hijacked

I run windows XP SP3 and IE and ran into something nasty. It hijaks my searches and gives me an error 999 code.

Spybot says I have 2 problems
Fraud.windowsprotectionsuite and Microsoft.windows.redirecthosts.

When I try to fix these it pops up with an error message

Unexpected error
(Cannot create file C:\windows\system32\drivers\dtc\hosts Access is denied)

I have run:
Malwarebytes = No Malicious Files Detected
Asquared = a few tracking cookies and
McAffee = nothing

I tried making sure the system32 drivers folder was not set at read only and I get the same access denied message.

Please Help.

Hello and welcome.. Let's do a couple more things here.

First we need to disable Spybot S&D's "TeaTimer" if active
TeaTimer works by preventing ANY changes to the system. It will attempt to undo any fixes we run, because it blocks these fixes from running.

In order to safeguard your system from problems that can be brought on by a half finished fix, we need to disable TeaTimer. We can reenable it when we're done if you like.

• Open SpyBot Search and Destroy by going to Start -> All Programs -> Spybot Search and Destroy -> Spybot Search and Destroy.
• If prompted with a legal dialog, accept the warning.
• Click and then on "Advanced Mode"
  
• You may be presented with a warning dialog. If so, press
• Click on
• Click on
• Uncheck this checkbox:
  
• Close/Exit Spybot Search and Destroy

Rerun MBAM (MalwareBytes) like this:

Open MBAM in normal mode and click Update tab, select Check for Updates,when done
click Scanner tab,select Quick scan and scan (normal mode).
After scan click Remove Selected, Post new scan log and Reboot into normal mode.



Next run ATF and SAS:
Note.. SAS doesn't open the registry hives for other user accounts on the system, so scans should be done from each user account.

Note: On Vista, "Windows Temp" is disabled. To empty "Windows Temp" ATF-Cleaner must be "Run as an Administrator".

From your regular user account..
Download Attribune's ATF Cleaner and then SUPERAntiSpyware , Free Home Version. Save both to desktop ..
DO NOT run yet.
Open SUPER from icon and install and Update it
Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):
Close browsers before scanning.
Scan for tracking cookies.
Terminate memory threats before quarantining.
Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen and exit the program. DO NOT run yet.

Now reboot into Safe Mode: How to enter safe mode(XP)
Using the F8 Method
Restart your computer.
When the machine first starts again it will generally list some equipment that is installed in your machine, amount of memory, hard drives installed etc. At this point you should gently tap the F8 key repeatedly until you are presented with a Windows XP Advanced Options menu.
Select the option for Safe Mode using the arrow keys.
Then press enter on your keyboard to boot into Safe Mode.

Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main "Select Files to Delete" choose: Select All.
Click the Empty Selected button.

If you use Firefox or Opera browser click that browser at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
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.

NOW Scan with SUPER
Open from the desktop icon or the program Files list
On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
Perform a Complete scan. After scan,Verify they are all checked.
Click OK on the summary screen to quarantine all found items.
If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes" and reboot normally.

To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch SUPERAntispyware again.
Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab.
Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log.
If there are several logs, click the current dated log and press View log.
A text file will open in your default text editor.
Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next reply.
Click Close to exit the program.


Please ask any needed questions,post 2 logs and Let us know how the PC is running now.

OKay here are the logs,

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.41
Database version: 3218
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3

11/23/2009 10:27:18 PM
mbam-log-2009-11-23 (22-27-18).txt

Scan type: Full Scan (C:\|)
Objects scanned: 147423
Time elapsed: 33 minute(s), 26 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 0
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 0
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 0

Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log
http://www.superantispyware.com

Generated 11/24/2009 at 03:26 AM

Application Version : 4.30.1004

Core Rules Database Version : 4304
Trace Rules Database Version: 2170

Scan type : Complete Scan
Total Scan Time : 02:45:38

Memory items scanned : 243
Memory threats detected : 0
Registry items scanned : 4512
Registry threats detected : 0
File items scanned : 47766
File threats detected : 12

Adware.Tracking Cookie
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@admarketplace[1].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@bridge1.admarketplace[1].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@content.yieldmanager[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@content.yieldmanager[3].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@atdmt[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@ads.pointroll[1].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@doubleclick[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@mediaplex[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@pointroll[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@www.findstuff[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@fastclick[2].txt
C:\Documents and Settings\karla\Cookies\karla@apmebf[2].txt

Spybot is still detecting the files, yet I do not seem to be getting the error messages when searching.

Hello,take a look at this post at SpyBot's forum. if that don't clear it we'll post an HJT log here at BC.

Well it appears to be fixed. I could not find the labled files in the post.

So I ran a Hijack to prepare for posting and it recommended that I delete the host file.
That's what I did and it appears to have cleared everything up.

Thank you so much for all your help.

Glad to have assisted.
Now you should Create a New Restore Point to prevent possible reinfection from an old one. Some of the malware you picked up could have been backed up, renamed and saved in System Restore. Since this is a protected directory your tools cannot access to delete these files, they sometimes can reinfect your system if you accidentally use an old restore point. Setting a new restore point AFTER cleaning your system will help prevent this and enable your computer to "roll-back" to a clean working state.

The easiest and safest way to do this is:

• Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and click "System Restore".
• Choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name, then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a log of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore.

• Then use Disk Cleanup to remove all but the most recently created Restore Point.
• Go to Start > Run and type: Cleanmgr
• Click "Ok". Disk Cleanup will scan your files for several minutes, then open.
• Click the "More Options" tab, then click the "Clean up" button under System Restore.
• Click Ok. You will be prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?"
• Click Yes, then click Ok.
• Click Yes again when prompted with "Are you sure you want to perform these actions?"
• Disk Cleanup will remove the files and close automatically.

Vista Users can refer to these links: Create a New Restore Point and Disk Cleanup.

Thanks, I wouldn't have thought to do it that way.

You've been great.

Thank you and you're most welcome,as new malware is getting stronger and harder to remove, please take a moment to read quietman7's excellent prevention tips in post 6 here
Click >>>> Tips to protect yourself against malware:


HAPPY THANKSGIVING