BleepingComputer.com: Yet another Windows Vista Restore attack

Thanks for mentioning desktop.ini. I will not make any changes now, but will wait for your notice that I can fix that.

As to the Start Menu "Recent Programs" -- your link did the trick. Even though I had visited that link from a previous Reply, I had missed setting the number of Programs to include on the list. It was set to 0!! So naturally, nothing was showing up. It is working now.

I did run another HiJack This, to remove several of the "O4" applications listed as automatically starting. I appreciate your suggestion there, too.

In summary, at this point it seems that the system is closer and closer to being "clean". (As I said earlier, I still have to re-create most of my personal Start Menu items; but that was my fault for clearing out the Temp folder before I knew otherwise. I'll just take that task on bit by bit.)

You asked for the results of an ESET scan, and they now follow. As you can see, no threats were found! (I did stop the scan after it finished with the C: drive. I have another 3TB of HDD on my system, and didn't think it needed to go through all of that.) Thank you again for all your advice (and patience!!)

-------------------------------------------

ESETSmartInstaller@High as CAB hook log:
OnlineScanner.ocx - registred OK
# version=7
# iexplore.exe=8.00.6001.18702 (longhorn_ie8_rtm(wmbla).090308-0339)
# OnlineScanner.ocx=1.0.0.6427
# api_version=3.0.2
# EOSSerial=76a30ab732a38d4f8c16db6d4253d0ff
# end=stopped
# remove_checked=false
# archives_checked=true
# unwanted_checked=true
# unsafe_checked=true
# antistealth_checked=true
# utc_time=2011-06-27 10:45:35
# local_time=2011-06-27 06:45:35 (-0500, Eastern Daylight Time)
# country="United States"
# lang=1033
# osver=6.0.6002 NT Service Pack 2
# compatibility_mode=512 16777215 100 0 0 0 0 0
# compatibility_mode=5892 16776574 100 100 25411173 145819252 0 0
# compatibility_mode=8192 67108863 100 0 0 0 0 0
# scanned=120766
# found=0
# cleaned=0
# scan_time=3011

Very well done!! This is my general post for when your logs show no more signs of malware - Please let me know if you still are having problems with your computer and what these problems are.


The following procedure will implement some cleanup procedures. It will also reset your System Restore by flushing out previous restore points and create a new restore point. It will also remove all the backups our tools may have made.

Any programs and logs that are left over you can just be deleted from the desktop. TFC is a free temp file cleaner that is very easy to use, I would keep this and use before you do any scans or when you want to free up some space.

:DeFogger:

To re-enable your Emulation drivers, double click DeFogger to run the tool.

• The application window will appear
  
• Click the Re-enable button to re-enable your CD Emulation drivers
  
• Click Yes to continue
  
• A 'Finished!' message will appear
  
• Click OK
  
• DeFogger will now ask to reboot the machine - click OK

Your Emulation drivers are now re-enabled.

:Uninstall ComboFix:

• turn off all active protection software
  
• push the "windows key" + "R" (between the "Ctrl" button and "Alt" Button)
  
• please copy and past the following into the box ComboFix /Uninstall and click OK.
  
• Note the space between the X and the /Uninstall, it needs to be there.
  
• 

:remove tools:

Please download OTCleanIt and save it to desktop. This tool will remove all the tools we used to clean your pc.

• Double-click OTCleanIt.exe.
  
• Click the CleanUp! button.
  
• Select Yes when the "Begin cleanup Process?" prompt appears.
  
• If you are prompted to Reboot during the cleanup, select Yes.
  
• The tool will delete itself once it finishes, if not delete it by yourself.
  
• If asked to restart the computer, please do so

Note: If you receive a warning from your firewall or other security programs regarding OTCleanIt attempting to contact the internet, please allow it to do so.


:Make your Internet Explorer more secure:

• From within Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then click on Options.
  
• Click once on the Security tab
  
• Click once on the Internet icon so it becomes highlighted.
  
• Click once on the Custom Level button.
  
• Change the Download signed ActiveX controls to Prompt
  
• Change the Download unsigned ActiveX controls to Disable
  
• Change the Initialise and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe to Disable
  
• Change the Installation of desktop items to Prompt
  
• Change the Launching programs and files in an IFRAME to Prompt
  
• When all these settings have been made, click on the OK button.
  
• If it prompts you as to whether or not you want to save the settings, press the Yes button.
  Next press the Apply button and then the OK to exit the Internet Properties page.

:Make Firefox more secure:

please visit this page to explain how to make Firefox more secure - How to Secure Firefox

Make sure your applications have all of their updates

It is also possible for other programs on your computer to have security vulnerability that can allow malware to infect you. Therefore, it is also a good idea to check for the latest versions of commonly installed applications that are regularly patched to fix vulnerabilities. You can check these by visiting Secunia Software Inspector


:Turn On Automatic Updates:

Turn On Automatic Updates
1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then press ENTER.
2. Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click to select one of the following options. We recommend that you select the Automatic (recommended) Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them

If you click this setting, click to select the day and time for scheduled updates to occur. You can schedule Automatic Updates for any time of day. Remember, your computer must be on at the scheduled time for updates to be installed. After you set this option, Windows recognizes when you are online and uses your Internet connection to find updates on the Windows Update Web site or on the Microsoft Update Web site that apply to your computer. Updates are downloaded automatically in the background, and you are not notified or interrupted during this process. An icon appears in the notification area of your taskbar when the updates are being downloaded. You can point to the icon to view the download status. To pause or to resume the download, right-click the icon, and then click Pause or Resume. When the download is completed, another message appears in the notification area so that you can review the updates that are scheduled for installation. If you choose not to install at that time, Windows starts the installation on your set schedule.

or visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly. This will ensure your computer has always the latest security updates available installed on your computer. If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site until there are no more critical updates.

:antispyware programs:

I would reccomend the download and installation of some or all of the following programs (all free), and the updating of them regularly:

• WinPatrol As a robust security monitor, WinPatrol will alert you to hijackings, malware attacks and critical changes made to your computer without your permission. WinPatrol takes snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you to any changes that may occur without your knowledge.
  
  
• Spyware Blaster - By altering your registry, this program stops harmful sites from installing things like ActiveX Controls on your machines.
  
  
• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a new and powerful anti-malware tool. It is
  totally free but for real-time protection you will have to pay a small one-time fee. We used this to help clean your computer and recomend keeping it and using often.

Here is some great reading about how to be safer online:

PC Safety and Security - What Do I Need? from my friends at Tech Support Forum
and
COMPUTER SECURITY - a short guide to staying safer online from my friends at Malware Removal

I'd be grateful if you could reply to this post so that I know you have read it and, if you've no other questions, the thread can then be closed.

I Will Keep This Open For About Three Days, If Anything Comes Up - Just Come Back And Let Me Know, after that time you will have to send me a PM

My help is free, however, if you wish to make a small donation to show your appreciation or to help me continue the fight against Malware, then click here --><-- Don't worry every little bit helps.

Gringo

It appears that this issue is resolved, therefore I am closing the topic. If that is not the case and you need or wish to continue with this topic, please send me or any Moderator a Personal Message (PM) that you would like this topic re-opened.

I apologize... I missed the fact that this had gone over to a second page. So for the last 3 days, I thought that there'd been no replies.

Yes, I would agree with you that things look pretty "clean" now. So all I was waiting on was how to "reset" some of my system configuration, to clean up after all of the debugging. But now that I got to the second page of replies, I see that you've done just that!

The main thing I wanted to make sure of was in regard to those desktop.ini files that keep popping up all over -- including in the Start menu. Will one of these steps address that? Or is there something else I have to do? Every time I boot, I see one or two Notepad windows open on my desktop, showing a 'desktop.ini' file. That's the last main thing I'd like to get rid of.

I also wanted you to know that I did make a small PayPal donation. It's not much; but I wanted to say "Thanks again" for your terrific responses. And another huge apology for missing the last few replies!!

Sorry -- one more question. Your list mentions "DeFogger", but not where to download it. I don't recall that we used that tool in our debugging process. How do I get a copy of that?

what does the notepad say when they open during start up?


Please disable the Show Hidden Files and Folders option like this:

• Click Start. Open My Computer.
  
• Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
  
• Select the View Tab. Under the Hidden files and folders heading select ... "Do not show hidden files and folders".
  
• Check the Hide protected operating system files (recommended) option.
  
• Click Apply to set. Click OK.

.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. You asked what the Notepad said when the 'desktop.ini' file from my Startup folder was opened each time I booted. It is:

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21787

I will make the changes to the Folder Options, and see if that takes care of it.

Unfortunately, it turns out that those *were* the settings already in place. So something is creating these desktop.ini files (in many other folders, too); and the one in the Startup folder gets opened every time I boot. I've tried deleting it -- but it just gets re-created!

Any other ideas?

Hello

read this and use the fixit button - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330132


gringo

Thanks for the link. When I went to that KB article, though, it told me right at the top of the page that it didn't apply to my Operating System (Vista). I read through the article, though -- and even clicked on the FixIt link -- but once again it said that it couldn't complete the Fix, because I had the wrong OS.

But I read through it, and saw what it was trying to do. (Because it wasn't for Vista, it was still referring to the Start Menu as being under the C:\Documents and Settings folder, while in Vista, it's under the C:\Users folder.) So I went to the C:\Users folder, and basically applied everything they said. I removed *every* desktop.ini file that I found there -- knowing that I may even be "undoing" some valid files. But I just wanted to get rid of this.

I rebooted -- and the file was still there on my Desktop!! Then I tried something I should have tried earlier -- I did a "Save As" in Notepad, because I could then see where it *wanted* to save the file, meaning where it had originally come from.

And to my surprise, it didn't come from anywhere in C:\Users at all. It came from C:\ProgramData!! And just BTW, that's where this last malware infection had "installed", as well. So I don't know if it's related. But based on that, I then did a Search through the entire C:\ProgramData folder, and found many more desktop.ini files, almost all in a Start Menu folder under C:\ProgramData. I looked them through, and decided that there was nothing there that, if I deleted it, would be disastrous -- maybe just require some later configuration.

So I removed *every* desktop.ini file under the Start Menu folder within C:\ProgramData. And when I rebooted -- NO MORE DESKTOP.INI OPENING!


As a result, however, I have one or two questions. One (which I realize you can't answer) is: how/when/why did it get created? But the bigger question is: WHAT THE HECK IS C:\ProgramData??? I'm not familiar with it at all. And, as I say, that's where the Windows Vista Restore infection "lodged" itself. The actual hierarchy in that folder was:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

Now, I understand how the system Default Start Menu, and the user-specific Start Menu work -- at least, the ones under the C:\Users folder. But I never knew there was yet ANOTHER Start Menu under C:\ProgramData. Where does that come from? Why is it there? Who creates/maintains it? (And maybe I should also ask: How many OTHER folders does Windows Vista look at for its Start Menu?!?!?! I only knew about Default and the specific <username>.

I'll keep an eye on this, to see if that desktop.ini file gets re-created again. I hope not. But any information you can provide on the C:\ProgramData folder would be appreciated.

If that's legitimate, however, then we're probably done at this point. If there's ANYTHING suspicious about this C:\ProgramData folder, though, I want to follow up on it -- only because, as I say, that's where the original malware infection .EXE files got installed.

Thanks in advance. Have a great weekend.

It appears that this issue is resolved, therefore I am closing the topic. If that is not the case and you need or wish to continue with this topic, please send me or any Moderator a Personal Message (PM) that you would like this topic re-opened.

It appears that this issue is resolved, therefore I am closing the topic. If that is not the case and you need or wish to continue with this topic, please send me or any Moderator a Personal Message (PM) that you would like this topic re-opened.