're all greyed out...

[Goldanorack]

and I just noticed windows defender icon loaded up at staturp but immediately hides itself afterwards since the registry merging   

[Goldanorack]

and I kinda believe svchost is broken, was wandering into the task manager and found out a nameless task that appears to be svchost when looking at its properties

[Goldanorack]

after some researches I have two unsigned svchost.exe running and changing their PID all the time. they're not from Microsoft, nor have a path I can find. I believe it is a very well hidden infection related to my internet connection. Given that I can't make a clean install to get rid of the problem, I think I will be forced to stop using internet on that computer.

[Goldanorack]

[Maurice Naggar]

    Please read all of these lines first so that it is all clear to you about our plan. I need a one time run of MBAR like listed here, please.

    Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit (MBAR) from this link here
    
    and save it to your desktop.

    Doubleclick on the MBAR file and allow it to run.

    •Click OK on the next screen, to allow the package to extract the contents of the file to its own folder named mbar.

    •mbar.exe will launch automatically. On some systems, this may take a few extra seconds. Please be patient and wait for the program to open.

    •After reading the Introduction, click 'Next' if you agree.

    •On the Update Database screen, click on the 'Update' button.

    •Once you see 'Success: Database was successfully updated' click on 'Next', then click the Scan button.

    With some infections, you may see two messages boxes:

    1.'Could not load protection driver'. Click 'OK'.
    2.'Could not load DDA driver'. Click 'Yes' to this message, to allow the driver to load after a restart. Allow the computer to restart. Continue with the rest of these instructions.

    •If malware is found, press the Cleanup button when the scan completes. .

    Please attach the log it produces, you'll find the log in that mbar folder as MBAR-log-<date and time>***.txt . Please attach that to your next reply.
      
 

[Goldanorack]

mbar-log-2020-02-05 (19-36-42).txt here is the log - no Rootkits found...

[Maurice Naggar]

Thanks.  The MBAR anti-rootkit found nothing.

I would like for us to keep focus on doing malware-security checks so that we can put the infection-suspicion to rest.

I had had you run the MS Safety scanner before.   ( I may have you repeat it later.).   But for now, a different scan for viruses / malware / P U P

 

I would suggest a free scan with the ESET Online Scanner
Go to https://www.eset.com/us/home/online-scanner/

Look on the right side of the page.  Click Scan Now
It will start a download of "esetonlinescanner_enu.exe"
Save the file to your system, such as the Downloads folder, or else to the Desktop.

Go to the saved file, and double click it to get it started.
When presented with the initial ESET options, click on "Computer Scan".

Next, when prompted by Windows, allow it to start by clicking Yes

When prompted for scan type, Click on Full scan
Look at & un-tick   the radio selection "Enable ESET to detect and quarantine potentially unwanted applications"   and click on Start scan button.

Have patience.  The entire process may take an hour or more. There is an initial update download.
There is a progress window display.
You should ignore all prompts to get the ESET antivirus software program.   ( e.g.  their standard program).   You do not need to buy or get or install anything else.

When the scan is completed, if something was found, it will show a screen with the number of detected items.  If so, click the button marked “View detected results”.

Click The blue “Save scan log” to save the log.

If something was removed and you know it is a false finding, you may click on the blue ”Restore cleaned files”  ( in blue, at bottom).

Press Continue when all done.  You should click to off the offer for “periodic scanning”.

 

[Goldanorack]

ran the ESET Online Scanner - nothing was found fortunately !esetresults.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

Thank you.  That scan result is re-assuring.

Files scanned: 672384
Detected files: 0

 

Let's do 2 other scans to re-check this system.

[    1    ]

Let's have you run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool   (  MS  MSRT ).

This tool is a limited one.  It targets some specific "common" malicious threats.  It is a tool run typically once a month when your Windows does a Windows Update check.

I would just like a one time on demand run.

Point your browser to this MS website link    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9905

Look to see it matches your language & your version of Windows in terms of 64-bit or 32-bit

Download and save the tool.   Then go to the folder where saved  ( should be the Downloads folder).  

Double click the tool   and allow it to Run.   It should not take more than 12 - 15 minutes.

 

[    2   ]

Let us do a new scan with this.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner  is a free Microsoft stand-alone virus scanner that  can be used to scan for & remove malware or potentially unwanted software from a system.

The download links & the how-to-run-the tool are at this link at Microsoft

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download

 

Let me know the result of this.

The log is named MSERT.log 

the log will be at  %SYSTEMROOT%\debug\msert.log   which in most cases is

C:\Windows\debug\msert.log

Please attach that log with your reply.

Thank you.

Sincerely.

[Goldanorack]

I just wanted to tell you that I can't delete the mbar folder, it returns that error :

I also noticed I got this one taking more and more RAM since yesterday,  it grows until it takes my whole RAM :

 

meanwhile, here are the results of the MW MSRT scan : 

 

and the result of the MSERT scan, found a Malware : 

[Goldanorack]

so I guess it was a infection after all... do you think it is a serious matter ? are my informations in danger of any sorts ?

[Maurice Naggar]

The deletion of MBAR failed due to an access rights issue.  Re-check what login you are logged in with.

The msert only found just one item  and that apparently is about a value or registry entry related to Windows Defender.  Just only that.

The bottom line is that this Windows installation needs to be repaired.   A repair-in-place.

 

The "Windows Repair" procedure is discussed on this article.at Tenforums

You may do a Windows 10 "repair install" by following a guide article at Tenforums.
The title is "How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade"
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

Study that article first.  
Read the top of the article.  & also study all of step 6

 

NOTE:  The repair procedure takes several hours & requires much patience.   You are encouraged to consider that this may take 6 hours or so.

First do a Windows Restart   before starting on this repair.

[Goldanorack]

is it necessary? I installed BitDefender and I got everything running smoothly. as for the process that was unnamed and was taking up my ram, it was the windows Defender Firewall trying to start, so I deactivated it now that I got BitDefender's one, so everything is back to normal, my performances are stables. do you think this is acceptable as is or should I repair asap even tho I'm not using Firewall anymore? 

thank you so much for your patience and kindness, btw. 

[Maurice Naggar]

You state 

Quote

I installed BitDefender and I got everything running smoothly.

....so everything is back to normal,

That being so, we can call this a wrap.

Cleanups:

Download "Delfix by Xplode" and save it to your desktop.

Or use the following if first link is down:

"Delfix link mirror"

 

If your security program alerts to Delfix either, accept the alert or turn your security off.

please right-click on Delfix  and choose run as administrator

Make Sure the following items are checked:

  Remove disinfection tools <----- this will remove tools we may have used.

Now click on "Run" and wait patiently until the tool has completed.

Any remaining  files/logs from tools we have used can be deleted.

.

Best  practices & malware prevention:

Backup is your best friend.   Do a backup of the system now.

Make backup a regular practice.

 

Follow best practices when browsing the Internet, especially on opening links coming from untrusted sources.
First rule of internet safety: slow down & think before you "click".

Never click links without first hovering your mouse over the link and seeing if it is going to an odd address ( one that does not fit or is odd looking or has typos).

Free games & free programs are like "candy". We do not accept them from "strangers".

Never open attachments that come with unexpected ( out of the blue ) email no matter how enticing.
Never open attachments from the email itself. Do not double click in the email. Always Save first and then scan with antivirus program.

 

 

Pay close attention when installing 3rd-party programs. It is important that you pay attention to the license agreements and installation screens when installing anything off of the Internet. If an installation screen offers you Custom or Advanced installation options, it is a good idea to select these as they will typically disclose what other 3rd party software will also be installed.
Take great care in every stage of the process and every offer screen, and make sure you know what it is you're agreeing to before you click "Next".

Use a Standard user account rather than an administrator-rights account when "surfing" the web.
See more info on Corrine's SecurityGarden Blog http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_7.html
Dont remove your current login. Just use the new Standard-user-level one for everyday use while on the internet.

 
Do a Windows Update.

Make certain that Automatic Updates is enabled.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12373/windows-update-faq

Keep your system and programs up to date. Several programs release security updates on a regular basis to patch vulnerabilities. Keeping your software patched up prevents attackers from being able to exploit them to drop malware.

For other added tips, read "10 easy ways to prevent malware infection"

.

If you need something at this point, let me know.

Sincerely.

[Maurice Naggar]

Glad we could help.

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Thanks