[Kilimanjaro]

Hi,

I've picked up a very malicious updatesearches.com hijack of my browser and desktop and I need help to clear it. It not only transforms my default homepage to the updatesearches.com "site", but also changed my desktop in several ways:

1) Background for desktop is now BLACK, with a popup screen showing "WARNING YOU'RE IN DANGER";

2) My Windows XP Professional taskbar on the lower right corner of the Desktop screen shows a flashing exclamation mark (!) and an authentic-looking "white cross in red circle" icons warning me "Your computer is infected! Use anti virus software to protect your computer" - these are bogus and direct me to Spyware removal links.

I have done the usual steps typically recommended for solving such pesky occurences - tweak computer to show hidden icons - reboot in safe mode - run Hijackthis and fix the obvious out-of-place R1 to O23 stuff - run Adaware to clean up even more - run CCleaner to totally clean it up - reboot again in normal mode....

All this used to work with previous CWS variants, but not this one!

Can anyone please help me?

This is my Hijackthis Log:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 17:43:58, on 06/05/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\msole32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\shnlog.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
C:\Program Files\World Time\worldtime.exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\msoffice.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\intmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\NavNT\defwatch.exe
C:\Program Files\NavNT\rtvscan.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MsgSys.EXE
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = about:blank
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.updatesearches.com/bar.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = http://www.updatesearches.com/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Connection Wizard,ShellNext = http://www.mfa.gov.sg/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyServer = nova.singnet.com.sg:8080
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=explorer.exe, msmsgs.exe
O2 - BHO: VMHomepage Class - {FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFA} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\hp65F1.tmp
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: MSN Toolbar - {BDAD1DAD-C946-4A17-ADC1-64B5B4FF55D0} - C:\Program Files\MSN Toolbar\01.01.1629.0\en-us\msntb.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RegSvr32] C:\WINDOWS\System32\msmsgs.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MsnMsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Intel system tool] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O4 - Global Startup: World Time.lnk = ?
O16 - DPF: {14A3221B-1678-1982-A355-7263B1281987} - ms-its:mhtml:file://C:tsk.mht!http://69.50.166.110....chm::/file.exe
O20 - Winlogon Notify: NavLogon - C:\WINDOWS\System32\NavLogon.dll
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: DefWatch - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\NavNT\defwatch.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service (iPodService) - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Norton AntiVirus Client (Norton AntiVirus Server) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\NavNT\rtvscan.exe

Appreciate all of your help

Jim

[Advertisements]

Hi Jim and welcome to GTG.

Do not uninstall this, but take a look at your Add/Remove panel and tell me if you can find Antivirus Gold. Again, do not uninstall it.

Please print out or copy this page to Notepad. Make sure to work through the fixes in the exact order it is mentioned below. If there's anything that you don't understand, ask your question(s) before proceeding with the fixes. You should 'not' have any open browsers when you are following the procedures below.

Right click on this link -> http://www.bleepingc...g/smitfraud.reg and save that file. Double click on it and click on Yes when it asks you if you want to merge it into the registry. Once that's done, right click on your Desktop and go to Properties. Next go to Desktop tab->Customize Desktop button->Web tab. Uncheck everything listed there. Then delete all the entries listed except for 'My Current Home Page'. Click OK and OK.

Go to Start->-Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs and remove/uninstall the following programs, if found:

Security iGuard
Virtual Maid
Search Maid

Exit Add/Remove Programs.

Go to My Computer->Tools/View->Folder Options->View tab and make sure that 'Show hidden files and folders' (or 'Show all files') is enabled. Also make sure that 'Display the contents of system folders' is checked.

Download KillBox http://www.greyknigh...spy/KillBox.exe. Run KillBox and check the box that says 'End Explorer Shell While Killing File'. Next click on 'Delete on Reboot'. For each of the following files below, check the box that says 'Unregister .dll Before Deleting' if it's not grayed out. Copy the below files and go back to KillBox. Go to File->Paste from Clipboard and then hit the button with red circle with a white X. Confirm to delete and when asked if you want to reboot now, say no:

C:\wp.exe
C:\wp.bmp
C:\bsw.exe
C:\Windows\sites.ini
C:\Windows\popuper.exe
C:\Windows\system32\hhk.dll
C:\Windows\System32\wldr.dll
C:\Windows\System32\helper.exe
C:\Windows\System32\intmon.exe
C:\Windows\System32\shnlog.exe
C:\Windows\System32\intmonp.exe
C:\Windows\System32\msmsgs.exe
C:\Windows\system32\msole32.exe
C:\Windows\system32\ole32vbs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hp65F1.tmp

Restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode by hitting the F8 key repeatedly until a menu shows up (and choose Safe Mode from the list). In some systems, this may be the F5 key, so try that if F8 doesn't work.

Delete these folders if they exist:

C:\Program Files\Search Maid\
C:\Program Files\Virtual Maid\
C:\Windows\System32\Log Files\
C:\Program Files\Security iGuard\

Run a scan in HijackThis. Check each of the following and hit 'Fix checked' (after checking them) if they still exist (make sure not to miss any):

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = about:blank
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.updatesearches.com/bar.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = http://www.updatesearches.com/
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=explorer.exe, msmsgs.exe
O2 - BHO: VMHomepage Class - {FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFA} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\hp65F1.tmp
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RegSvr32] C:\WINDOWS\System32\msmsgs.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Intel system tool] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
O16 - DPF: {14A3221B-1678-1982-A355-7263B1281987} - ms-its:mhtml:file://C:tsk.mht!http://69.50.166.110....chm::/file.exe

Close HijackThis.

Restart your computer.

1. Download Hoster http://www.greyknigh.../spy/Hoster.exe and run it. Choose the 'Restore Original Hosts' button and press OK. Close the program.

2. Right click on this link -> http://mvps.org/winh.../DelDomains.inf and select Save As to download WinHelp2002's DelDomains.inf. Save the file to the Desktop. To run the inf file, right click on it and select Install. Note: This will remove all entries in the 'Trusted Zone' and 'Ranges' also.

3. The Temp folders should be cleaned out periodically as installation programs and hijack programs leave a lot of junk there. Download CleanUp! http://cleanup.stevengould.org/ (Alternate Link if main link don't work - http://www.greyknigh...spy/Cleanup.exe ) and install it. Run CleanUp! and click on CleanUp! button. When it asks you if you want to logoff, click on Yes.

4. Run an online scan at http://www.pandasoft...com/activescan/ and save the results from the scan!

Restart and post a new HijackThis log along with the results from ActiveScan.

[greyknight17]

Hi Jim and welcome to GTG.

Do not uninstall this, but take a look at your Add/Remove panel and tell me if you can find Antivirus Gold. Again, do not uninstall it.

Please print out or copy this page to Notepad. Make sure to work through the fixes in the exact order it is mentioned below. If there's anything that you don't understand, ask your question(s) before proceeding with the fixes. You should 'not' have any open browsers when you are following the procedures below.

Right click on this link -> http://www.bleepingc...g/smitfraud.reg and save that file. Double click on it and click on Yes when it asks you if you want to merge it into the registry. Once that's done, right click on your Desktop and go to Properties. Next go to Desktop tab->Customize Desktop button->Web tab. Uncheck everything listed there. Then delete all the entries listed except for 'My Current Home Page'. Click OK and OK.

Go to Start->-Control Panel->Add or Remove Programs and remove/uninstall the following programs, if found:

Security iGuard
Virtual Maid
Search Maid

Exit Add/Remove Programs.

Go to My Computer->Tools/View->Folder Options->View tab and make sure that 'Show hidden files and folders' (or 'Show all files') is enabled. Also make sure that 'Display the contents of system folders' is checked.

Download KillBox http://www.greyknigh...spy/KillBox.exe. Run KillBox and check the box that says 'End Explorer Shell While Killing File'. Next click on 'Delete on Reboot'. For each of the following files below, check the box that says 'Unregister .dll Before Deleting' if it's not grayed out. Copy the below files and go back to KillBox. Go to File->Paste from Clipboard and then hit the button with red circle with a white X. Confirm to delete and when asked if you want to reboot now, say no:

C:\wp.exe
C:\wp.bmp
C:\bsw.exe
C:\Windows\sites.ini
C:\Windows\popuper.exe
C:\Windows\system32\hhk.dll
C:\Windows\System32\wldr.dll
C:\Windows\System32\helper.exe
C:\Windows\System32\intmon.exe
C:\Windows\System32\shnlog.exe
C:\Windows\System32\intmonp.exe
C:\Windows\System32\msmsgs.exe
C:\Windows\system32\msole32.exe
C:\Windows\system32\ole32vbs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hp65F1.tmp

Restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode by hitting the F8 key repeatedly until a menu shows up (and choose Safe Mode from the list). In some systems, this may be the F5 key, so try that if F8 doesn't work.

Delete these folders if they exist:

C:\Program Files\Search Maid\
C:\Program Files\Virtual Maid\
C:\Windows\System32\Log Files\
C:\Program Files\Security iGuard\

Run a scan in HijackThis. Check each of the following and hit 'Fix checked' (after checking them) if they still exist (make sure not to miss any):

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = about:blank
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.updatesearches.com/bar.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://www.updatesea...earch.php?qq=%1
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = http://www.updatesearches.com/
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=explorer.exe, msmsgs.exe
O2 - BHO: VMHomepage Class - {FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFA} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\hp65F1.tmp
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RegSvr32] C:\WINDOWS\System32\msmsgs.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Intel system tool] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hookdump.exe
O16 - DPF: {14A3221B-1678-1982-A355-7263B1281987} - ms-its:mhtml:file://C:tsk.mht!http://69.50.166.110....chm::/file.exe

Close HijackThis.

Restart your computer.

1. Download Hoster http://www.greyknigh.../spy/Hoster.exe and run it. Choose the 'Restore Original Hosts' button and press OK. Close the program.

2. Right click on this link -> http://mvps.org/winh.../DelDomains.inf and select Save As to download WinHelp2002's DelDomains.inf. Save the file to the Desktop. To run the inf file, right click on it and select Install. Note: This will remove all entries in the 'Trusted Zone' and 'Ranges' also.

3. The Temp folders should be cleaned out periodically as installation programs and hijack programs leave a lot of junk there. Download CleanUp! http://cleanup.stevengould.org/ (Alternate Link if main link don't work - http://www.greyknigh...spy/Cleanup.exe ) and install it. Run CleanUp! and click on CleanUp! button. When it asks you if you want to logoff, click on Yes.

4. Run an online scan at http://www.pandasoft...com/activescan/ and save the results from the scan!

Restart and post a new HijackThis log along with the results from ActiveScan.

[Kilimanjaro]

Thank you so much for all your help. I have yet to reboot, but the internat homepage is now stable on my chosen setting (Google) and the annoying icons/desktop change is gone. My log for Hijackthis is now as follows:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 11:10:35, on 07/05/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\NavNT\defwatch.exe
C:\Program Files\NavNT\rtvscan.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MsgSys.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\msoffice.exe
C:\Program Files\World Time\worldtime.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Connection Wizard,ShellNext = http://www.mfa.gov.sg/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyServer = nova.singnet.com.sg:8080
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: MSN Toolbar - {BDAD1DAD-C946-4A17-ADC1-64B5B4FF55D0} - C:\Program Files\MSN Toolbar\01.01.1629.0\en-us\msntb.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MsnMsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe" /background
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O4 - Global Startup: World Time.lnk = ?
O16 - DPF: {9A9307A0-7DA4-4DAF-B042-5009F29E09E1} (ActiveScan Installer Class) - http://www.pandasoft.../as5/asinst.cab
O20 - Winlogon Notify: NavLogon - C:\WINDOWS\System32\NavLogon.dll
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: DefWatch - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\NavNT\defwatch.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service (iPodService) - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Norton AntiVirus Client (Norton AntiVirus Server) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\NavNT\rtvscan.exe

And the log for the Panda ActiveScan is as follows (11 alien elements!):


Incident Status Location

Adware:Adware/EasySearch No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\system32\dbnxe.dll
Adware:Adware/CWS.Aboutblank No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\system32\javatq32.exe
Adware:Adware/CWS.Aboutblank No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\addvu.exe
Adware:Adware/EasySearch No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\mvfdri.dat
Adware:Adware/EasySearch No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\faycq.dll
Adware:Adware/EasySearch No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\hijack
Adware:Adware/EasySearch No disinfected C:\WINDOWS\nkbcw.dll
Virus:Trj/Subsearch.G Disinfected C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IEService\v28.exe
Adware:Adware/Popuper No disinfected C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050506-170508-446.dll
Adware:Adware/Popuper No disinfected C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050506-171749-539.dll
Adware:Adware/Popuper No disinfected C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050507-101121-373.dll

Once again, tedious, but life-saving. Thank you!

Jim

[greyknight17]

Hi Jim, we are almost done here.

Download CWShredder at http://www.greyknigh...hredder.sfx.exe and run it. Uncompress the file and run it. Click on 'I Agree' button if you agree with it. Click on 'Fix' (it will automatically fix anything it finds for you) and OK. If it asks if you want to delete a certain random file, choose No and post that filename here. Let it finish the scan and then hit Next and Exit.

Delete these files (if any give you problems, boot into Safe Mode to delete them):

C:\WINDOWS\system32\dbnxe.dll
C:\WINDOWS\system32\javatq32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\addvu.exe
C:\WINDOWS\mvfdri.dat
C:\WINDOWS\faycq.dll
C:\WINDOWS\hijack
C:\WINDOWS\nkbcw.dll
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IEService\
C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050506-170508-446.dll
C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050506-171749-539.dll
C:\Documents and Settings\csb_admin\Desktop\backups\backup-20050507-101121-373.dll

I see you have two antivirus programs installed there. Decide whether to keep Norton or Avast and uninstall the other one.

Your log is clean.

Turn off system restore by right clicking on My Computer and go to Properties->System Restore and check the box for Turn off System Restore. Click Apply and then OK. Restart your computer and uncheck the same box to enable System Restore.

Make sure to get the latest updates for Windows and Internet Explorer at http://v5.windowsupd...t.aspx?ln=en-us.

To help prevent future spyware installations/infections, please read the Anti-Spyware Tutorial and use the tools provided.

Are there any problems now? If not, you should be set to go.

[Kilimanjaro]

Hello.

Once again, many thanks for helping me out. All your suggested fixes have worked very well indeed and my system is fully operational and faster than it has been in months.

I have done the final steps - Run CWS Shred - Deleted the dodgy files - Uninstalled Avast AV.

There are no longer any problems and everything is indeed set to go.

Kudos to all at this site for the valuable service you have been providing!

Jim

[greyknight17]

Since this issue appears to be resolved ... this Topic has been closed. Glad we could help.

If you're the topic starter, and need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member with the address of the thread.

Everyone else please begin a New Topic.