Analysis by: Alvin John Nieto
ALIASES:

HTML/Agent.AG trojan (ESET), Trojan.JS.Agent.cdc (Kaspersky), JS/Agent.AR (AVG)

 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:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This worm arrives via removable drives. It 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: Varies
File Type: HTA
Memory Resident: Yes
Initial Samples Received Date: 17 Mar 2014

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It 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 worm drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %User Profile%\PrintHood\EPSON LX300+.hta

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

Autostart Technique

This worm drops the following file(s) in the Windows User Startup folder to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

  • EPSON LX300+.lnk
  • {random application name}.lnk

Propagation

This worm drops the following copy(ies) of itself in all removable drives:

  • {Removable Drives}:\{existing directories}\desktop.ini.hta

NOTES:
This worm adds the following component in all removable drives.

  • {Removable Drives}:\{random}.mpg.lnk

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.700
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 10.670.07
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 17 Mar 2014

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

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

Step 3

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.  
  • %User Startup%\EPSON LX300+.lnk
  • %User Startup%\{random application name}.lnk
  • %User Profile%\PrintHood\EPSON LX300+.hta
  • {Removable Drives}:\{random}.mpg.lnk
  • {Removable Drives}:\{existing directories}\desktop.ini.hta

Step 4

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as WORM_HTACOPY.A. 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.


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