desote.exe problem

When I woke up this morning I found my computer infested with something. Windows Police Pro is not showing up at any time though I have had problems with that particular bit in the past. I am running Windows XP Professional edition. When I load windows there are about a dozen command prompts that quickly load up and then disappear and then none of the programs which usually load at start up appear. After that when I try to load most programs they fail to open. A brief command prompt will flash which mentions desote.exe in the title but it disappears too quickly to see what it says exactly. I am able to load Internet Explorer (but not Firefox) by right-clicking and selecting "Run as". I am also capable of opening picture and video files too. However, any program like games or anti-virus (I have Malwarebyes Anti-Malware installed) will either prompt an error message about there not being enough memory, that I do not have permission to access the file, or there will just be a brief command prompt and then nothing will load after that. Also, this may be an unrelated problem but I am unable to load XP in safe mode (or in safe mode with networking/commands) as when I select that it merely reboots the computer, tells me that I should try again or try loading with the last correct configuration, the latter of which seems to make no difference. Finally, I am unable to open any email accounts, certain webpages, flash games etc. Some websites such as this are fine but others, e.g. wikipedia, are unable to open because they are apparently a security risk. What can I do to solve this/these issue(s)?

Edit: I am also unable to download any files from internet explorer, it just prompts an error message there too.

Edited by Steenalized, 07 September 2009 - 02:04 PM.

Hello,it appears you have a rootkit associated with it.
.
As there are some new variants of rootkits in the wild right now that will require custom scripts to remove the infection, the process must be completed by HJT team member.

Failure to follow the proper removal process can and will cause serious damage to a machine. Recovery of the machine may be difficult, if not impossible.

Now ... Download this Utility and save it to your Desktop.
Double-click the Utility to run it and and let it finish.
When it states Finished! Press any key to exit, press any key to close the program.
It will save a .txt file to your desktop automatically. Double-click on the Win32kDiag.txt file that is located on your Desktop and post the entire contents of that log as part of the reply in the topic you will create below..

Next please go here HijackThis Logs and Virus/Trojan/Spyware/Malware Removal ,click New Topic,give it a relevant Title and post the Rootrepeal log and the above log.

Let me know how that went.

An error message comes up when I try to download that (or anything else from IE) which reads:

Microsoft Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer cannot download Win32kDiag.exe from download.bleepingcomputer.com
IE was not able to open this internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later.

Ok then, lete's try this.
Please download RSIT by random/random and save it to your Desktop.
Note: You will need to run this tool while connected to the Internet so it can download HijackThis if it is not located on your system. If you get a warning from your firewall or other security programs regarding Rist attempting to contact the Internet, please allow the connection.

• Close all applications and windows so that you have nothing open and are at your Desktop.
• Double-click on RSIT.exe to start the program.
• If using Windows Vista, be sure to Run As Administrator.
• Click Continue after reading the disclaimer screen.
• Leave the drop down box set to default: "List/folders created or modified in the last 1 month (30 days).
• When the scan is complete, a text file named log.txt will automatically open in Notepad.
• Save the log file to your desktop and copy/paste the contents into a new topic in the HijackThis Logs and Malware Removal forum, NOT here.

Important: Be sure to mention that you tried to follow the Prep Guide but were unable to get DDS to run.
If RSIT did not work, then reply back here.

Okay so I went to the computer lab down the hall (I'm in a college dorm) and I put both of the utilities you mentioned into a USB stick and the put them onto my computer's desktop. When I double click Win32kDiag it does what any other .exe does, i.e. not open, and when I open it via "Run as..." I get a new command prompt which reads:

Starting up...
WARNING: Could not get Desktop directory - log file will be at: C\
Press any key to continue...

When I hit the enter key after this it says:

Error - could not create log file (13)!
Log file is located at: C:\Win32kDiag.txt

Then another error message opens informing me that Win32kDiag needs to close due to an error.

When I tried the second method I got:

AutoIt Error
Unable to open the script file.


Update
I managed to at least partially/temporarily resolve the problems, at least the inability to open .exe files. I posted a log from RSIT in the proper forum.

Edited by Steenalized, 07 September 2009 - 10:54 PM.

Hello,

Now that you have posted a log here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/256022/desoteexe-related-problem/ you should NOT make further changes to your computer (install/uninstall programs, use special fix tools, delete files, edit the registry, etc) unless advised by a HJT Team member, nor should you ask for help elsewhere. Doing so can result in system changes which may not show in the log you already posted. Further, any modifications you make on your own may cause confusion for the helper assisting you and could complicate the malware removal process which would extend the time it takes to clean your computer.

From this point on the HJT Team should be the only members that you take advice from, until they have verified your log as clean.

Please be patient. It may take a while to get a response because the HJT Team members are EXTREMELY busy working logs posted before yours. They are volunteers who will help you out as soon as possible. Once you have made your post and are waiting, please DO NOT make another reply until it has been responded to by a member of the HJT Team. Generally the staff checks the forum for postings that have 0 replies as this makes it easier for them to identify those who have not been helped. If you post another response there will be 1 reply. A team member, looking for a new log to work may assume another HJT Team member is already assisting you and not open the thread to respond.

Please be patient. It may take several days, up to two weeks perhaps less, to get a response but your log will be reviewed and answered as soon as possible. I advise checking your topic once a day for responses as the e-mail notification system is unreliable.

To avoid confusion, I am closing this topic. Good luck with your log.

Orange Blossom