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[Metallica]

Content is republished with permission from Malwarebytes.

What is MapsFox?

The Malwarebytes research team has determined that MapsFox is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that behaves like adware. These adware applications display advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing.
Note: there was a Chrome extension for this software, but it had been removed from the Webstore at the time of writing.

How do I know if my computer is affected by MapsFox?

You may see these warnings during install:







and this entry in your list of installed Firefox extensions:



and this icon in the menu-bar of the affected browser(s):



How did MapsFox get on my computer?

Adware applications use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was downloaded from their website:



How do I remove MapsFox?

Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this potentially unwanted program.

• Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
• Double-click mb3-setup-consumer-{version}.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
• Then click Finish.
• Once the program has fully updated, select Scan Now on the Dashboard. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
• If another update of the definitions is available, it will be implemented before the rest of the scanning procedure.
• When the scan is complete, make sure that all Threats are selected, and click Remove Selected.
• Restart your computer when prompted to do so.

Is there anything else I need to do to get rid of MapsFox?

• No, Malwarebytes removes MapsFox completely.

How would the full version of Malwarebytes help protect me?

We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this adware.

As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the ExpressDirections PUP. It would have blocked their website, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late:

Technical details for experts

Possible signs in FRST logs:

FF Extension: (MapsFox) - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\Extensions\{43a526a3-28ea-409f-933c-2ef3d9a0629b}.xpi [2019-02-01]

Significant changes made by the installer:

File system details [View: All details] (Selection)
---------------------------------------------------
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\browser-extension-data\{43a526a3-28ea-409f-933c-2ef3d9a0629b}
       Adds the file storage.js"="2/1/2019 10:29 AM, 2753 bytes, A
    In the existing folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\extensions
       Adds the file {43a526a3-28ea-409f-933c-2ef3d9a0629b}.xpi"="2/1/2019 10:28 AM, 317643 bytes, A

Malwarebytes log:

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com

-Log Details-
Scan Date: 2/1/19
Scan Time: 10:32 AM
Log File: 43391482-2604-11e9-a85c-00ffdcc6fdfc.json

-Software Information-
Version: 3.6.1.2711
Components Version: 1.0.482
Update Package Version: 1.0.9066
License: Premium

-System Information-
OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: {computername}\{username}

-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Scan Initiated By: Manual
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 235940
Threats Detected: 2
Threats Quarantined: 2
Time Elapsed: 3 min, 25 sec

-Scan Options-
Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Enabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Detect
PUM: Detect

-Scan Details-
Process: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Module: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Key: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Value: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folder: 1
PUP.Optional.AdvertisingExt, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\ROAMING\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\PROFILES\{profile}.default\BROWSER-EXTENSION-DATA\{43A526A3-28EA-409F-933C-2EF3D9A0629B}, Quarantined, [1724], [629212],1.0.9066

File: 1
PUP.Optional.AdvertisingExt, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\ROAMING\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\PROFILES\{profile}.default\BROWSER-EXTENSION-DATA\{43A526A3-28EA-409F-933C-2EF3D9A0629B}\STORAGE.JS, Quarantined, [1724], [629212],1.0.9066

Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)

WMI: 0
(No malicious items detected)


(end)

As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes 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

Save yourself the hassle and get protected.