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: 1,529,534 bytes
File Type: EXE
Initial Samples Received Date: 08 Mar 2015

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%\nsbD183.tmp
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\UAC.dll
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\version.dll
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons\install.ico
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons\wow_ico.ico
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\nsProcess.dll
  • %User Temp%\sqlite3.exe
  • %Application Data%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qleve0m6.default\searchplugins\search_engine.xml
  • %Application Data%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qleve0m6.default\searchplugins\wow_search_ff.ps1
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\nsExec.dll
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\nsD27F.tmp
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\System.dll
  • %User Temp%\nstD1D4.tmp\nsD27F.tmp

(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).. %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming 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%\nstD1D4.tmp
  • %Program Files%\wow search
  • %Program Files%\wow search\icons
  • %Application Data%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qleve0m6.default\searchplugins

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

Other System Modifications

This Adware adds the following registry entries as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SecurityUpdatesService
search_version = "1.0.10"

Other Details

This Adware does the following:

  • Executes the following commands:
    • powershell -inputformat none -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -File "wow_search_ff.ps1"