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TROJ_FAKEAV.MNE

July 17, 2013
 Analysis by: Adrian Cofreros
 ALIASES:

Rogue:Win32/Winwebsec(Microsoft),Trojan.Win32.FakeAV.rndj(Kaspersky),Mal/FakeAV-OY(Sophos)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW


This Trojan arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

499,712 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

10 Jun 2013

Arrival Details

This Trojan arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Installation

This Trojan drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random file name}.exe

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the All Users or Common profile folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista and 7.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}
  • %Start Menu%\Programs\System Care Antivirus

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the All Users or Common profile folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista and 7.. %Start Menu% is the current user's Start Menu folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Start Menu or C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu on Windows Vista and 7.)

Autostart Technique

This Trojan adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
{random} = "%All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random file name}.exe"

Other System Modifications

This Trojan adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Installer\Products\{random key}

It adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Installer\Products\{random key}
Default = "1"

Dropping Routine

This Trojan drops the following files:

  • %Desktop%\System Care Antivirus.lnk
  • %Start Menu%\Programs\System Care Antivirus\System Care Antivirus.lnk
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random file name}
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random file name}.ico

(Note: %Desktop% is the current user's desktop, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{User Name}\Desktop on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\Desktop on Windows Vista and 7.. %Start Menu% is the current user's Start Menu folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Start Menu or C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu on Windows Vista and 7.. %All Users Profile% is the All Users or Common profile folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista and 7.)

Other Details

This Trojan connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}ysafe.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}ersec.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}rs.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}ter.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}ketpay.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}unit.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}esoft.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}oint.com

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.300

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

9.972.04

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

10 Jun 2013

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

9.973.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

11 Jun 2013

Step 1

Before doing any scans, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 2

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product and note files detected as TROJ_FAKEAV.MNE

Step 3

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

Step 4

Delete this registry key

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this step only if you know how or you can ask assistance from your system administrator. Else, check this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry. Before you could do this, you must restart in Safe Mode. For instructions on how to do this, you may refer to this page If the preceding step requires you to restart in safe mode, you may proceed to edit the system registry.

  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Products
    • {random key}

Step 5

Delete this registry value

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this step only if you know how or you can ask assistance from your system administrator. Else, check this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry.

  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
    • {random} = "%All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random file name}.exe"

Step 6

Search and delete this folder

[ Learn More ]
Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the More advanced options option to include all hidden folders in the search result.
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}
  • %Start Menu%\Programs\System Care Antivirus

Step 7

Search and delete these files

[ Learn More ]
There may be some files that are hidden. Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the "More advanced options" option to include all hidden files and folders in the search result.
  • %Desktop%\System Care Antivirus.lnk

Step 8

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as TROJ_FAKEAV.MNE. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check this Knowledge Base page for more information.

Step 9

The following created registry key(s) cannot be identified by the user since there are no reference values in the created key. The only way it can be identified is by comparing the present keys with a backup of the system registry. Note that the said key(s) do not have to be deleted since it won't be harmful to the system:

  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Products
    • {random key}


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