TSPY_NEGASTEAL.LO


 ALIASES:

Backdoor.Win32.Androm.pigg (Kaspersky) ; Backdoor.Androm!ZL7flLQA33g (Yandex); a variant of MSIL/Kryptik.NHU (Esset)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Trojan Spy

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet, Dropped by other malware

This Trojan Spy arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It gathers certain information on the affected computer.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

220,160 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

No

Initial Samples Received Date:

16 Mar 2018

Payload:

Drops files, Steals information, Collects system information, Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

This Trojan Spy arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Installation

This Trojan Spy drops a copy of itself in the following folders using different file names:

  • %Application Data%\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.exe

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %Application Data%\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Autostart Technique

This Trojan Spy adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\Current Version\Run
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc = "%Application Data%\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.exe"

Other System Modifications

This Trojan Spy modifies the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
System
EnableLUA = "0"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "1".)

Dropping Routine

This Trojan Spy drops the following files:

  • %Application Data%\ScreenShot\screen.jpeg --> Screenshot of the machine

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Information Theft

This Trojan Spy gathers the following information on the affected computer:

  • Username and Password from the following applications:
    • Google Chrome
    • Opera
    • Yandex
    • Firefox
    • Internet Explorer
    • Apple
    • Sea Monkey
    • Comodo
    • Coolnovo
    • SRWare Iron
    • Torch Browser
    • VCbrowser
    • Eudora
    • Thunderbird
    • Postbox
    • Flock
    • Filezilla
    • WinSCP 2
    • FlashFXP
    • FTP Navigator
    • jDownloader
    • Paltalk
    • Purple
    • Smart FTP
    • Opera Mail
    • TheBat
  • User Name
  • Computer Name
  • IP Address
  • OS Name
  • OS Version Platform
  • OS Version
  • Processor Name
  • Screenshots
  • Mother Board Serial Number
  • System Drives
  • Keystroke
  • Webcam capture

Stolen Information

This Trojan Spy sends the data it gathers to the following email addresses via SMTP:

  • {BLOCKED}test3@zoho.com

Other Details

This Trojan Spy connects to the following URL(s) to get the affected system's IP address:

  • http://{BLOCKED}p.{BLOCKED}s.org

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

14.196.01

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

16 Mar 2018

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

14.197.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

17 Mar 2018

Step 1

Before doing any scans, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 2

Note that not all files, folders, and registry keys and entries are installed on your computer during this malware's/spyware's/grayware's execution. This may be due to incomplete installation or other operating system conditions. If you do not find the same files/folders/registry information, please proceed to the next step.

Step 3

Identify and terminate files detected as TSPY_NEGASTEAL.LO

[ Learn More ]
  1. Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the malware/grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. If the detected file is displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer but you cannot delete it, restart your computer in safe mode. To do this, refer to this link for the complete steps.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 4

Delete this registry value

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this step only if you know how or you can ask assistance from your system administrator. Else, check this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry.

  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\Current Version\Run
    • Merrill Lynch & Co Inc = "%Application Data%\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.exe"

Step 5

Restore this modified registry value

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this step only if you know how or you can ask assistance from your system administrator. Else, check this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry.

  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
    • From: EnableLUA = "0"
      To: EnableLUA = "1"

Step 6

Search and delete these folders

[ Learn More ]
Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the More advanced options option to include all hidden folders in the search result.
  • %Application Data%\Merrill Lynch & Co Inc

Step 7

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as TSPY_NEGASTEAL.LO. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check the following Trend Micro Support pages for more information:


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