Cannot download MB software due to malicious malware

[eethxnn]

Hello, my PC has a virus and I have tried to download your MB software however malware prevents me from opening the download pages and opening all its affiliate download sites as well as sister programs. I have been searching for a solution for a while however have come to no avail so I'm hoping the support team can help me. I read on another forum to download the FRST(64) program to run a scan, then fix so afterwards I can open your MB site to download your program and execute a full scan of my PC. However after scanning using FRST(64) and attempting to run a fix I need a fixlog to do so. I checked other forums and it shows me that I will need your help to give me a personalized fixlog. 

 

Attached is the Addition.txt and FRST.txt you need. I hope you can help me as I don't very much like the idea of malware on my PC. I'm not the smartest so please leave some detailed instructions for what to do with FRST and the fixlog.txt, as well as how to operate your MB anti-virus programmes ( assuming that it works).

 

Thank you, Kind Regards

 

Ethan.

FRST.txt Addition.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

Hello  @eethxnn

I will guide you along on looking for remaining malware. Lets keep these principles as we go along.

• Removing malware can be unpredictable
• Please don't run any other scans, download, install or uninstall any programs while I'm working with you.
• Only run the tools I guide you to.
• Do not run online games while case is on-going. Do not do any free-wheeling web-surfing.
• The removal of malware isn't instantaneous, please be patient.
• Cracked or or hacked or pirated programs are not only illegal, but also will make a computer a malware victim. Having such programs installed, is the easiest way to get infected. It is the leading cause of ransomware encryptions. It is at times also big source of current trojan infections. Please uninstall them now, if any are here, before we start the cleaning procedure.
• Please stick with me until I give you the "all clear".
• If your system is running Discord, please be sure to Exit out of it while this case is on-going.

If possibly you have a browser issue, can you try using a different web browser?
But in any event, always SAVE the downloads I guide you to. Then after download is complete, you go to the file using File Explorer.
and only then, launch it from there.

Let's do one special run  with Malwarebytes Adwcleaner. 

 

It will not take much time, Read over all lines before starting so that you have a good understanding of the whole method. Take your time and go careful. I ant to make sure you select all of what I list below - before- pressing the "scan" button.

 

First download & save it

download link

 

Then go to where the EXE file is saved. Start Adwcleaner.  Do not rush. There are a few first choices to set as I have listed below.

 

Reply YES at the Windows prompt to allow the program to proceed and make changes. That is the usual Windows security prompt.

 

When AdwCleaner starts, on the left side of the window, click on “Settings” and then enable these repair actions on that tab-window

by clicking their button to the far-right for ON status

Delete IFEO keys
Delete tracing keys
Delete Prefetch files
Reset Proxy
Reset IE Policies
Reset Chrome policies
Reset Winsock
Reset HOSTS file

 

 

 

ONLY after you have set the selections above ....only after that .....

Now On the left side of the AdwCleaner window, click on “Dashboard” and then click “Scan” to perform a computer scan.

 

 

This can take several minutes.

When the AdwCleaner scan is completed it will display all of the items it has found. Click on the “Quarantine” button To remove what it found.

 

AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to close any open programs before it starts to clean.

Click on the “Continue” button to finish the removal process.

 

 

Guide article

 

Attach the clean log from Adwcleaner when all completed. For example AdwCleaner[C00],txt

NOTE: The infection has totally corrupted the Windows "HOSTS" file. IF the run above has not worked, then be sure to follow and apply the methods to Reset the Hosts on this Microsoft Support article.

There is much more to do even after this.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Maurice Naggar

[Maurice Naggar]

AFTER successfully completing the above, then fo the following.

1. Download the offline Malwarebytes for Windows installer from : this link
2. Now, go to where the file was saved.     Right-click on the mb4-setup-consumer-4.x.x.xxx-x.....exe and select Run as Administrator and allow it to go forward.
3. After the Malwarebytes for Windows is done with the setup.
Start Malwarebytes. Click Settings ( gear ) icon. Next, lets make real sure that Malwarebytes does NOT register with Windows Security Center
Click the Security Tab. Scroll down to
"Windows Security Center"
Click the selection to the left  for the line "Always register Malwarebytes in the Windows Security Center".

all the way to the Left for Off setting.
Close Malwarebytes when done.   This setting adjustment does not affect the Trial-mode protections of Malwarebytes.

Do a Check for Update using the Malwarebytes Settings >> General tab.

See this Support Guide https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042187934-Check-for-updates-in-Malwarebytes-for-Windows

When it shows a new version available, Accept it and let it proceed forward.  Be sure it succeeds.

If prompted to do a Restart, just please follow all directions.

Let me know how that goes.    Next, the Malwarebytes scan

Next, click the small x on the Settings line to go to the main Malwarebytes Window.   Next click the blue button marked Scan.

 

When the scan phase is done, be real sure you Review and have all detected lines items check-marked on each line on the left. That too is very critical.

>>>>>>      👉      You can actually click the topmost left  check-box  on the very top line to get ALL lines  ticked   ( all selected).         <<<<     💢

 

Please double verify you have that TOP  check-box tick marked.   and that then, all lines have a tick-mark

 

Then click on Quarantine  button.

 

Then, locate the Scan run report;  export out a copy;  & then attach in with your  reply.
See https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038479194-View-Reports-and-History-in-Malwarebytes-for-Windows-v4

[eethxnn]

1 hour ago, Maurice Naggar said:

NOTE: The infection has totally corrupted the Windows "HOSTS" file. IF the run above has not worked, then be sure to follow and apply the methods to Reset the Hosts on this Microsoft Support article.

I ran the AdwCleaner with its specific settings however after the first try it quarantined nothing. I read the article about resetting the host, did so successfully ( to my knowledge ). Restarted my PC afterwards, ran the scan and fix again and I have attached the logs below. However still nothing is being quarantined and I continue to receive Windows Defender alerts upon every bootup. 

I will await your explicit instruction; I will not do anything on my computer and do my best to comply. I understand your dot points, thank you.

AdwCleaner[C01].txt

[Maurice Naggar]

The Adwcleaner run & report are good. We will get back to Microsoft Defender later. ( However, what it was advising you is that a threat was stopped & removed). More work on that later. We will do more separate steps as we go along. There is not a single-shot solution. BIT I want you to be sure to do the steps I listed before here at this link

[eethxnn]

15 hours ago, Maurice Naggar said:

Then, locate the Scan run report;  export out a copy;  & then attach in with your  reply.

Attached is the scan run report; the scan was successful and detected the malware. No update was promoted when I checked for updates.

Thanks, Ethan

scanreport.txt

[eethxnn]

6 minutes ago, eethxnn said:

Attached is the scan run report; the scan was successful and detected the malware. No update was promoted when I checked for updates.

In the report it says they were not quarantined, they have 100% been. Here is an updated report to ensure full accuracy.

scanreport2.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

Good morning. Thanks for the Malwarebytes scan reports. I am glad to see that you did install Malwarebytes. The second report did do cleanups. 
Please run the following custom script. Read all of this before you start. Please Close all open work.

FRST64.exe is already on this machine on Desktop

lease download the attached fixlist.txt file and save it to Desktop folder

Fixlist.txt<-- - - - -

NOTE. It's important that both files, FRST64, and fixlist.txt are in the same location or the fix will not work.

NOTICE: This script was written specifically for this user, for use on this particular machine. Running this on another machine may cause damage to your operating system that cannot be undone.

Use File Explorer to go to the Desktop folder

RIGHT-Click on   FRST64 and select

RUN as Administrator

and reply YES to allow it to go forward to start.

That is important so that this run has Elevated Administrator rights !!

NEXT press the Fix button just once and wait.
If the tool needs a restart please make sure you let the system restart normally and let the tool complete its run after restart.
The tool will make a log on the Downloads folder (Fixlog.txt) . Please attach or post it to your next reply.

Note: If the tool warned you about an outdated version please download and run the updated version.

NOTE-1:  This fix will run a scan to check that all Microsoft operating system files are valid and not corrupt and attempt to correct any invalid files.  It will rebuild the Winsock. It will attempt to run scans with MS Defender. It will also attempt to remove some dubious SCR screen-savers if they are found. Depending on the speed of your computer this fix may take 50-55 minutes or more.

The system will be rebooted after the script has finished. Attach FIXLOG.txt with next reply.

( Next suggestion )

This Windows system has several web browsers. Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, +Brave. For each one, one at a time, see that each one gets the Malwarebytes Browser Guard. It is free, and adds a layer of protection.
See Support article how-to

See Support article how-to for Firefox

For the EDGE browser

Note: If the pc also has Opera or Brave or Vivaldi browser, you can install the Chrome version of the Malwarebytes Browser Guard ( on each as appropriate).
 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Maurice Naggar

[eethxnn]

39 minutes ago, Maurice Naggar said:

NOTE. It's important that both files, FRST64, and fixlist.txt are in the same location or the fix will not work.

 

How do I move fixlist.txt into FRST64?

Thanks, Ethan

[Maurice Naggar]

Did you save the file Fixlist.txt to the desktop? It looks like you did that. On the Desktop do the following actions.

RIGHT-Click on   FRST64 and select

RUN as Administrator

and reply YES to allow it to go forward to start.

That is important so that this run has Elevated Administrator rights !!

NEXT press the Fix button just once and wait.

[eethxnn]

18 hours ago, Maurice Naggar said:

NEXT press the Fix button just once and wait.

I have run the fix and attached the Fixlog.txt.

However upon boot before and after the fix this error popped up.

Regards,

Ethan

Fixlog.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

The custom fix-script-run is beneficial. The Windows System File Checker ( SFC ) has made some corrections. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
The custom script run is good. The Microsoft Defender antivirus is in good state and is up-to-date and is ON ( enabled and active).

The "error message shown by the system" is in nature of advisory information. It is not "fatal".
What follows is to get a pair of reports. Only reports.

Your machine has the FRST64 report tool on the Desktop folder. We will use that. Go to Desktop. RIGHT-click on FRST64 and select 

Run as Administrator

and tap ENTER. And reply YES to allow to proceed.  

•  When the tool opens click Yes to the disclaimer.  And be very sure to TICK the box for Addition.txt
• Press the Scan button.

• It will make a log (FRST.txt & Addition.txt) in the same directory the tool is run
• Have patience since the run may take something like 10 or so minutes  (less depending on your hardware speed)
• Close Notepad IF those show up on Notepad.
• Just please Attach the 2 files FRST.txt +Addition.txt  with your next reply.

( 2 )

Please download the attached fixlist.txt file and save it to Desktop folder

Fixlist.txt <-- - - - -

 

RIGHT-Click on   FRST64 and select

RUN as Administrator

and reply YES to allow it to go forward to start.

That is important so that this run has Elevated Administrator rights !!

NEXT press the Fix button just once and wait. This will be super-Quick and without any restart. It is only a report.  Attach FIXLOG.txt with next reply.

[eethxnn]

Here you are.

Addition - Copy.txt FRST - Copy.txt Fixlog.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

Thank you. When you get the chance, do what follows.
How to perform a clean boot in Windows 10
See this link

( 2 )

[  Do a custom scan with Microsoft Defender Antivirus ]

Just want to do a visual check in Windows Security to see (visually) that Microsoft Defender is on , and to do a Custom scan.

From the Windows Start menu, select Settings, then select Update and Security.

Next, look at the left-side menu & select Windows Security

Next, In Windows Security section: Click on the grey button Open Windows Security

Now, click on the shield Virus and threat protection

Look to see that Microsoft Defender is shown & available for use.

On the next display, look at all the options.  Look down the list and see "Check for Updates" .

You should click on that to have the system check for updates for Windows Defender.  Watch & wait for that to complete.

Please also note that the Scan options (all) can be displayed by clicking on Scan options.   Click that & select CUSTOM scan & then pick the C drive  & have it go forward.

Once it has started the scan phase, you can go take a long break.   Let me know the results.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Maurice Naggar

[eethxnn]

The scan has been done, everything is clear now.

 

Am I able to mark solved?

 

Kind Regards

Ethan

[Maurice Naggar]

Glad to hear that the Microsoft Defender antivirus scan is good. I would recommend getting a readout report as to update status of some key apps.
Download SecurityCheck by glax24 from here

and save the tool on the desktop.

                   If Windows's  SmartScreen block that with a message-window, then
                         Click on the MORE INFO spot and over-ride that and allow it to proceed.

                             This tool is safe.   Smartscreen is overly sensitive.

Right-click  with your mouse on the Securitycheck.exe  and select "Run as administrator"   and reply YES to allow to run & go forward
Wait for the scan to finish. It will open in a text file named SecurityType.txt. Close the file.  Attach it with your next reply.
You can find this file in a folder called SecurityCheck, C:\SecurityCheck\SecurityCheck.txt

[eethxnn]

Here you are.

 

SecurityCheck.txt

[Maurice Naggar]

Per the SecurityCheck report, here are the applications that need attention for updating to the latest release.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience 3.26.0.154 v.3.26.0.154  Warning! Download Update

Python 3.10.11 (64-bit) v.3.10.11150.0  Warning! Download Update

paint.net v.4.3.12  Warning! Download Update

GIMP 2.10.32-1 v.2.10.32 Warning! Download Update

Zoom v.5.7.7 (1105)  Warning! Download Update
 
Java 8 Update 351 v.8.0.3510.10  Warning! Download Update
Uninstall old version and install new one (jre-8u371-windows-i586.exe).
 
Adobe Creative Cloud v.5.9.0.372  Warning! Download Update  
 
Opera Stable 98.0.4759.39 v.98.0.4759.39  Warning! Download Update

We can wrap up this case.

Let's go ahead and do some clean-up work and remove the tools and logs we've run.
Please download KpRm by kernel-panik and save it to your desktop.

• right-click kprm_(version).exe and select Run as Administrator.
• Read and accept the disclaimer.
• When the tool opens, ensure all boxes under Actions are checked.
• Under Delete Quarantines select Delete Now, then click Run.
• Once complete, click OK.
• A log will open in Notepad titled kprm-(date).txt.
• You may attach that file to your next reply. (not compulsory)

[Maurice Naggar]

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 topic 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.

Please review the following to help you better protect your computer and privacy Tips to help protect from infection

Thank you