Spyware infection

[IanC]

Hi

I picked up a spyware infection on my PC last week, the main symptoms of which are:

1. PC running slow
2. Unrequested Internet Explorer windows and popups opening up
3. My AV software (Symantec Corporate Edition) picking up various trojans, downloaders etc., which I don't normally get

I've run through all the stages in your preliminary malware/spyware removal instructions. The various anti-spyware applications seemed to pick up a lot of suspicious items, which I've removed.

PC seems to be running quicker now, but I'm still getting some popups, and the AV software is still picking up intermittent attacks.

I've posted the suggested logs with this message. AVG Antirootkit didn't find anything. Does HijackThis indicate that I need to do anything else?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Ian

 

[momok]

Hi,

Your system is horribly infected with a variety of malware.

Please follow these instructions carefully.

1. Download The Avenger by Swandog46 from HERE. Save it to your Desktop and extract it.

2. Download the attached avengerscript.txt (from my attachment) and save it to your desktop

Note: the above code was created specifically for this user. If you are not this user, do NOT follow these directions as they could damage the workings of your system.

3. Now, start The Avenger program by double clicking on its icon on your desktop.

Under "Script file to execute" choose "Load script from file".
Now click on the folder icon which will open a new window titled "open Script File"
navigate to the file you have just downloaded, click on it and press open
Now click on the Green Light to begin execution of the script
Answer "Yes" twice when prompted.

4. The Avenger will automatically do the following:

It will Restart your computer. ( In cases where the code to execute contains "Drivers to Unload", The Avenger will actually restart your system twice.)
On reboot, it will briefly open a black command window on your desktop, this is normal.
After the restart, it creates a log file that should open with the results of Avenger’s actions. This log file will be located at C:\avenger.txt
The Avenger will also have backed up all the files, etc., that you asked it to delete, and will have zipped them and moved the zip archives to C:\avenger\backup.zip.

5. Please attach the content of c:\avenger.txt into your reply, as well as a fresh HJT and ComboFix log.


Regards,
Your friendly Momok =)

This thread is for the use of IanC only. Please don't post your own virus/spyware problems in this thread. Instead, open a new thread in our security and the web forum.

 

[IanC]

Hey Momok

Thanks for your help. I followed your instructions, but unfortunately when it got to the black command box there were some error messages (in the box) which zipped by before I had a chance to make a note of them. Then when the Notepad opened it couldn't find the file (i.e. the file hadn't been created).

I also got a system error message, headed Run DLL, which stated "Error loading c:\windows\system32\shdgxfuw.dll".

What next?

Ian

 

[IanC]

I don't know if it helps but I ran through the instructions again, and here is what came up in the black command box:
----------
The system cannot find the file specified.
Could not find c:\avenger\*.reg
The system cannot find the file specified
1 file(s) copied
‘zip’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file
A duplicate file name exists, or the file cannot be found
Could not find z:\zip.exe
Could not find z:\avexport.bat
Could not find z:\reboot.exe
Could not find z:\reboot.bat
---------

'My documents' on my PC is mapped to z:\ on the network.

Ian

 

[Tom Mask]

Either:
1) your computer doesn't have any malware on it, and the program was confused by this.
2) your computer DOES have an extremely bad case of malware (so bad it's able to avoid your avenger program).
3) the download of the avenger program got screwed.

Suggestions:

1) Try downloading the avenger program again
2) Download and use Firefox as a web browser to get rid of pop-ups.
3) Keep doing daily checks on your malware/spyware/virus protector.
4) Stop going to those sites that give you viruses!

 

[IanC]

Tom

Thanks for your suggestions. I know I can use Firefox, and I have virus protection in place, but I'd prefer to resolve the problem rather than just work around it, in case there are any further knock-on effects. The site that apparently caused the infection was not anything dodgy, just a directory of IT resources for charities.

I've tried downloading Avenger again, as suggested, but it still isn't working. When I run the file now it says the zip file can't be created, and presumably this is the cause of the error messages that occur later in the process.

Ian

 

[momok]

Hi,

Do you have a problem unzipping the file? Or does the error occur when you run the program? Have you tried extracting the file to another folder other than Z drive? It appears that avenger works only in C:\

Please let me know how it goes. Thanks.


Regards,
Your friendly Momok =)

This thread is for the use of IanC only. Please don't post your own virus/spyware problems in this thread. Instead, open a new thread in our security and the web forum.