Analysis by: Mark Joseph Manahan
 Modified by: Jennifer Gumban
ALIASES:

Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Genome.fkaz (Kaspersky), RDN/Downloader.a!nx (McAfee)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

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

  • Threat Type: Adware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Downloaded from the Internet

This adware may be unknowingly downloaded by a user while visiting malicious websites. It may be manually installed by a user.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 609,543 bytes
File Type: EXE
Memory Resident: No
Initial Samples Received Date: 16 Nov 2013
Payload: Drops files

Arrival Details

This adware may be unknowingly downloaded by a user while visiting malicious websites.

It may be manually installed by a user.

Installation

This adware drops the following files:

  • %User Temp%\ns{random value}.tmp\SimpleSC.dll - deleted right away
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect\config.xml
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect\Interop.Shell32.dll
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect\PluginProtect.exe
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect\sqlite3.exe
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect\utilsDll.dll
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\uninstallkit.exe

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista and 7.. %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista and 7.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %User Temp%\ns{random value}.tmp - deleted right away
  • %Application Data%\okitspace
  • %Application Data%\okitspace\protect

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista and 7.. %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista and 7.)

Autostart Technique

This adware registers itself as a system service to ensure its automatic execution at every system startup by adding the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\srvPlgProtect

It adds the following registry keys to install itself as a Browser Helper Object (BHO):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
PluginProtect

Other System Modifications

This adware adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
ESENT\Process\PluginProtect

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\Eventlog\Application\
srvPlgProtect

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.700
SSAPI PATTERN File: 1.463.00
SSAPI PATTERN Date: 06 Dec 2013

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

Remove ADW_OKITSPACE by using its own Uninstall option

[ Learn More ]
To uninstall the grayware process

Step 3

Delete this registry key

[ 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\ESENT\Process
    • PluginProtect
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\Application
    • srvPlgProtect
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node
    • PluginProtect

Step 4

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as ADW_OKITSPACE 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 this Knowledge Base page for more information.


Did this description help? Tell us how we did.