What is DnsIo?
The Malwarebytes research team has determined that DnsIo is adware. These adware applications display advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing.
This one is a DNS hijacker.
How do I know if my computer is affected by DnsIo?
You may see this Scheduled Task:
and this warning during install:
How did DnsIo get on my computer?
Adware applications use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was bundled with other software.
How do I remove DnsIo?
Our program Malwarebytes Anti-Malware can detect and remove this potentially unwanted program.
- Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop.
- Double-click mbam-setup-version.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
- At the end, be sure a check-mark is placed next to the following:
- Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium
- Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
- Then click Finish.
- If an update is found, you will be prompted to download and install the latest version.
- Once the program has loaded, select Scan now. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
- When the scan is complete , make sure that everything is set to "Quarantine", and click Apply Actions.
- Reboot your computer if prompted.
- No, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware removes DnsIo completely.
We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this adware application.
As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware would have protected you against the DnsIo adware. It would have warned you before the application could install itself, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.
Technical details for experts
You will see these signs in a HijackThis log:
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}: NameServer = 208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24 O17 - HKLM\System\CS1\Services\Tcpip\..\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}: NameServer = 208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24You may see these signs in FRST logs:
Tcpip\..\Interfaces\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}: [NameServer] 208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24 Tcpip\..\Interfaces\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}: [DhcpNameServer] 192.168.2.254 C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\DnsIo C:\Program Files (x86)\DnsIo Task: {78EC7742-80A4-442F-9C5D-C85ECFC0B8A9} - System32\Tasks\DnsIo => C:\Program Files (x86)\DnsIo\DnsIo.exeAlterations made by the installer:
File system details [View: All details] (Selection) --------------------------------------------------- Adds the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\DnsIo In the existing folder C:\Windows\System32\Tasks Adds the file DnsIo"="29/09/2015 09:05, 4724 bytes, A Registry details [View: All details] (Selection) ------------------------------------------------ [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{FCE1662E-06F1-413D-80CB-33D456D1CFCB}] "prod"="REG_SZ", "DnsIo" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\DnsIo] "cid"="REG_SZ", "1a79850a33bc499daf390869bce95cc4" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\DNSUtils] "{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}"="REG_SZ", "" "installCode"="REG_SZ", "61" "ti"="REG_SZ", "20150929" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SmartDNS] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}] "NameServer"=REG_SZ, "208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24"Malwarebytes Anti-Malware log:
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware www.malwarebytes.org Scan Date: 29/09/2015 Scan Time: 09:20 Logfile: mbamDNSIO.txt Administrator: Yes Version: 2.1.8.1057 Malware Database: v2015.09.29.02 Rootkit Database: v2015.09.22.01 License: Premium Malware Protection: Disabled Malicious Website Protection: Enabled Self-protection: Disabled OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 CPU: x64 File System: NTFS User: {username} Scan Type: Threat Scan Result: Completed Objects Scanned: 334312 Time Elapsed: 4 min, 19 sec Memory: Enabled Startup: Enabled Filesystem: Enabled Archives: Enabled Rootkits: Enabled Heuristics: Enabled PUP: Enabled PUM: Enabled Processes: 0 (No malicious items detected) Modules: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys: 4 PUP.Optional.WebWatcher, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\CLASSES\CLSID\{FCE1662E-06F1-413D-80CB-33D456D1CFCB}, Quarantined, [f8aed263bfcc40f6519632c1857d6e92], PUP.Optional.WebWatcher, HKLM\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\WOW6432NODE\CLSID\{FCE1662E-06F1-413D-80CB-33D456D1CFCB}, Quarantined, [f8aed263bfcc40f6519632c1857d6e92], PUP.Optional.CloudScout.BrwsrFlsh, HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\SCHEDULE\TASKCACHE\TREE\DnsIo, Delete-on-Reboot, [4c5a7abbff8cf83ea6ef2ab10ef6728e], Trojan.DNSio, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\DnsIo, Quarantined, [079f61d41f6c49ed89ec4199ec18e41c], Registry Values: 0 (No malicious items detected) Registry Data: 1 Trojan.DNSChanger, HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\TCPIP\PARAMETERS\Interfaces\{45B09BD0-96AE-417A-BE38-54811B4E2126}|NameServer, 208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24, Good: (), Bad: (208.87.151.25,208.87.151.24),Replaced,[5056d95c612adb5bb1035f21ce37cf31] Folders: 1 PUP.Optional.CloudScout.BrwsrFlsh, C:\Program Files (x86)\DnsIo, Quarantined, [05a16bcacac195a1c750d166fc07dd23], Files: 2 PUP.Optional.CloudScout, C:\Users\{username}\Desktop\dnsio-setup-dnsiosomo1.exe, Quarantined, [683e7fb6d9b24cea3ec2bdb549bcca36], PUP.Optional.CloudScout.BrwsrFlsh, C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\DnsIo, Quarantined, [c4e284b1791246f0fc976a7102020000], Physical Sectors: 0 (No malicious items detected) (end)As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware could have protected your computer against this threat.
We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):
- Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
- Malware Execution Prevention