HijackThis Tutorial - How to use HijackThis to remove Browser Hijackers & SpywareBy Lawrence Abrams on March 25, 2004 | Last Updated: June 12, 2012 | Read 2,065,633 times.
This tutorial is also available in Spanish. Table of Contents
Warning
If you do not have advanced knowledge about computers you should NOT fix entries using HijackThis without consulting an expert on using this program. If you have already run Spybot - S&D and Ad-Aware and are still having problems, then please continue with this tutorial and post a HijackThis log in our HijackThis forum, including details about your problem, and we will advise you on what to fix.
There are two prevalent tutorials about HijackThis on the Internet currently, but neither of them explain what each of the sections actually mean in a way that a layman can understand. This tutorial, in addition, to showing how to use HijackThis, will also go into detail about each of the sections and what they actually mean. There is no reason why you should not understand what it is you are fixing when people examine your logs and tell you what to do. If you would like to first read a tutorial on how to use Spybot, you can click here: How to use Spybot - Search and Destroy Tutorial With that said, lets move on to the tutorial on how to use it. If you want to see normal sizes of the screen shots you can click on them. Keep in mind, that a new window will open up when you do so, so if you have pop-up blockers it may stop the image window from opening.
The first step is to download HijackThis to your computer in a location that you know where to find it again. HijackThis can be downloaded from the following link: HijackThis Download Link If you have downloaded the standalone application, then simply double-click on the HijackThis.exe file and then click here to skip to the part where the program has started. Otherwise, if you downloaded the installer, navigate to the location where it was saved and double-click on the HiJackThis.msi file in order to start the installation of HijackThis. When the install starts, click on the Install button to have HijackThis installed into the C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis folder, create a desktop shortcut that can be used to run the program when you need to, and to automatically launch HijackThis for the first time.
You should now see a screen similar to the figure below:
We suggest you put a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Do not show this windows when I start HijackThis, designated by the blue arrow above, as most instructions you will given will not account for this screen. After you have put a checkmark in that checkbox, click on the None of the above, just start the program button, designated by the red arrow in the figure above. You will then be presented with the main HijackThis screen as seen in Figure 2 below.
You should first click on the Config button, which is designated by the blue arrow in Figure 2, and confirm that your settings match those found in Figure 3 below. The options that should be checked are designated by the red arrow.
When you are done setting these options, press the back key and continue with the rest of the tutorial. To have HijackThis scan your computer for possible Hijackers, click on the Scan button designated by the red arrow in Figure 2. You will then be presented with a screen listing all the items found by the program as seen in Figure 4.
At this point, you will have a listing of all items found by HijackThis. If what you see seems confusing and daunting to you, then click on the Save Log button, designated by the red arrow, and save the log to your computer somewhere you will remember later. To open up the log and paste it into a forum, like ours, you should following these steps:
If you would like to see information about any of the objects listed, you can click once on a listing, and then press the "Info on selected item..." button. This will bring up a screen similar to Figure 5 below:
When you are done looking at the information for the various listings, and you feel that you are knowledgeable enough to continue, look through the listings and select the items you would like to remove by placing checkmarks in the checkboxes next to each listing as shown in Figure 6. At the end of the document we have included some basic ways to interpret the information in these log files. By no means is this information extensive enough to cover all decisions, but should help you determine what is legitimate or not.
Once you have selected the items you would like to remove, press the Fix Checked button, designated by the blue arrow, in Figure 6. HijackThis will then prompt you to confirm if you would like to remove those items. Press Yes or No depending on your choice. How to restore items mistakenly deleted HijackThis comes with a backup and restore procedure in the event that you erroneously remove an entry that is actually legitimate. If you have configured HijackThis as was shown in this tutorial, then you should be able to restore entries that you have previously deleted. If you have had your HijackThis program running from a temporary directory, then the restore procedure will not work. If the configuration setting Make backups before fixing items is checked, HijackThis will make a backup of any entries that you fix in a directory called backups that resides in the same location as Hijackthis.exe. If you start HijackThis and click on Config, and then the Backup button you will be presented with a screen like Figure 7 below. You will have a listing of all the items that you had fixed previously and have the option of restoring them. Once you restore an item that is listed in this screen, upon scanning again with HijackThis, the entries will show up again.
Once you are finished restoring those items that were mistakenly fixed, you can close the program.
In order to do this go into the Config option when you start HijackThis, which is designated by the blue arrow in Figure 2, and then click on the Misc Tools button at the top. You should see a screen similar to Figure 8 below.
You will then click on the button labeled Generate StartupList Log which is is designated by the red arrow in Figure 8. Once you click that button, the program will automatically open up a notepad filled with the Startup items from your computer. Copy and paste these entries into a message and submit it. Hopefully with either your knowledge or help from others you will have cleaned up your computer. If you would like to learn more detailed information about what exactly each section in a scan log means, then continue reading.
How to use the Process Manager HijackThis has a built in process manager that can be used to end processes as well as see what DLLs are loaded in that process. To access the process manager, you should click on the Config button and then click on the Misc Tools button. You should now see a new screen with one of the buttons being Open Process Manager. If you click on that button you will see a new screen similar to Figure 9 below.
This window will list all open processes running on your machine. You can then click once on a process to select it, and then click on the Kill Process button designated by the red arrow in Figure 9 above. This will attempt to end the process running on the computer. If you would like to terminate multiple processes at the same time, press and hold down the control key on your keyboard. While that key is pressed, click once on each process that you want to be terminated. As long as you hold down the control button while selecting the additional processes, you will be able to select multiple processes at one time. When you have selected all the processes you would like to terminate you would then press the Kill Process button. If you would like to see what DLLs are loaded in a selected process, you can put a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Show DLLs, designated by the blue arrow in the figure above. This will split the process screen into two sections. The first section will list the processes like before, but now when you click on a particular process, the bottom section will list the DLLs loaded in that process. To exit the process manager you need to click on the back button twice which will place you at the main screen.
How to use the Hosts File Manager HijackThis also has a rudimentary Hosts file manager. With this manager you can view your hosts file and delete lines in the file or toggle lines on or off. To access the Hosts file manager, you should click on the Config button and then click on the Misc Tools button. You should now see a new screen with one of the buttons being Hosts File Manager. If you click on that button you will see a new screen similar to Figure 10 below.
This window will list the contents of your HOSTS file. To delete a line in your hosts file you would click on a line like the one designated by the blue arrow in Figure 10 above. This will select that line of text. Then you can either delete the line, by clicking on the Delete line(s) button, or toggle the line on or off, by clicking on the Toggle line(s) button. It is possible to select multiple lines at once using the shift and control keys or dragging your mouse over the lines you would like to interact with. If you delete the lines, those lines will be deleted from your HOSTS file. If you toggle the lines, HijackThis will add a # sign in front of the line. This will comment out the line so that it will not be used by Windows. If you are unsure as to what to do, it is always safe to Toggle the line so that a # appears before it. To exit the Hosts file manager you need to click on the back button twice which will place you at the main screen.
At times you may find a file that stubbornly refuses to be deleted by conventional means. HijackThis introduced, in version 1.98.2, a method to have Windows delete the file as it boots up, before the file has the chance to load. To do this follow these steps:
There is a particular infection called Home Search Assistant or CWS_NS3 that will sometimes use a file called an Alternate Data Stream File to infect your computer. These files can not be seen or deleted using normal methods. ADS Spy was designed to help in removing these types of files. For those who are interested, you can learn more about Alternate Data Streams and the Home Search Assistant by reading the following articles: Windows Alternate Data Streams [Tutorial Link] Home Search Assistant Analysis [Tutorial Link]
Press the Scan button and the program will start to scan your Windows folder for any files that are Alternate Data Streams. If it finds any, it will display them similar to figure 12 below.
To remove one of the displayed ADS files, simply place a checkmark next to its entry and click on the Remove selected button. This will remove the ADS file from your computer. When you are done, press the Back button next to the Remove selected until you are at the main HijackThis screen.
The Uninstall Manager allows you to manage the entries found in your control panel's Add/Remove Programs list. When cleaning malware from a machine entries in the Add/Remove Programs list invariably get left behind. Many users understandably like to have a clean Add/Remove Programs list and have difficulty removing these errant entries. Using the Uninstall Manager you can remove these entries from your uninstall list. To access the Uninstall Manager you would do the following:
You will now be presented with a screen similar to the one below:
To delete an entry simply click on the entry you would like to remove and then click on the Delete this entry button. If you want to change the program this entry is associated with you can click on the Edit uninstall command button and enter the path to the program that should be run if you double-click on that entry in the Add/Remove Programs list. This last function should only be used if you know what you are doing. If you are asked to save this list and post it so someone can examine it and advise you as to what you should remove, you can click on the Save list... button and specify where you would like to save this file. When you press Save button a notepad will open with the contents of that file. Simply copy and paste the contents of that notepad into a reply in the topic you are getting help in. How to interpret the scan listings
Every line on the Scan List for HijackThis starts with a section name. Below is a list of these section names and their explanations. You can click on a section name to bring you to the appropriate section.
It is important to note that certain sections use an internal white list so that HijackThis will not show known legitimate files. To disable this white list you can start hijackthis in this method instead: hijackthis.exe /ihatewhitelists. In our explanations of each section we will try to explain in layman terms what they mean. We will also tell you what registry keys they usually use and/or files that they use. Finally we will give you recommendations on what to do with the entries.
R0 is for Internet Explorers starting page and search assistant. R1 is for Internet Explorers Search functions and other characteristics. R2 is not used currently. R3 is for a Url Search Hook. An Url Search Hook is used when you type an address in the location field of the browser, but do not include a protocol such as http:// or ftp:// in the address. When you enter such an address, the browser will attempt to figure out the correct protocol on its own, and if it fails to do so, will use the UrlSearchHook listed in the R3 section to try to find the location you entered.
A common question is what does it mean when the word Obfuscated is next to one of these entries. When something is obfuscated that means that it is being made difficult to perceive or understand. In Spyware terms that means the Spyware or Hijacker is hiding an entry it made by converting the values into some other form that it understands easily, but humans would have trouble recognizing, such as adding entries into the registry in Hexadecimal. This is just another method of hiding its presence and making it difficult to be removed. If you do not recognize the web site that either R0 and R1 are pointing to, and you want to change it, then you can have HijackThis safely fix these, as they will not be detrimental to your Internet Explorer install. If you would like to see what sites they are, you can go to the site, and if it's a lot of popups and links, you can almost always delete it. It is important to note that if an RO/R1 points to a file, and you fix the entry with HijackThis, Hijackthis will not delete that particular file and you will have to do it manually. There are certain R3 entries that end with a underscore ( _ ) . An example of what one would look like is: R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497}_ - (no file) Notice the CLSID, the numbers between the { }, have a _ at the end of it and they may sometimes difficult to remove with HijackThis. To fix this you will need to delete the particular registry entry manually by going to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\URLSearchHooks Then delete the CLSID entry under it that you would like to remove. Please leave the CLSID , CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497, as it is the valid default one. Unless you recognize the software being used as the UrlSearchHook, you should generally Google it and after doing some research, allow HijackThis to fix it
A F0 entry corresponds to the Shell= statement, under the [Boot] section, of the System.ini file. The Shell= statement in the system.ini file is used to designate what program would act as the shell for the operating system.
The Shell is the program that would load your desktop, handle window management, and allow the user to interact with the system. Any program listed after the shell statement will be loaded when Windows starts, and act as the default shell. There were some programs that acted as valid shell replacements, but they are generally no longer used. Windows 95, 98, and ME all used Explorer.exe as their shell by default. Windows 3.X used Progman.exe as its shell. It is also possible to list other programs that will launch as Windows loads in the same Shell = line, such as Shell=explorer.exe badprogram.exe. This line will make both programs start when Windows loads. A F1 entry corresponds to the Run= or Load= entry in the win.ini file. Like the system.ini file, the win.ini file is typically only used in Windows ME and below.
Any programs listed after the run= or load= will load when Windows starts. This run= statement was used during the Windows 3.1, 95, and 98 years and is kept for backwards compatibility with older programs. Most modern programs do not use this ini setting, and if you do not use older program you can rightfully be suspicious. The load= statement was used to load drivers for your hardware. On Windows NT based systems (Windows 2000, XP, etc) HijackThis will show the entries found in win.ini and system.ini, but Windows NT based systems will not execute the files listed there. F2 and F3 entries correspond to the equivalent locations as F0 and F1, but they are instead stored in the registry for Windows versions XP, 2000, and NT. These versions of Windows do not use the system.ini and win.ini files. Instead for backwards compatibility they use a function called IniFileMapping. IniFileMapping, puts all of the contents of an .ini file in the registry, with keys for each line found in the .ini key stored there. Then when you run a program that normally reads their settings from an .ini file, it will first check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping for an .ini mapping, and if found will read the settings from there instead. You can see that these entries, in the examples below, are referring to the registry as it will contain REG and then the .ini file which IniFileMapping is referring to. F2 entries are displayed when there is a value that is not whitelisted, or considered safe, in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon under the values Shell and Userinit.
The Shell registry value is equivalent to the function of the Shell= in the system.ini file as described above. The Userinit value specifies what program should be launched right after a user logs into Windows. The default program for this key is C:\windows\system32\userinit.exe. Userinit.exe is a program that restores your profile, fonts, colors, etc for your username. It is possible to add further programs that will launch from this key by separating the programs with a comma. For example: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit =C:\windows\system32\userinit.exe,c:\windows\badprogram.exe. This will make both programs launch when you log in and is a common place for trojans, hijackers, and spyware to launch from. It should be noted that the Userinit and the Shell F2 entries will not show in HijackThis unless there is a non-whitelisted value listed. F3 entries are displayed when there is a value that is not whitelisted in the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows under the values load and run. These entries are the Windows NT equivalent of those found in the F1 entries as described above.
For F0 if you see a statement like Shell=Explorer.exe something.exe, then you can generally delete it, but you should first consult Google and the sites listed below. For F1 entries you should google the entries found here to determine if they are legitimate programs. You can also search at the sites below for the entry to see what it does. For F2, if you see UserInit=userinit.exe, with or without nddeagnt.exe, as in the above example, then you can leave that entry alone. If you see UserInit=userinit.exe (notice no comma) that is still ok, so you should leave it alone. If you see another entry with userinit.exe, then that could potentially be a trojan or other malware. The same goes for F2 Shell=; if you see explorer.exe by itself, it should be fine, if you don't, as in the above example listing, then it could be a potential trojan or malware. You can generally delete these entries, but you should consult Google and the sites listed below. Please be aware that when these entries are fixed HijackThis does not delete the file associated with it. You must manually delete these files. Site to use for research on these entries:
Bleeping Computer Startup Database
These entries are stored in the prefs.js files stored in different places under the C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application Data folder. Netscape 4's entries are stored in the prefs.js file in the program directory which is generally, DriveLetter:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\default\prefs.js. N1 corresponds to the Netscape 4's Startup Page and default search page. N2 corresponds to the Netscape 6's Startup Page and default search page. N3 corresponds to Netscape 7' Startup Page and default search page. N4 corresponds to Mozilla's Startup Page and default search page. Files Used: prefs.js As most spyware and hijackers tend to target Internet Explorer these are usually safe. If you see web sites listed in here that you have not set, you can use HijackThis to fix it. There is one known site that does change these settings, and that is Lop.com which is discussed here.
The hosts file contains mappings for hostnames to IP addresses.For example, if I enter in my host file: 127.0.0.1 www.bleepingcomputer.com and you try to go to www.bleepingcomputer.com, it will check the hosts file, see the entry and convert that to the IP address of 127.0.0.1 instead of its correct address. Host file redirection is when a hijacker changes your hosts file to redirect your attempts to reach a certain web site to another site. So if someone added an entry like: 127.0.0.1 www.google.com and you tried to go to www.google.com, you would instead get redirected to 127.0.0.1 which is your own computer.
Files Used: The hosts file is a text file that can be edited by any text editor and is stored by default in the following places for each Operating System, unless you chose to install to different paths -
The location of the Hosts file can be changed by modifying the Registry key below for Windows NT/2000/XP. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\: DatabasePath If you see entries like the above example, and they are not their for a specific reason that you know about, you can safely remove them. If you see an entry Hosts file is located at C:\Windows\Help\hosts, that means you are infected with the CoolWebSearch. If the Hosts file is located in a location that is not the default for your operating system, see table above, then you should have HijackThis fix this as it is most likely caused by an infection. You can also download the program HostsXpert which gives you the ability to restore the default host file back onto your machine. To do so, download the HostsXpert program and run it. When it opens, click on the Restore Original Hosts button and then exit HostsXpert.
Browser helper objects are plugins to your browser that extend the functionality of it. They can be used by spyware as well as legitimate programs such as Google Toolbar and Adobe Acrobat Reader. You must do your research when deciding whether or not to remove any of these as some may be legitimate. Registry Keys: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects
There is an excellent list of known CSLIDs associated with Browser Helper Objects and Toolbars, compiled by Tony Klein, here: CLSID List . When consulting the list, using the CLSID which is the number between the curly brackets in the listing. The CLSID in the listing refer to registry entries that contain information about the Browser Helper Objects or Toolbars. When you fix these types of entries with HijackThis, HijackThis will attempt to the delete the offending file listed. There are times that the file may be in use even if Internet Explorer is shut down. If the file still exists after you fix it with HijackThis, it is recommended that you reboot into safe mode and delete the offending file.
These are the toolbars that are underneath your navigation bar and menu in Internet Explorer. Registry Keys: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar
There is an excellent list of known CSLIDs associated with Browser Helper Objects and Toolbars, compiled by Tony Klein, here: CLSID List . When consulting the list, using the CLSID which is the number between the curly brackets in the listing. The CLSID in the listing refer to registry entries that contain information about the Browser Helper Objects or Toolbars.
As of HijackThis version 2.0, HijackThis will also list entries for other users that are actively logged into a computer at the time of the scan by reading the information from the HKEY_USERS registry key. If a user is not logged on at the time of the scan, their user key will not be loaded, and therefore HijackThis will not list their autoruns. When working on HijackThis logs it is not advised to use HijackThis to fix entries in a person's log when the user has multiple accounts logged in. We advise this because the other user's processes may conflict with the fixes we are having the user run. The current locations that O4 entries are listed from are: Directory Locations:
Startup Registry Keys: O4 entries that utilize registry keys will start with the abbreviated registry key in the entry listing. Examples and their descriptions can be seen below. For all of the keys below, if the key is located under HKCU, then that means the program will only be launched when that particular user logs on to the computer. If the entry is located under HKLM, then the program will be launched for all users that log on to the computer. Note: In the listing below, HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKCU stands for HKEY_CURRENT_USER. The Run keys are used to launch a program automatically when a user, or all users, logs on to the machine.
The RunOnce keys are used to launch a service or background process whenever a user, or all users, logs on to the computer. Once the program is successfully launched for the first time its entry will be removed from the Registry so it does not run again on subsequent logons.
The RunServices keys are used to launch a service or background process whenever a user, or all users, logs on to the computer.
The RunServicesOnce keys are used to launch a service or background process whenever a user, or all users, logs on to the computer. Unlike the RunServices keys, when a program is launched from the RunServicesOnce key its entry will be removed from the Registry so it does not run again on subsequent logons.
The RunOnceEx keys are used to launch a program once and then remove itself from the Registry. This particular key is typically used by installation or update programs.
The Policies\Explorer\Run keys are used by network administrator's to set a group policy settings that has a program automatically launch when a user, or all users, logs on to the computer. Under the Policies\Explorer\Run key are a series of values, which have a program name as their data. When a user, or all users, logs on to the computer each of the values under the Run key is executed and the corresponding programs are launched.
A complete listing of other startup locations that are not necessarily included in HijackThis can be found here : Windows Program Automatic Startup Locations A sample of the type of O4 listings that you can see in HijackThis can be seen below:
Looking at the examples above, we see 5 different startup entries, with 2 of them being for users who are logged on in the background. If an entry starts with a long series of numbers and contains a username surrounded by parenthesis at the end, then this is a O4 entry for a user logged on in the background. Let's break down the examples one by one.
Now that we know how to interpret the entries, let's learn how to fix them. When you fix O4 entries, Hijackthis will not delete the files associated with the entry. Instead, you must delete these manually afterwards, usually by having the user first reboot into safe mode. The Global Startup and Startup entries work a little differently. HijackThis will delete the shortcuts found in these entries, but not the file they are pointing to. If an actual executable resides in the Global Startup or Startup directories then the offending file WILL be deleted. When examining O4 entries and trying to determine what they are for you should consult one of the following lists:
Bleeping Computer Startup Database
It is possible to disable the seeing of a control in the Control Panel by adding an entry into the file called control.ini which is stored, for Windows XP at least, in c:\windows\control.ini. From within that file you can specify which specific control panels should not be visible. Files User: control.ini
If you see a line like above then that may be a sign that a piece of software is trying to make it difficult for you to change your settings. Unless it is there for a specific known reason, like the administrator set that policy or Spybot - S&D put the restriction in place, you can have HijackThis fix it.
Registry Key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions
These options should only appear if your administrator set them on purpose or if you used Spybots Home Page and Option Lock down features in the Mode -> Advanced Mode -> Tools -> IE Tweaks section.
Registry Key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Please note that many Administrators at offices lock this down on purpose so having HijackThis fix this may be a breach of corporate policy. If you are the Administrator and it has been enabled without your permission, then have HijackThis fix it.
Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt
Each O8 entry will be a menu option that is shown when you right-click on Internet Explorer. The program shown in the entry will be what is launched when you actually select this menu option. Certain ones, like "Browser Pal" should always be removed, and the rest should be researched using Google. An example of a legitimate program that you may find here is the Google Toolbar. When you fix these types of entries, HijackThis does not delete the file listed in the entry. If you need to remove this file, it is recommended that you reboot into safe mode and delete the file there.
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions registry key.
If you do not need these buttons or menu items or recognize them as malware, you can remove them safely. When you fix these types of entries, HijackThis will not delete the offending file listed. It is recommended that you reboot into safe mode and delete the offending file.
LSPs are a way to chain a piece of software to your Winsock 2 implementation on your computer. Since the LSPs are chained together, when Winsock is used, the data is also transported through each of the LSPs in the chain. Spyware and Hijackers can use LSPs to see all traffic being transported over your Internet connection. You should use extreme caution when deleting these objects if it is removed without properly fixing the gap in the chain, you can have loss of Internet access.
Many Virus Scanners are starting to scan for Viruses, Trojans, etc at the Winsock level. The problem is that many tend to not recreate the LSPs in the right order after deleting the offending LSP. This can cause HijackThis to see a problem and issue a warning, which may be similar to the example above, even though the Internet is indeed still working. You should therefore seek advice from an experienced user when fixing these errors. It is also advised that you use LSPFix, see link below, to fix these. Spybot can generally fix these but make sure you get the latest version as the older ones had problems. There is a tool designed for this type of issue that would probably be better to use, called LSPFix. For a great list of LSP and whether or not they are valid you can visit SystemLookup's LSP List Page.
If you look in your Internet Options for Internet Explorer you will see an Advanced Options tab. It is possible to add an entry under a registry key so that a new group would appear there. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AdvancedOptions
According to Merijn, of HijackThis, there is only one known Hijacker that uses this and it is CommonName. If you see CommonName in the listing you can safely remove it. If it is another entry, you should Google to do some research.
Internet Explorer Plugins are pieces of software that get loaded when Internet Explorer starts to add functionality to the browser. There are many legitimate plugins available such as PDF viewing and non-standard image viewers. Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\internet explorer\plugins
Most plugins are legitimate, so you should definitely Google the ones you do not recognize before you delete them. One known plugin that you should delete is the Onflow plugin that has the extension of .OFB.
The default prefix is a setting on Windows that specifies how URLs that you enter without a preceding, http://, ftp://, etc are handled. By default Windows will attach a http:// to the beginning, as that is the default Windows Prefix. It is possible to change this to a default prefix of your choice by editing the registry. The Hijacker known as CoolWebSearch does this by changing the default prefix to a http://ehttp.cc/?. That means when you connect to a url, such as www.google.com, you will actually be going to http://ehttp.cc/?www.google.com, which is actually the web site for CoolWebSearch. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\URL\DefaultPrefix\
If you are experiencing problems similar to the one in the example above, you should run CWShredder. This program is used to remove all the known varieties of CoolWebSearch that may be on your machine. You can read a tutorial on how to use CWShredder here: How to remove CoolWebSearch with CoolWeb Shredder If CWShredder does not find and fix the problem, you should always let HijackThis fix this entry when it is found.
There is a file on your computer that Internet Explorer uses when you reset options back to their Windows default. That file is stored in c:\windows\inf\iereset.inf and contains all the default settings that will be used. When you reset a setting, it will read that file and change the particular setting to what is stated in the file. If a Hijacker changes the information in that file, then you will get re infected when you reset that setting, as it will read the incorrect information from the iereset.inf file.
Please be aware that it is possible for this setting to have been legitimately changed by a Computer Manufacturer or the Administrator of machine. If you do not recognize the address, then you should have it fixed.
Trusted Zone Internet Explorer's security is based upon a set of zones. Each zone has different security in terms of what scripts and applications can be run from a site that is in that zone. There is a security zone called the Trusted Zone. This zone has the lowest security and allows scripts and applications from sites in this zone to run without your knowledge. It is therefore a popular setting for malware sites to use so that future infections can be easily done on your computer without your knowledge as these sites will be in the Trusted Zone..
Adding an IP address works a bit differently. Under the SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Ranges key you may find other keys called Ranges1, Ranges2, Ranges3, Ranges4,... Each of these subkeys correspond to a particular security zone/protocol. If you add an IP address to a security zone, Windows will create a subkey starting with Ranges1 and designate that subkey as the one that will contain all IP addresses of a particular security zone for a particular protocol. For example, if you added http://192.168.1.1 as a trusted sites, Windows would create the first available Ranges key (Ranges1) and add a value of http=2. Any future trusted http:// IP addresses will be added to the Range1 key. Now if you added an IP address to the Restricted sites using the http protocol (ie. http://192.16.1.10), Windows would create another key in sequential order, called Range2. This would have a value of http=4 and any future IP addresses added to the restricted sites will be placed in that key. This continues on for each protocol and security zone setting combination.
If you ever see any domains or IP addresses listed here you should generally remove it unless it is a recognizable URL such as one your company uses. The most common listing you will find here are free.aol.com which you can have fixed if you want. I personally remove all entries from the Trusted Zone as they are ultimately unnecessary to be there. When you use IE to connect to a site, the security permissions that are granted to that site are determined by the Zone it is in. There are 5 zones with each being associated with a specific identifying number. These zones with their associated numbers are:
For example, if you connect to a site using the http:// it will be part of the Internet zone by default. This is because the default zone for http is 3 which corresponds to the Internet zone. The problem arises if a malware changes the default zone type of a particular protocol. For example, if a malware has changed the default zone for the HTTP protocol to 2, then any site you connect to using http will now be considered part of the Trusted zone. As of now there are no known malware that causes this, but we may see differently now that HJT is enumerating this key.
If the default settings are changed you will see a HJT entry similar to the one below:
To fix these settings so they are back to their defaults simply fix the HJT entry.
ActiveX objects are programs that are downloaded from web sites and are stored on your computer. When Internet Explorer is started, these programs will be loaded as well to provide extra functionality. These objects are stored in C:\windows\Downloaded Program Files. They are also referenced in the registry by their CLSID which is the long string of numbers between the curly braces. To find a listing of all of the installed ActiveX component's CLSIDs, you can look under the HEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code Store Database\Distribution Units\ Windows Registry key. There are many legitimate ActiveX controls such as the one in the example which is an iPix viewer.
If you see names or addresses that you do not recognize, you should Google them to see if they are legitimate or not. If you feel they are not, you can have them fixed. By deleting most ActiveX objects from your computer, you will not have a problem as you can download them again. Be aware that there are some company applications that do use ActiveX objects so be careful. You should always delete 016 entries that have words like sex, porn, dialer, free, casino, adult, etc. There is a program called SpywareBlaster that has a large database of malicious ActiveX objects. You can download that and search through it's database for known ActiveX objects. A tutorial on using SpywareBlaster can be found here:
Using SpywareBlaster to protect your computer from Spyware, Hijackers, and Malware.
When you go to a web site using an hostname, like www.bleepingcomputer.com, instead of an IP address, your computer uses a DNS server to resolve the hostname into an IP address like 192.168.1.0. Domain hacks are when the Hijacker changes the DNS servers on your machine to point to their own server, where they can direct you to any site they want. By adding google.com to their DNS server, they can make it so that when you go to www.google.com, they redirect you to a site of their choice.
If you see entries for this and do not recognize the domain as belonging to your ISP or company, and the DNS servers do not belong to your ISP or company, then you should have HijackThis fix it. You can go to Arin to do a whois a on the DNS server IP addresses to determine what company they belong to.
This method is used by changing the standard protocol drivers that your computer users to ones that the Hijacker provides. This allows the Hijacker to take control of certain ways your computer sends and receives information.
HijackThis first reads the Protocols section of the registry for non-standard protocols. When it finds one it queries the CLSID listed there for the information as to its file path.
Common offenders to this are CoolWebSearch, Related Links, and Lop.com. If you see these you can have HijackThis fix it. Use google to see if the files are legitimate. You can also use SystemLookup.com to help verify files. It is important to note that fixing these entries does not seem to delete either the Registry entry or the file associated with it. You should have the user reboot into safe mode and manually delete the offending file.
A style sheet is a template for how page layouts, colors, and fonts are viewed from an html page. This type of hijacking overwrites the default style sheet which was developed for handicapped users, and causes large amounts of popups and potential slowdowns. Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Styles\: User Stylesheets
You can generally remove these unless you have actually set up a style sheet for your use.
The AppInit_DLLs registry value contains a list of dlls that will be loaded when user32.dll is loaded. As most Windows executables use the user32.dll, that means that any DLL that is listed in the AppInit_DLLs registry key will be loaded also. This makes it very difficult to remove the DLL as it will be loaded within multiple processes, some of which can not be stopped without causing system instability. The user32.dll file is also used by processes that are automatically started by the system when you log on. This means that the files loaded in the AppInit_DLLs value will be loaded very early in the Windows startup routine allowing the DLL to hide itself or protect itself before we have access to the system. This method is known to be used by a CoolWebSearch variant and can only be seen in Regedit by right-clicking on the value, and selecting Modify binary data. Registrar Lite, on the other hand, has an easier time seeing this DLL. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\\AppInit_DLLs
There are very few legitimate programs that use this Registry key, but you should proceed with caution when deleting files that are listed here. Use our Bleeping Computer Startup Database or SystemLookup.com to help verify files. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
When you fix this entry it will remove the key from the registry but leave the file. You must then manually delete this file
This Registry contains values in a similar way as the Run key does. The difference is that instead of pointing to the file itself, it points to the CLSID's InProcServer, which contains the information about the particular DLL file that is being used. The files under this key are loaded automatically by Explorer.exe when your computer starts. Because Explorer.exe is the shell for your computer, it will always start, thus always loading the files under this key. These files are therefore loaded early in the startup process before any human intervention occurs. A hijacker that uses the method can be recognized by the following entries:
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellServiceObjectDelayLoad
HijackThis uses an internal white list to not show common legitimate entries under this key. If you do see a listing for this, then it is not a standard one and should be considered suspicious. Use our Bleeping Computer Startup Database or SystemLookup.com to help verify files.
The entries in this registry run automatically when you start windows. This key is commonly used by SmitFraud variants to display fake security alerts and to download rogue anti-spyware programs. Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SharedTaskScheduler
Be carefully when removing items listed in these keys as some are legitimate. Your can use google to see if you can determine if it is a valid. Use our Bleeping Computer Startup Database or SystemLookup.com to help verify files. Hijackthis will delete the SharedTaskScheduler value associated with this entry, but will not delete the CLSID that it points to and the file that the CSLID's Inprocserver32 points to. Therefore you should always have the user reboot into safe mode and manually delete this file.
Services are programs that are loaded automatically by Windows on startup. These services are loaded regardless of whether or not a user logs on to the the computer and tend to be used to handle system wide tasks such as Windows operating system features, antivirus software, or application servers. Lately there has been an increased trend for malware to use services to infect a computer. It is therefore important to examine each of the services listed for ones that do not look correct. Common malware services you may find are Home Search Assistant and the new Bargain Buddy variant. Examples of lines associated with those infections can be found below. The majority of the Microsoft services have been added to the white list so they will not be listed. If you would like to see these services you can start HijackThis with the /ihatewhitelists flag. Legitimate Service Example:
Home Search Assistant Example:
Bargain Buddy Examples:
There are three methods you can use to delete the service key:
This section corresponds to Windows Active Desktop Components. Active Desktop Components are local or remote html files that are embedded directly onto your desktop as a background. Infections use this method to embed messages, pictures, or web pages directly on to a users desktop. Common examples of infections that use this method are the SmitFraud family of rogue anti-spyware programs. These infections use Active Desktop Components to display fake security warnings as the background of a user's desktop. Other infections that use this method can be found at the following links: The registry key associated with Active Desktop Components is: Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\Components Each specific component is then listed as a numeric subkey of the above Key starting with the number 0. For example:
Example listings of Desktop Component entries used by SmitFraud variants are:
As it is possible someone has purposely configured an Active Desktop Component, if you see one that is unfamiliar it is advised that you ask the user if they purposely added it. When fixing these entries, HijackThis will only remove the Desktop Component in the registry. The actual HTML file being referenced, though, will not be deleted. Therefore, if the component is malware related you should manually delete this file.
Also if you would like more information on removing malware using HijackThis and other antispyware tools you can join the Bleeping Computer HijackThis Trainee program. For admittance please send a message using this this link.
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Named Anchor Tags: For those who have requested named anchor tags so they can link directly to different locations in this document, they are listed below.
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