Remove NetworkControl (Uninstall Guide)
Posted by Lawrence Abrams on August 4, 2010 @ 09:32 AM · Views: 5,012
What this infection does:
NetworkControl is a Trojan that ransoms the proper operation
of your computer until you purchase one of their recommended programs. This
ransomware is not an actual rogue as it does not install a fake anti-virus program
on your computer. Instead this Trojan pretends to be a Firewall, but in reality
is just a series of nag screens that block certain computer functions. This
Trojan is installed on your computer through two methods. The first method is
through fake online anti-malware scanners that state that your computer is infected
with a variety of infections. It will then prompt you to download and install
a program to protect yourself. The reality is that these online anti-malware
scanners are just an advertisement and have absolutely no way of knowing what
is running on your computer. The second method is through sites that utilize
exploits to automatically install NetworkControl onto your computer without
your permission or knowledge.
Regardless of how NetworkControl is installed on your computer, once installed
it will create the C:\NetworkControl folder and stores its
files there. Then it will configure NC.exe to launch automatically
when Windows starts. Once this program is started you will see constant nag
alerts stating that someone named Adam1 is making modifications to your computer
and asking if you wish to Block or Allow these modifications from hapenning.
Fake System Restore alert
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 9 images you can view.
While NetworkControl is running it will display a message and terminate programs
that you attempt to run. It does this to protect itself from being removed as
well as to make your computer unusable. The text of the alert you will see when
a program is terminated is:
System Notification
Running applications blocked by the administrator Adam1.
Network Control will also display a constant stream of nag screens that attempt
to make you think that an Administrator on your computer named Adam1 is making
modifications to Windows. The text of some of these alerts are:
System Restore
Critical System Notification
Remote administrator Adam1 has changed some system files of Windows
OS.
Checking will take several minutes.
Please do not turn off the computer - it can lead to system crash.
Remote login request
Don't allow access unless you clearly understand what you are doing.
Your computer received a remote login request by user: "Adam1" from
the IP <ip address>.
Deny or Allow
Remote query of terminating application
Don't allow access unless you clearly understand what you are doing.
Your computer has received a remote query from IP <ip address> of terminating
application.
Allow access or Deny Access
Remote software installation
Don't allow access unless you clearly understand what you are doing.
Your computer has received a request from the IP <ip address> to install
Zeus software.
Block Installation or Allow installation
Unable to find installed software
System was unable to find installed firewall software.
When you acknowledge these alerts it will state that there is no firewall software
on your computer and then open a Solution Center where they attempt to have
you purchase a program. The programs listed in this Solution Center are Advanced
Net Firewall, Shield EC, Personal Network
Protect, IP Blockator, and Network Defender.
It is unsure if any of these programs are actually real, but it is a fact that
all of the alerts are fake and should be ignored.
As you can see, NetworkControl was created solely to make your computer unusable
so that you will then be scared into purchasing one of the programs it is trying
to sell. You should definitely not purchase any of the programs it promotes,
and if you have, you should contact your credit card company and dispute the
charges stating that the program is a virus and a scam. To remove NetworkControl
and any related malware, please follow the steps in the removal guide below.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View NetworkControl files.
View NetworkControl Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [NetworkControl] C:\NetworkControl\nc.exe
Guide Updates:
08/04/10 - Initial guide creation.
Automated Removal Instructions for NetworkControl using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- It is possible that the infection you are trying to remove will not allow
you to download files on the infected computer. If this is the case, then
you will need to download the files requested in this guide on another computer
and then transfer them to the infected computer. You can transfer the files
via a CD/DVD, external drive, or USB flash drive.
- Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to
NetworkControl
so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, please
download RKill to your desktop from the following link.
RKill
Download Link - (Download page will open in a new tab or browser window.)
When at the download page, click on the Download Now button
labeled iExplore.exe download link. When you are prompted
where to save it, please save it on your desktop.
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the iExplore.exe
icon in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
NetworkControl
and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various
malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will
automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a
message that RKill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just
a fake warning given by
NetworkControl
when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into
these infections warnings that close RKill, a trick is to leave the warning
on the screen and then run RKill again. By not closing the warning, this typically
will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that rkill
can terminate
NetworkControl
. So, please try running RKill until the malware is no longer running. You
will then be able to proceed with the rest of the guide. If you continue
having problems running RKill, you can download the other renamed versions
of RKill from the rkill
download page. All of the files are renamed copies of RKill, which you
can try instead. Please note that the download page will open in a new browser
window or tab.
Do not reboot your computer after running RKill as the malware programs will
start again.
- Now you should download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following
location and save it to your desktop:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link
(Download page will open in a new window)
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue
with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings
and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the
Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware checked. Then click on the Finish
button. If MalwareBytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
- MBAM will now automatically start and you will see a message stating that
you should update the program before performing a scan. As MBAM will automatically
update itself after the install, you can press the OK button
to close that box and you will now be at the main program as shown below.
- On the Scanner tab, make sure the the Perform
full scan option is selected and then click on the Scan
button to start scanning your computer for
NetworkControl
related files.
- MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can
take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically
check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the
image below.
- When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image
below.
You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with
the
Network Control
removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown
as seen in the image below. Please note that the infections found may be different
than what is shown in the image.
You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove
all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry
keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM
may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message
stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer
has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the
steps.
- When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and
display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad
window.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
- As many rogues and other malware are installed through vulnerabilities found
in out-dated and insecure programs, it is strongly suggested that you use
Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs on your computer. A tutorial on
how to use Secunia PSI to scan for vulnerable programs can be found here:
How to
detect vulnerable and out-dated programs using Secunia Personal Software Inspector
Your computer should now be free of the
Network Control
program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through,
you may want to consider purchasing the
PRO version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to protect against these types
of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below:
Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help
Associated NetworkControl Files:
c:\NetworkControl\
c:\NetworkControl\checker.exe
c:\NetworkControl\list
c:\NetworkControl\nc.exe
c:\NetworkControl\tmp.dll
c:\NetworkControl\tpm.dll
c:\WINDOWS\Fonts\segoeui.ttf
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\abc
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp\i.bat
File Location Notes:
%UserProfile% refers to the current user's profile folder. By default, this is C:\Documents and Settings\<Current User> for Windows 2000/XP, C:\Users\<Current User> for Windows Vista/7, and c:\winnt\profiles\<Current User> for Windows NT.
Associated NetworkControl Windows Registry Information:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "WarnonBadCertRecving" = "0"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings "WarnOnPostRedirect" = "0"
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "NetworkControl"
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