[surfnjosh]

hi, today my computer started to randomly open internet explorer BY IT SELF and search on google with keywords such as, 'best spyware remover', 'virus removers', 'anti-virus programs' ....etc

help would be much appreciated

[lunarlander]

I think you've been visited by a white hat hacker ( as opposed to a black hat hackers, which are bad guys) . He's trying to tell you that your PC is infected.

Well, do you have any antivrus and antispyware installed?

There are several online virus scanners available. Like ESET, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Trendmicro and Panda. Scan with all of them, as antivirus programs are not perfect and each will only detect a subset of viruses.

[dvk01]

lunarlander, I think that is a less than helpful reply. Any infiltration to a computer is a criminal offence & to say anybody is a white hat hacker who interferes with a computer is just plain wrong

surfnjosh
it sounds like your computer is infected
I have moved this to malware cleaning forum

please do this so we can see what might be causing it


Download to Desktop: DDS by sUBs from one of these locations:

http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/dds.com
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/dds.scr
http://www.forospyware.com/sUBs/dds

double click DDS.scr to run

When complete, DDS.txt will open.

Click Yes for Optional Scan.
Save both reports to your desktop.
DDS.txt
Attach.txt

Attach the contents of both logs back here.

[surfnjosh]

i have attached the 'attach' and 'DDS' file in this reply. thanks for the help so far

[dvk01]

ok I can see the problem

Delete any existing version of ComboFix you have sitting on your desktop

Please read and follow all these instructions very carefully

Download ComboFix from Here or Hereto your Desktop.

**Note: It is important that it is saved directly to your desktop and run from the desktop and not any other folder on your computer**
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.

• Very Important! Temporarily disable your anti-virus and anti-malware real-time protection and any script blocking components of them or your firewall before performing a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause "unpredictable results" or stop combofix running at all
• Click on THIS LINK to see instructions on how to temporarily disable many security programs while running combofix. The list does not cover every program. If yours is not listed and you don't know how to disable it, please ask.
• Remember to re enable the protection again after combofix has finished

--------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Close any open browsers and any other programs you might have running

Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts.

If you are using windows XP It might display a pop up saying that "Recovery console is not installed, do you want to install?"
Please select yes & let it download the files it needs to do this
When finished, it will produce a report for you.
Please post the "C:\ComboFix.txt" for further review


****Note: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall or freeze ****

Note: ComboFix may reset a number of Internet Explorer's settings, including making it the default browser.
Note: Combofix prevents autorun of ALL CDs, floppies and USB devices to assist with malware removal & increase security. If this is an issue or makes it difficult for you -- please tell us when you reply. Read HERE why we disable autoruns

Please do not install any new programs or update anything (always allow your antivirus/antispyware to update) unless told to do so while we are fixing your problem. If combofix alerts to a new version and offers to update, please let it. It is essential we always use the latest version.

Please tell us if it has cured the problems or if there are any outstanding issues

[surfnjosh]

the Combofix seems to have cured the problem and my computer is back up to speed! i have attached the logfile below. Thanks for the help!

[dvk01]

you also have koobface worm that is very likely to have been got from your use of P2P

Download the attached CFScript.txt and save it to your desktop ( click on the link underneath this post & if you are using internet explorer when the "File download" pop up comes press SAVE and choose desktop in the list of selections in that window & press save)
Disable any antivirus/antimalware/firewall realtime protection or script blocking in the same way you did previously before running combofix & remember to re-enable it when it has finished
Close any open browsers
Then drag the CFScript.txt into the ComboFix.exe as shown in the screenshot below.







This will start ComboFix again. It may ask to reboot. Post the contents of Combofix.txt in your next reply


Note: these instructions and script were created specifically for this user. If you are not this user, do NOT follow these instructions or use this script as it could damage the workings of your system and will not fix your problem. If you have a similar problem start your own topic in the malware fixing forum

This will create a zip file inside C:\QooBox\quarantine named something like [38]-Submit_2008-01-17@17.50.zip

at the end it will pop up an alert & open your browser and ask you to send the zip file

please follow those instructions. We need to see the zip file before we can carry on with the fix

If there is no pop up alert or open browser then

please go to http://www.thespykiller.co.uk/index.php?board=1.0 and upload these files so I can examine them and if needed distribute them to antivirus companies.
Just press new topic, fill in the needed details and just give a link to your post here & then press the browse button and then navigate to & select the files on your computer, If there is more than 1 file then press the more attachments button for each extra file and browse and select etc and then when all the files are listed in the windows press send to upload the files ( do not post HJT logs there as they will not get dealt with)

Files to submit:
the zip file inside C:\QooBox\quarantine created by combofix named something like [38]-Submit_2008-01-17@17.50.zip

or to
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/subm...php?channel=38

[surfnjosh]

so..i have run combo fix with the file and have uploaded the file similar to [38]-Submit_2008-01-17@17.50.zip to http://thespykiller.co.uk/index.php/...3.new.html#new.
i have also attached the log file in this reply which was created when combo fix finished.

[dvk01]

I think we got it all now but with this worm, it can be diificult to tell so

* Run Kaspersky online virus scan Kaspersky Online Scanner.

After the updates have downloaded, click on the "Scan Settings" button.
select the (b)"Spyware, Adware, Dialers and other potentially dangerous programs" for the scan.
Under "Please select a target to scan", click "My Computer".
When the scan is finished, Save the results from the scan!

Note: Kavscan is a scanner only & won't fix anything but will normally find the most infected files so it's report gives us a good place to work from

If that won't run then
Run an online antivirus check from one of the following sites

http://www.eset.com/online-scanner
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

report back what was found

[surfnjosh]

i ran the online scan and found many problems. the report is attached. im almost 100% certain that the worm gained access through the use of facebook when i was using it the other day.

[dvk01]

most of what it found was in combofix quarantine except for the original infection which was a crack to downlaod nero free

You need to learn that stealing programs will have an adverse affect and will infect you

The worm wuld have come as aresult of clicking on a link in facebook or an email saying see my profile or similar

The items found in outlook can't be fixed by us but they normally will be in an infected email. so make sure no emails are in inbox & empty deleted items folder to cure those
*Follow these steps to uninstall Combofix and the other tools it downloaded to remove the malware*
* Click START then RUN
* Now type Combofix /Uninstall in the runbox and click OK. Note the space between the X and the /U, it needs to be there.


This will also purge the restore folder and clear any malware that has been put in there. Now Empty Recycle bin on desktop Then reboot.

go here http://www.thespykiller.co.uk/index.php?page=3 for info on how to tighten your security settings and how to help prevent future attacks.

and scan here http://secunia.com/software_inspector/ for out of date & vulnerable common applications on your computer and update whatever it suggests

Then pay an urgent visit to windows update & make sure you are fully updated, that will help to plug the security holes that let these pests on in the first place
then delete C:\Documents and Settings\Phil\My Documents\Downloads\Nero 10 Multimedia Suite 10.0.13200 Full Activated.rar which was the file that caused the infection

then

[surfnjosh]

ok well i typed in combofix /uninstall on run... but it popped up with an error message saying
'windows cannot find 'combofix'. make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

[dvk01]

use this uninstall command instaead

paste this line into the run box instead

"c:\documents and settings\Phil\Desktop\ComboFix.exe" /uninstall

[surfnjosh]

ok that did the trick. thanks for all of the help.