Analysis by: Kiyoshi Obuchi
 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Adware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This Adware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites. It may be manually installed by a user.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 2,032,503 bytes
File Type: EXE
Initial Samples Received Date: 29 Jun 2014

Arrival Details

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

It may be manually installed by a user.

Installation

This Adware drops the following files:

  • %User Temp%\nsaE97E.tmp
  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp
  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp\UAC.dll
  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp\version.dll
  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp\System.dll
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons\install.ico
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons\wow_ico.ico
  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp\nsProcess.dll
  • %User Temp%\sqlite3.exe
  • %User Temp%\result.txt
  • %AppDataLocal%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Web Data_backup
  • %AppDataLocal%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Web Data-journal
  • %AppDataLocal%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Preferences_backup

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Server 2003, and XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit), 7 (32-bit), and 8 (32-bit), or C:\Program Files (x86) in Windows XP (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), 7 (64-bit), and 8 (64-bit).. %AppDataLocal% is the Local Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

It drops and executes the following files:

  • %User Temp%\PrefJsonCpp.exe

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %User Temp%\nsmE9D9.tmp
  • %Program Files%\wow search
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Server 2003, and XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit), 7 (32-bit), and 8 (32-bit), or C:\Program Files (x86) in Windows XP (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), 7 (64-bit), and 8 (64-bit).)

Other System Modifications

This Adware also creates the following registry entry(ies) as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SecurityUpdatesService
search_version = "1.0.11"