ADW_INSTALCOR

January 29, 2016
 Analysis by: Adrian Cofreros
 Modified by: Jimelle Monteser
 ALIASES:

Gen:Variant.Application.InstallCore.1 (FSecure), ADWARE/InstallCore.Gen (Antivir), SoftwareBundler:Win32/DealPly (Microsoft), InstallCore.b (fs) (Sunbelt), a variant of Win32/InstallCore.JP application (NOD32)

 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, Dropped by other malware

This adware may arrive bundled with malware packages as a malware component. It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites. It may be manually installed by a user.

It comes with an uninstall package that completely removes the files it dropped and the registries it created.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

1,302,064 bytes

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

18 Apr 2014

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs, Downloads files

Arrival Details

This adware may arrive bundled with malware packages as a malware component.

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

It may be manually installed by a user.

Installation

This adware drops the following component file(s):

  • %Program Files%\VideoConverter\VideoConverter.exe - detected as ADW_INSTALCOR

(Note: %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.)

It drops the following non-malicious files:

  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\CPWriter2.exe
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\PDFWrite.rsp
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\pdfwriter.exe
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\Preferences.exe
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\README.HTM
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\setup.inf
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\uninstwp.exe
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\PDFCreator\Preferences.lnk
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\PDFCreator\Readme.lnk
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\PDFCreator\Uninstall PDF Creator.lnk
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\VideoConverter\Uninstall.lnk
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\VideoConverter\VideoConverter.lnk
  • %User Temp%\is{random numbers}\{random numbers}.cfg
  • %User Temp%\is{random numbers}\{random numbers}_Setup.CIS
  • %Program Files%\VideoConverter\bin\ffmpeg.exe
  • %Program Files%\VideoConverter\uninstall.exe

(Note: %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.. %All Users Profile% is the All Users folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData 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.. %User Temp% is the user's temporary folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp 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:

  • %User Temp%\is{random number}
  • %User Temp%\ish{random number}
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\PDFCreator
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator
  • %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual
  • %Program Files%\VideoConverter
  • %Program Files%\VideoConverter\bin

(Note: %User Temp% is the user's temporary folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp 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.. %All Users Profile% is the All Users folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData 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.. %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.)

Other System Modifications

This adware adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWTARE\CUSTPDF Writer

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\
Printers\PDF Creator

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Print\Forms

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Print\Monitors\
CUSTPDF Writer Monitor x86

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Print\Printers\
PDF Creator

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
PDF Creator

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VideoConverter

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
VideoConverter

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\InstallCore

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\InstallCore\
Uninstall

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\InstallCore\
Uninstall\{random}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
PDF Creator

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
VideoConverter

It adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWTARE\CUSTPDF Writer\
CPWV305
Destination Folder = "%Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VideoConverter
Path = "%Program Files%\VideoConverter"

Other Details

This adware adds the following registry entries to add an uninstall option to the Control Panel:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
PDF Creator
DisplayName = "PDF Creator"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
PDF Creator
UninstallString = "%Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual\uninstwp.exe %Program Files%\PDFCreator\Actual"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
VideoConverter
DisplayName = "VideoConverter"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
VideoConverter
UninstallString = "%Program Files%\VideoConverter\uninstall.exe"

It connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://cdnus.{BLOCKED}createorapp.com/app/Cmp/PDFCreatorV4.cis
  • http://cdneu.{BLOCKED}createorapp.com/app/Cmp/PDFCreatorV4.cis
  • http://{BLOCKED}-files.s3.amazonaws.com/exe/VideoConverterSetup.exe - download file also detected as ADW_INSTALCOR

It comes with an uninstall package that completely removes the files it dropped and the registries it added.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.700

SSAPI PATTERN File:

1.499.00

SSAPI PATTERN Date:

09 Apr 2014

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

Identify and terminate files detected as ADW_INSTALCOR

[ 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 3

Remove ADW_INSTALCOR by using its own Uninstall option

[ Learn More ]
To uninstall the grayware process

Step 4

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\SOFWTARE
    • CUSTPDF Writer
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers
    • PDF Creator
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print
    • Forms
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
    • CUSTPDF Writer Monitor x86
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers
    • PDF Creator
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    • PDF Creator
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
    • VideoConverter
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    • VideoConverter
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
    • InstallCore
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    • PDF Creator
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    • VideoConverter

Step 5

Search and delete this folder

[ 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.
  • %User Temp%\is{random number}
  • %User Temp%\ish{random number}
  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\PDFCreator

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as ADW_INSTALCOR. 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.


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