ADWARE_ALEXA
Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)
Threat Type: Adware
Destructiveness: No
Encrypted:
In the wild: Yes
OVERVIEW
This adware may be manually installed by a user.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
785,908 bytes
EXE
No
07 Apr 2013
Arrival Details
This adware may be manually installed by a user.
Installation
This adware adds the following folders:
- %Start Menu%\Programs\The Privacy Guard
- %Program Files%\The Privacy Guard
(Note: %Start Menu% is the current user's Start Menu folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Start Menu or C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu on Windows Vista and 7.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Server 2003, and XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit), and 7 (32-bit), or C:\Program Files (x86) in Windows XP (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), and 7 (64-bit).)
It drops the following files:
- %Application Data%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\4wwmjcqo.default\user.js
- %Program Files%\The Privacy Guard\options.ini
(Note: %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.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Server 2003, and XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit), and 7 (32-bit), or C:\Program Files (x86) in Windows XP (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), and 7 (64-bit).)
Other System Modifications
This adware adds the following registry keys:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{random}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{random}\
Info
It adds the following registry entries:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{random}\
Info
D1 = "1"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{random}\
Info
D2 = "{random value}"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{random}\
Info
D3 = "{random value}"
SOLUTION
9.300
1.395.00
24 Apr 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
Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product and note files detected as ADWARE_ALEXA
Step 3
Identify and terminate files detected as ADWARE_ALEXA
- 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.
- 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.
- If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.
Step 4
Remove ADWARE_ALEXA by using its own Uninstall option
Step 5
Delete this registry key
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_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID
- {random}
- {random}
Step 6
Search and delete this folder
- %Start Menu%\Programs\The Privacy Guard
- %Program Files%\The Privacy Guard
Step 7
Search and delete this file
- %Application Data%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\4wwmjcqo.default\user.js
Step 8
Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as ADWARE_ALEXA. 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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