infected with "personal antivirus"

[CWB]

hello ,

yet *another* friends laptop ... a little background :

three bogus "anti" programs were installed .

two copies of "avg" (they were old and/or of dubious integrity/origin) .

a couple of known malware programs were installed (ie : sweet IM) . these were removed with "revo unistaller pro" along with the old copies/installs of "avg" .

the rest of the above were removed to the best of my abilities with MB , a fresh install (safe mode) of avg IS and spybot SD .

each program found some items and removed them .

symptoms of remaining infection(s) are :

firefox : selective browser redirect/hijack ... certain google (integrated search box) searches produce redirected addresses clearly visible at the bottom of the browser ... the same happens if the google page is brought up manually . some surfing is normal .

IE : the integrated search box produces a "IE has to be shut down ..." when clicked on . when restarted is asks to add search providers (almost like a fresh install sequence) , none can be added . some surfing is normal .

i have run the requested "i'm infected ..." programs and defogger is still "open/running" (as per instructions) and did not prompt for a reboot .

many thanks in advance .

larry

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46

www.malwarebytes.org

Database version: 4505

Windows 6.0.6002 Service Pack 2

Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18882

8/30/2010 8:42:10 AM

mbam-log-2010-08-30 (08-42-10).txt

Scan type: Quick scan

Objects scanned: 142721

Time elapsed: 7 minute(s), 40 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0

Memory Modules Infected: 0

Registry Keys Infected: 0

Registry Values Infected: 0

Registry Data Items Infected: 0

Folders Infected: 0

Files Infected: 0

Memory Processes Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Folders Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

DDS (Ver_10-03-17.01) - NTFSx86

Run by admin at 8:48:53.63 on Mon 08/30/2010

Internet Explorer: 8.0.6001.18882

Microsoft

[Gammo]

Hi,

Please read carefully and follow these steps.

• Download TDSSKiller and save it to your Desktop.
  
• Extract its contents to your desktop.
  
• Once extracted, open the TDSSKiller folder and doubleclick on TDSSKiller.exe to run the application, then on Start Scan.
  
  
• If an infected file is detected, the default action will be Cure, click on Continue.
  
  
• If a suspicious file is detected, the default action will be Skip, click on Continue.
  
  
• It may ask you to reboot the computer to complete the process. Click on Reboot Now.
  
  
• If no reboot is require, click on Report. A log file should appear. Please copy and paste the contents of that file here.
  
• If a reboot is required, the report can also be found in your root directory, (usually C:\ folder) in the form of "TDSSKiller.[Version]_[Date]_[Time]_log.txt". Please copy and paste the contents of that file here.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Download ComboFix from one of these locations:

Link 1

Link 2

* IMPORTANT !!! Save ComboFix.exe to your Desktop

• Disable your AntiVirus and AntiSpyware applications, usually via a right click on the System Tray icon. They may otherwise interfere with our tools. Here is a guide on how to disable them:
  Click me
  If you can't disable them then just continue on.
  
• Double click on ComboFix.exe & follow the prompts.
  
• As part of it's process, ComboFix will check to see if the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed. With malware infections being as they are today, it's strongly recommended to have this pre-installed on your machine before doing any malware removal. It will allow you to boot up into a special recovery/repair mode that will allow us to more easily help you should your computer have a problem after an attempted removal of malware.
  
• Follow the prompts to allow ComboFix to download and install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console, and when prompted, agree to the End-User License Agreement to install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console.
  

**Please note: If the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is already installed, ComboFix will continue it's malware removal procedures.

Once the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed using ComboFix, you should see the following message:

Click on Yes, to continue scanning for malware.

When finished, it shall produce a log for you. Please include the C:\ComboFix.txt log in your next reply.

[CWB]

hello gammo ,

i was able to run TDSSK . it stopped "defogger" .

i shut down the resident shield in AVG .

i attempted to run "combo fix" ... it stopped during loading and a message popped up saying some files could not be created .

the machine choked .

i restarted the machine and the avg resident shield was disabled . i ran combofix again ... it did load ... but ... the firewall pinged me about "combofix-download.cfxxe" wanting to access the internet ... i ignored it .

while i was typing this , combofix kicked in and ran ... without asking for the "recovery console" .

it completed it's operations , restarted the machine and is generating a log report and also displayed "do not run any programs until combofix has finished" .

it has now been 15 minutes and the blue "console window" is still displaying the last message and a firewall message has popped up :

"PEV.CFXXE" is trying to access the internet .

of course , i am ignoring it (blocked) .

i have not attached any log files as i do not know if they would be valid at this point .

what's next ?

larry

ps ... i noticed that the programs i have placed on the desktop (tdss , defogger , dds , etc .) have a four colored "security shield" icon on them .

is this ok ?

pps ... combofix just finished generating the log file .

[Gammo]

Hi,

Next time, please disable your firewall as well. Or allow any incoming/outgoing connections while ComboFix is running.

Can you please post the C:\ComboFix.txt log in your next reply?

[CWB]

sending both logs .

[Gammo]

Please do not attach your logs as it is harder for me to read them that way. Post them instead:

ComboFix 10-09-01.02 - admin 09/01/2010 16:56:19.1.2 - x86

Microsoft

[CWB]

update :

i was not sure if you wanted me to run combo fix again ...

i ran it again and allowed it to access the internet ... it updated to a new version .

all was running well .

a message popped up saying that "PEV.CFXXE has stopped running" ... is this ok ?

new combofix log attached .

[CWB]

sorry about that ...

i posted attached the new log before i realized that you had replied asking me not to .

[Gammo]

Hi,

1. Close any open browsers.

2. Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.

3. Open notepad and copy/paste the text in the codebox below into it:

File::
c:\windows\system32\drivers\fwfucqrj.sys

Driver::
fwfucqrj

KillAll::

Save this as CFScript.txt, in the same location as ComboFix.exe

Refering to the picture above, drag CFScript into ComboFix.exe

When finished, it shall produce a log for you at C:\ComboFix.txt which I will require in your next reply.

[CWB]

i tried ... i am working between my main comp and the laptop that is infected .

i created the notepad file and transfered it to the infected machine .

after dragging/dropping the notepad file into the the combofix icon a window pops up :

"illegal operation attempted on a registry entry marked for deletion"

also ... if i attempt to open the notepad program itself the same message pops up .

if i try to open the notepad file , the same message .

[Gammo]

Hi,

That's weird. Can you please reboot the infected PC, and then try it again?

If that doesn't fix the problem, then run the tools below. They don't use notepad.

Download avz4.zip from HERE

1. Unzip it to your desktop to a folder named avz4
   
2. Double click on AVZ.exe to run it.
   
3. Run an update by clicking the Auto Update button on the Right of the Log window:
   
4. Click Start to begin the update
   

Note: If you recieve an error message, chose a different source, then click Start again

1. Start AVZ.
   
2. Choose from the menu "File" => "Standard scripts " and mark the "Advanced System Analysis with malware removal mode enabled" check box.
   
   
3. Click on the

[CWB]

hey gammo ,

i had to take care of some things .

i rebooted the machine and dragged the notepad file into the combofix icon on the desktop .

it ran but the notepad file did not "disappear" as one would normally expect it to do ... ok ?

i was not prompted for anything but the system did a reboot on it's own (while i was getting a cup of coffee --- it figures ---

after rebooting i clicked on my Admin account when my desktop opened the log-on music was stuttering , the screen was dim and then it went BSOD (full page of crap) for two seconds then rebooted ...

the dos screen gave me the "normal" options ... i selected "restart windows normally" ...

the logon screen came up (eventually) , i logged in and all looks ok ... except i cannot find the log file on the C drive or inside the combofix program folder (maybe i missed it) .

where to from here ?

ps ... maybe i should quit drinking coffee ?

[Gammo]

Hi,

Run ComboFix again by double-clicking ComboFix.exe. When finished, it shall produce a log for you at C:\ComboFix.txt which I will require in your next reply.

[CWB]

here it is :

ComboFix 10-09-01.04 - admin 09/02/2010 16:33:14.4.2 - x86

Microsoft

[Gammo]

Hi,

Download TFC to your desktop

• Open the file and close any other windows.
  
• It will close all programs itself when run, make sure to let it run uninterrupted.
  
• Click the Start button to begin the process. The program should not take long to finish its job
  
• Once its finished it should reboot your machine, if not, do this yourself to ensure a complete clean
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Start Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

• Once the program has loaded, click the "Update" tab and click the "Check For updates" button.
  
• Once the updates were downloaded, click the "Scanner" tab, select "Perform Quick Scan", then click Scan.
  
• The scan may take some time to finish,so please be patient.
  
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
  
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
  
• When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart.(See Extra Note)
  
• The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
  
• Copy&Paste the entire report in your next reply.
  

Extra Note:

If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove,you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts,click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process,if asked to restart the computer,please do so immediatly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd like us to scan your machine with ESET OnlineScan

1. Hold down Control and click on the following link to open ESET OnlineScan in a new window.
   ESET OnlineScan
   
2. Click the button.
   
3. For alternate browsers only: (Microsoft Internet Explorer users can skip these steps)
   1. 
      
   2. Click on to download the ESET Smart Installer. Save it to your desktop.
      
   3. Double click on the icon on your desktop.
      
      
   4. Check
      
   5. Click the button.
      
   6. Accept any security warnings from your browser.
      
   7. Check
      
   8. Push the Start button.
      
   9. ESET will then download updates for itself, install itself, and begin scanning your computer. Please be patient as this can take some time.
      
   10. When the scan completes, push
       
   11. Push , and save the file to your desktop using a unique name, such as ESETScan. Include the contents of this report in your next reply.
       
   12. Push the button.
       
   13. Push
       
       

[CWB]

i did the TFC and manually rebooted the machine .

i performed the MB scan (results posted) .

ESET has two check boxes :

"remove threats"

"scan archives"

you did not mention what to do with the "remove threats" box .

... juuusssst makin' sure here .

awaiting your reply/instructions

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46

www.malwarebytes.org

Database version: 4532

Windows 6.0.6002 Service Pack 2

Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18882

9/2/2010 5:31:48 PM

mbam-log-2010-09-02 (17-31-48).txt

Scan type: Quick scan

Objects scanned: 145580

Time elapsed: 5 minute(s), 25 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0

Memory Modules Infected: 0

Registry Keys Infected: 0

Registry Values Infected: 0

Registry Data Items Infected: 0

Folders Infected: 0

Files Infected: 0

Memory Processes Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:

(No malicious items detected)

Folders Infected:

[Gammo]

Leave the "remove threats" box checked.

By the way, are you still experiencing any problems?

[CWB]

ok ... will do ... running the scan now .

i went to the eset site through internet explorer on the laptop (manually entered the link addy) ...

this is the first i have used the laptop to access the internet through a browser ... so far , so good .

will post results of eset scan as requested asap .

[CWB]

finished ...

eset did not produce the "export , "back" buttons or other options .

"no threats found"

i still have the scanner window open with the options to uninstall and finish .

[CWB]

ummm ... not meaning to be rude or anything like that ...

as i interpret the rules and regulations at these forums ; i believe your post runs afoul of those tenets .

additionally , to quote from your personal profile page ; "NUN U BIZ" .

please drive through and have a nice day .

[Gammo]

Hi,

Your logs appears to be clean now. There is only a bit of cleanup that we will deal with in this post, as well as prevention from future infections.

Remove Combofix now that we're done with it.

• Please press the Windows Key and R on your keyboard. This will bring up the Run... command.
  
• Now type in Combofix /Uninstall in the runbox and click OK. (Notice the space between the "x" and "/")
  
  
• Please follow the prompts to uninstall Combofix.
  
• You will then recieve a message saying Combofix was uninstalled successfully once it's done uninstalling itself.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Download OTC to your desktop and run it
  
• A list of tool components used in the Cleanup of malware will be downloaded.
  
• If your Firewall or Real Time protection attempts to block OTC to reach the Internet, please allow the application to do so.
  
• Click Yes to begin the Cleanup process and remove these components, including this application.
  
• You will be asked to reboot the machine to finish the Cleanup process. If you are asked to reboot the machine choose Yes.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please download JavaRa to your desktop and unzip it to its own folder

• Run JavaRa.exe, pick the language of your choice and click Select. Then click Remove Older Versions.
  
• Accept any prompts.
  
• Open JavaRa.exe again and select Search For Updates.
  
• Select Update Using Sun Java's Website then click Search and click on the Open Webpage button. Download and install the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version for your computer.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keep a backup of your important files

Now, more than ever, it's especially important to protect your digital files and memories. This article is full of good information on alternatives for home backup solutions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make proper use of your anti-virus and firewall

You should keep your anti-virus and firewall guard enabled at all times, don't shut them off unless there's a specific reason to do so.

Also, regularly performing a full system scan with your anti-virus program is a good idea to make sure nothing has slipped through your protection. Once every two weeks works well for many people. You can set the scan to run during a time when you don't plan to use the computer and just leave it to complete on its own.

Keep in mind that anti-virus programs are far from perfect. They don't protect you against every piece of malware that's out there, so don't trust them blindly. If an anti-virus reports a file as 'clean' then it's doesn't necessarily has to mean it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keep all your software updated

It is important to keep up on system updates from Microsoft by regularly checking their website at: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/, as these patch critical security vulnerabilities and help to keep you safe.

It's also important to keep programs up to date so that malware doesn't exploit any old security flaws. FileHippo Update Checker is an extremely helpful program that will tell you which of your programs need to be updated. Java and Adobe Reader are two of the main security vulnerabilities. You can find the latest version of Java here, you will want the Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) one. You can find the latest version of Adobe Reader here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Use a safer web browser

Internet Explorer is not the most secure tool for browsing the web. It has been known to be very susceptible to infection, and there are a couple good free alternatives: Firefox and Opera. Both are excellent faster, safer, more powerful and functional free alternatives to Internet Explorer. It's definitely worth the short period of adjustment to start using one of these. If you wish to continue using Internet Explorer, it would be a good idea to follow the tutorial here which will help you to make IE much safer.

If you decide to use the Firefox browser, the McAfee SiteAdvisor add-on will nicely help to enhance your security. This add-on tells you whether the sites you are about to visit are safe or not. A must if you do a lot of Googling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some other security programs

It is wise these days to have a few security programs installed and running on your machine except from just an anti-virus and a firewall. I will list some of them.

• A good anti-spyware program installed on your pc is very important to help remove any spyware that may have gotten on your computer. I highly recommend Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.
  
• SpywareBlaster to help prevent spyware from installing in the first place.
  
• MVPS Hosts file replaces your current HOSTS file with one containing well known ad sites and other bad sites. This prevents your computer from connecting to those sites in the future.
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be careful

Having security programs installed is very helpful to you, but none of them have the gift of human thought. The best way to make sure you don't get infected is to exercise common sense. Be careful of what websites you visit - if a site looks suspicious, trust your instincts and get out of there. Be careful of what attachments you open in emails and files you download from websites - check them over carefully to make sure that you know what you're getting.

Using peer-to-peer programs (eg: LimeWire, BitTorrent, uTorrent, Kazaa) or downloading cracks and keygens is something else to avoid. These are the most common way to get infected. Malware writers use these programs to spread infections as it is the easiest way for them. The majority of infections we see in the Malware Removal forum are due to people using p2p programs to download cracks/keygens/warez. These are not only illegal, but will always contain some form of malware. You have no way of verifying that the things you download are legitimate or that they don't contain malware. Even with an up to date anti-virus and firewall, some of these things will still infect you. It is highly recommend that you uninstall all peer-to-peer programs. It just isn't worth it.

Other common ways of getting infected are dis-reputable sites forcing you to download and install a codec. Or viruses using Instant Messaging programs (Windows Live Messenger, MSN Messenger, AIM) to send a file claiming it to be "photos" from a friend, only for it to turn out to be a virus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slow computer?

If your computer begins to slow down in the future for no particular reason, your first step should not be to come to the malware forum. As your computer ages and is used, it's parts wear, files and programs accumulate, and its performance can decrease. To restore your computer's performance to its best possible level, follow the steps in this page written by malware expert Miekiemoes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll leave this thread open for a couple days in case you come across any lingering problems that need fixing, then I'll close it up. If you need it reopened for any reason just shoot me a PM. It's been a pleasure working with you, now best of luck!

Cheers,

Gammo

[CWB]

hey gammo ,

i ran the three programs you mentioned .

IE seems to be ok ... i can add a search provider and it doesn't choke-n-puke . no redirects .

FF is ok too .

i am cleaning out and updating to the latest versions of adobe reader , doing the windows updates , etc .

i'll report back on sunday .

thanks for all your help ... take it easy ... talk to you sunday .

larry

ps ... did you check your PM/IM ?

[CWB]

hmmm ...

looks like i was mistaken .

IE is not saving the search providers .

it goes through the motions but does not actually place them in the "search providers" list .

it opens the "add providers" windows when i click on the search box .

almost the same as at the beginning of this thread (minus the redirects) .

[Gammo]

Hi,

I don't think the IE problem is caused by malware.

Try resetting IE: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737

[CWB]

i did not think so either .

i uninstalled IE8 and rolled back to IE7 , then i did a fresh install when it came up in the windows updates .

still the same problem .

i tried running the "fixit" utility from MS but i got a message saying there was a problem and it could not run .

maybe i should hop over to the software forum and post .