[Inactive] Malware Disabling Sound? - WinXP SP3

[EXCellR8]

I've been dealing with sort of a strange issue with a friend's computer, it seems there is some sort of infection that is preventing the sound hardware from functioning. The drivers are installed and the devices are functioning properly. I know it's an infection because SpyBot and Malwarebytes won't start. It's probably registry corruption but I can't seem to find the exact problem. There is also a redirect problem with his browser but I can't run any software.

So I'm gonna head back over there next week with BART CD's to see if I can remove the bulk of the infections, but I'd like to see if I can get him somewhere in the mean time. I've dealt with this type of thing before but I just reformatted since there was no personal data on the computer. I'm trying to avoid doing the same thing this time around, although it may come to a repair install.

Any help would be great... even if I can get SpyBot working at least it's something before I go over and run BART.

 

[Bobbye]

Unless you can get something to run and provide a log or 2, we aren't going to be able to help. Have you tried to run any of the other programs in the preliminary virus and malware removal thread HERE? Even running in Safe Mode might provide some information and assistance.

Personally, I'm not aware of any malware that disables the sound. Advise check in the Device Manager for possible driver problems. Also, check the Event Viewer for Errors.

 

[EXCellR8]

Safe mode yields the same results... pretty much any antivirus or antispy software just won't run or exits shortly after i launch it. He has a lousy version of AVG which doesn't seem to be doing much of anything but I don't want to uninstall it because of the trend with AV software. CCleaner works and I used it to clean the registry but that didn't help at all and HJT wouldn't even run. Trend Micro Housecall did a quick scan and found 2 trojans but i don't think removing those did anything either.

Device Manager shows a driver error for one audio device but i installed a sound card and installed the drivers for that, which isn't working either - still says no audio device and I know the card works. I've looked in services and everything that's enabled/disabled seems correct. I have a USB audio device i am going to try when I'm over there again so hopefully that works.

 

[Broni]

The best option would be, if he can sign up here, so we can deal with him directly.

 

[LookinAround]

In addition to BartPE tools... I never tried it but recall (and found the thread (here)where WinXPert provides info about building a portable Avira app.

And re: Device Driver errors.. I think Device Manager might complain about no audio drivers installed or about driver related problems but i don't think it would say "no audio device". In any case, you can also see what Windows reports about problem devices

• Make sure all your devices are connected and powered on
• Click Start->Run, enter: msinfo32. Click the + sign next to Components to expand it
• Click Problem Devices. Anything appear?
• If yes, you can also copy/paste the info if you want to report the device detail info back here

In any case, sounds like malware somehow involved (since no anti-malware will run).

 

[EXCellR8]

Unfortunately he's much too busy to sit down and try to get it sorted out himself, or else I would just have him do that. The redirect thing also makes it a pain to go online and get help so I just figured I'd ask some people on here and get back to him when I can, probably next week. He has no problem waiting but if I could come up with something in the mean time it would only help. I have a better understanding of what's going on with the computer anyways...

Thanks, I have bootable Avast disk and i tried the msinfo thing earlier with no success, everything seems fine.

 

[Broni]

Can you ask him to run couple of things, or you rather be there?

 

[EXCellR8]

I guess I can ask him to run some stuff if he's home. We already spend like 2 hours trying to figure it out earlier when I installed his new power supply. I didn't think to bring my BART disks with me though which could have potentially saved us the headache. It's not a huge deal but i guess he's been without sound for months; just doesn't have the time to sit down and try to fix it.

 

[Broni]

Personally, I think, we're dealing with two issues here.
It looks like his computer is infected, but as Bobbye said, I've never heard of any malware affecting sound.

Ask him to do the following....

Please download and run the below tool named Rkill (courtesy of BleepingComputer.com) which may help allow other programs to run.

There are 4 different versions. If one of them won't run then download and try to run the other one.

Vista and Win7 users need to right click Rkill and choose Run as Administrator

You only need to get one of these to run, not all of them. You may get warnings from your antivirus about this tool, ignore them or shutdown your antivirus.

* Rkill.com
* Rkill.scr
* Rkill.pif
* Rkill.exe

* Double-click on the Rkill desktop icon to run the tool.
* If using Vista or Windows 7 right-click on it and choose Run As Administrator.
* A black DOS box will briefly flash and then disappear. This is normal and indicates the tool ran successfully.
* If not, delete the file, then download and use the one provided in Link 2.
* If it does not work, repeat the process and attempt to use one of the remaining links until the tool runs.
* Do not reboot until instructed.
* If the tool does not run from any of the links provided, please let me know.

Once you've gotten one of them to run then try to immediately run the following.

Now download and run exeHelper.

* Please download exeHelper from Raktor to your desktop.
* Double-click on exeHelper.com to run the fix.
* A black window should pop up, press any key to close once the fix is completed.
* A log file named log.txt will be created in the directory where you ran exeHelper.com
* Attach the log.txt file to your next message.[/LIST]

Note: If the window shows a message that says "Error deleting file", please re-run the program before posting a log - and post the two logs together (they will both be in the one file).

Download TDSSKiller and save it to your Desktop.
Extract its contents to your desktop and make sure TDSSKiller.exe (the contents of the zipped file) is on the Desktop itself, not within a folder on the desktop.
Go to Start > Run (Or you can hold down your Windows key and press R) and copy and paste the following into the text field. (make sure you include the quote marks) Then press OK.

"%userprofile%\Desktop\TDSSKiller.exe" -l C:\TDSSKiller.txt -v

If it says "Hidden service detected" DO NOT type anything in. Just press Enter on your keyboard to not do anything to the file.
When it is done, a log file should be created on your C: drive called TDSSKiller.txt please copy and paste the contents of that file here.


Please download ComboFix from Here or Here to your Desktop.

**Note: In the event you already have Combofix, this is a new version that I need you to download. It is important that it is saved directly to your desktop**

1. Please, never rename Combofix unless instructed.
2. Close any open browsers.
3. Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.
   • Very Important! Temporarily disable your anti-virus, script blocking and any anti-malware real-time protection before performing a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause "unpredictable results".
   • Click on this link to see a list of programs that should be disabled. The list is not all inclusive. If yours is not listed and you don't know how to disable it, please ask.
   NOTE1. If Combofix asks you to install Recovery Console, please allow it.
   NOTE 2. If Combofix asks you to update the program, always do so.
   • Close any open browsers.
   • WARNING: Combofix will disconnect your machine from the Internet as soon as it starts
   • Please do not attempt to re-connect your machine back to the Internet until Combofix has completely finished.
   • If there is no internet connection after running Combofix, then restart your computer to restore back your connection.
4. Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
5. When finished, it will produce a report for you.
6. Please post the "C:\ComboFix.txt" along with a new HijackThis log for further review.

**Note: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall**

Make sure, you re-enable your security programs, when you're done with Combofix.

DO NOT make any other changes to your computer (like installing programs, using other cleaning tools, etc.), until it's officially declared clean!!!


Download HijackThis:
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis/download
by clicking on Installer under Version 2.0.2
[DO NOT download version 2.0.3 (beta)]
Install, and run it.
Post HijackTHis log.
Do NOT attempt to fix anything!

NOTE. If you're using Vista, or 7, right click on HijackThis, and click Run as Administrator

 

[EXCellR8]

wow, thanks... that should be more than enough to keep him busy for now haha.

i will update the thread as soon as i learn of any progress. thanks again

 

[Broni]

Sure thing