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Clicking on Explorer creates a shortcut

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mmenarry

mmenarry

MIS
Joined
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Odd one this. May not be a virus.

I did a repair install of XP (SP2 CD) in order to clean up a few things. Install went fine, set to download updates. All updated, no problems reported.

Next day, my GF ran my PC to do a few things, and got hit by numerous pop-ups. Machine runs with ZoneAlarm, AVG (auto-updated every morning), and AdAware.

Desktop is covered in 50+ shortcuts to IE, all of which point to the desktop (not to suspiscious sites, or even sites at all - just the Desktop)

MSN & Yahoo messanger are now missing from the PC, which sparks the paranoid tingling.

Unplug machine from broadband connection. Used my laptop to d/l Stinger, copied to CD & ran it on the machine. No problems found. Update Adaware & AVG, run full scans with both. No problems found.

The problem: Double Clicking on the IE icon on the Destop creates a shortcut to the desktop, with the IE symbol. Double-clicking on these shortcuts repeats the generation of another shortcut. Clicking on the IE in the task bar opens IE normally.

I had "upgraded" to IE7 a couple of months ago, could this be part of the problem (bearing in mind the repair install)?
I haven't repeated the "upgrade", and it's using IE6 again.

There appears to be no obvious virus symptoms, but as MSN is now "gone", I *am* suspicious.

TIA,

M.
 
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I would suggest you post this i the XP forum as it sounds like something somewhere has went wrong in Xp's plumbing?

Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars
 
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That's what I initially thought.

However, this "double clicking creating a shortcut" *only* happens for IE.

Combined with MSN going missing, I suspect it *may* be an MSN exploit that occurred.

M.
 
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We had a poster with something like this before and we didn't have a cue what it was that was replicating all the short cuts!

try posting in the IE browser forum!

you cna post a hijack this log and see if there is anything odd showing up!


Download hijack this from the link below.Please do this. Click here:


to download HijackThis. Click scan and save a logfile, then post it here so
we can take a look at it for you. Don't click fix on anything in hijack this
as most of the files are legitimate.


Try running a few of these scans to kae sure you are clean!




Download AVG Anti-Spyware



* Once you have downloaded AVG Anti-spyware, locate the icon on the desktop and double-click it to launch the set up program.
* Once the setup is complete you will need run AVG and update the definition files.
* On the main screen select the icon "Update" then select the "Update now" link.
* Next select the "Start Update" button, the update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.
* Once the update has completed select the "Scanner" icon at the top of the screen, then select the "Settings" tab.
* Once in the Settings screen click on "Recommended actions" and then select "Delete"
* Under "Reports"
* Select "Automatically generate report after every scan"
* Un-Select "Only if threats were found"


Close AVG Anti-Spyware. Anti-spyware, Do NOT run a scan yet. We will do that later in safe mode.



* Click here to download ATF Cleaner by Atribune and save it to your desktop.



* Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
* Under Main choose: Select All
* Click the Empty Selected button.
o If you use Firefox:
+ Click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
+ Click the Empty Selected button.
+ NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
o If you use Opera:
+ Click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
+ Click the Empty Selected button.
+ NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
* Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.


* Click here for info on how to boot to safe mode if you don't already know
how.



Run AVG Anti-Spyware!

# IMPORTANT: Do not open any other windows or programs while AVG is scanning as it may interfere with the scanning process:
# Launch AVG Anti-spyware by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.
# Select the "Scanner" icon at the top and then the "Scan" tab then click on "Complete System Scan".
# AVG will now begin the scanning process. Be patient this may take a little time.
Once the scan is complete do the following:
# If you have any infections you will prompted, then select "Apply all actions"
# Next select the "Reports" icon at the top.
# Select the "Save report as" button in the lower left hand of the screen and save it to a text file on your system (make sure to remember where you saved that file, this is important).
# Close AVG and reboot your system back into Normal Mode.





* Download Dr.Web CureIt to the desktop:
ftp://ftp.drweb.com/pub/drweb/cureit/drweb-cureit.exe

* Doubleclick the drweb-cureit.exe file and Allow to run the express scan
* This will scan the files currently running in memory and when something is found,
click the yes button when it asks you if you want to cure it. This is only a short scan.
* Once the short scan has finished, Click Options > Change settings
* Choose the "Scan"-tab, remove the mark at "Heuristic analysis".
* Back at the main window, mark the drives that you want to scan.
* Select all drives. A red dot shows which drives have been chosen.
* Click the green arrow at the right, and the scan will start.
* Click 'Yes to all' if it asks if you want to cure/move the file.
* When the scan has finished, look if you can click next icon next to the files found: IPB Image
* If so, click it and then click the next icon right below and select Move incurable as you'll see in next image:
IPB Image
This will move it to the %userprofile%\DoctorWeb\quarantaine-folder if it can't be cured. (this in case if we need samples)
* After selecting, in the Dr.Web CureIt menu on top, click file and choose save report list
* Save the report to your desktop. The report will be called DrWeb.csv
* Close Dr.Web Cureit.
* Reboot your computer!! Because it could be possible that files in use will be moved/deleted during reboot.
* After reboot, post the contents of the log from Dr.Web you saved previously in your next reply together with a new Hijackthislog and the log from SDfix.


Why not try Opera and firefox browsers, they are actually safer and have many more features thean IE!






Another good and free browser is Opera!



post a hijack this, dr web, and the Avg scan log?



Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars
 
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I did a search under a few different keywords, couldn't find anything in any of the fora.

I'll do a concerted effort to clean up the PC of anything oddball this evening, and then do a HT scan.

It *may* turn out to be a combination of things. If it does prove awkward, I can just format the drives. I have backups of anything I need on DVD anyway.

M.
 
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Update:
The IE icon creating the shortcuts was IE6, the one in the startup menu was IE7. This explains the glitch creating the shortcuts. This glitch may become more prevalent with time, as people move over to IE7 from installs with IE6 native.

Updated definitions in AVG, AdAware did not detect anything still, so I ran a scan using Trend Micro's "housecall". PC was full of FunWeb and various variants thereof (adware/malware) - 300+ instances (230 alone of FunWeb itself). Explains all the pop-ups.

System is due a reformat & reinstall anyway, so I *may* just do that rather than disinfect (housecall hung trying to do it).

I will try some of the other cleaners out there, seee how they get on with the infection, just for curiosity's sake. Will still be reformatting in the near future anyhoo.

Thanks folks!

M.
 
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ok!

Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars
 
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#Hijack this log, following cleaning:
Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 22:43:42, on 15/02/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft LifeCam\MSCamS32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\SBAudigy2\Surround Mixer\CTSysVol.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\SBAudigy2\DVDAudio\CTDVDDet.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTHELPER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\E_S10IC1.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ezSP_Px.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
C:\WINDOWS\vVX6000.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe
C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\avgas.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {855F3B16-6D32-4fe6-8A56-BBB695989046} - (no file)
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: HelperObject Class - {00C6482D-C502-44C8-8409-FCE54AD9C208} - C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 7\SnagItBHO.dll
O2 - BHO: Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4EFB-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_06\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: SnagIt - {8FF5E183-ABDE-46EB-B09E-D2AAB95CABE3} - C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 7\SnagItIEAddin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {E0E899AB-F487-11D5-8D29-0050BA6940E3} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATIPTA] C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTSysVol] C:\Program Files\Creative\SBAudigy2\Surround Mixer\CTSysVol.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTDVDDet] C:\Program Files\Creative\SBAudigy2\DVDAudio\CTDVDDet.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTHelper] CTHELPER.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdReg] C:\WINDOWS\UpdReg.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTStartup] "C:\Program Files\Creative\Splash Screen\CTEaxSpl.EXE" /run
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [EPSON Stylus C42 Series] C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\E_S10IC1.EXE /P23 "EPSON Stylus C42 Series" /O6 "USB001" /M "Stylus C42"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PRONoMgr.exe] C:\Program Files\Intel\NCS\PROSet\PRONoMgr.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ezShieldProtector for Px] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ezSP_Px.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Zone Labs Client] "C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [VX6000] C:\WINDOWS\vVX6000.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe /STARTUP
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [!AVG Anti-Spyware] "C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\avgas.exe" /minimized
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [msnmsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [VoipDiscount] "C:\Program Files\VoipDiscount.com\VoipDiscount\VoipDiscount.exe" -nosplash -minimized
O8 - Extra context menu item: &ICQ Toolbar Search - res://C:\Program Files\ICQToolbar\toolbaru.dll/SEARCH.HTML
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - %windir%\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe (file missing)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - %windir%\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe (file missing)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe (file missing)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe (file missing)
O11 - Options group: [INTERNATIONAL] International*
O16 - DPF: {04E214E5-63AF-4236-83C6-A7ADCBF9BD02} (HouseCall Control) - O16 - DPF: {0F9B4CA4-A30F-480A-841D-69B45C50A8F8} - O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - O16 - DPF: {215B8138-A3CF-44C5-803F-8226143CFC0A} (Trend Micro ActiveX Scan Agent 6.6) - O16 - DPF: {2BC66F54-93A8-11D3-BEB6-00105AA9B6AE} (Symantec AntiVirus scanner) - O16 - DPF: {30528230-99f7-4bb4-88d8-fa1d4f56a2ab} (YInstStarter Class) - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Common\yinsthelper.dll
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - O16 - DPF: {644E432F-49D3-41A1-8DD5-E099162EEEC5} (Symantec RuFSI Utility Class) - O16 - DPF: {74D05D43-3236-11D4-BDCD-00C04F9A3B61} (HouseCall Control) - O16 - DPF: {7F8C8173-AD80-4807-AA75-5672F22B4582} (ICSScanner Class) - O16 - DPF: {8714912E-380D-11D5-B8AA-00D0B78F3D48} (Yahoo! Webcam Upload Wrapper) - O16 - DPF: {9B03C5F1-F5AB-47EE-937D-A8EDA626F876} (Anonymizer Anti-Spyware Scanner) - O16 - DPF: {B38870E4-7ECB-40DA-8C6A-595F0A5519FF} (MsnMessengerSetupDownloadControl Class) - O16 - DPF: {CE69F98F-2AF3-4306-BAC6-A79070EDA1B4} (Zylom Loader Object) - O20 - Winlogon Notify: WgaLogon - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WgaLogon.dll
O23 - Service: Adobe LM Service - Adobe Systems - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe Systems Shared\Service\Adobelmsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2sgag.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Anti-Spyware Guard - Anti-Malware Development a.s. - C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: Intel NCS NetService (NetSvc) - Intel(R) Corporation - C:\Program Files\Intel\NCS\Sync\NetSvc.exe
O23 - Service: PACSPTISVR - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\AVLib\PACSPTISVR.exe
O23 - Service: Sony SPTI Service (SPTISRV) - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\AVLib\SPTISRV.exe
O23 - Service: TrueVector Internet Monitor (vsmon) - Zone Labs, LLC - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
 
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Do you know what this entry is?


C:\WINDOWS\vVX6000.exe


fix these with hijack this!

R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {855F3B16-6D32-4fe6-8A56-BBB695989046} - (no file)
O16 - DPF: {04E214E5-63AF-4236-83C6-A7ADCBF9BD02} (HouseCall Control) -
Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars
 
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vVX6000.exe
Part of the microsoft "LifeCam" webcam software. Its OK.

O16 - DPF: {04E214E5-63AF-4236-83C6-A7ADCBF9BD02} (HouseCall Control) -
I'm assuming that the above is the ActiveX control loaded by Trend Micro for their housecall service, which I ran an online scan with.

M.
 
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yip it is!

Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars
 
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