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PUA.Win32.PowDirector.A

December 10, 2019
 ALIASES:

Trojan.Gen (Symantec); HEUR:Trojan.Win32.Generic (Kaspersky); Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT (Sunbelt)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 REPORTED INFECTION:
 SYSTEM IMPACT RATING:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Potentially Unwanted Application

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW


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

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

500,615 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

26 Nov 2019

Arrival Details

This Potentially Unwanted Application 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 Potentially Unwanted Application adds the following processes:

  • "%User Temp%\Perfofghrmanacedwr.exe"
  • Perfofghrmanacedwr
  • "%User Temp%\Perfofghrmancedwr.exe"
  • Perfofghrmancedwr
  • reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\PowerDirector14" /f /v "UserName" /t REG_SZ /d "\xe2\x95\x90\xe2\x96\xa0\xe2\x94\xb4\xc2\xaa\xe2\x95\xa1\xe2\x95\x9d\xe2\x95\xa4\xe2\x96\x8c\xe2\x95\x9d\xe2\x95\x9d\xe2\x95\xa9\xe2\x8c\xa1\xe2\x95\x9c\xe2\x95\x97\xe2\x94\xb4\xe2\x89\x88\xe2\x95\x9a\xe2\x95\x91"
  • reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\PowerDirector14\UserReg" /f /v "Prod_Activate" /t REG_SZ /d "0"

(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(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

Other System Modifications

This Potentially Unwanted Application adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\
PowerDirector14

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\
PowerDirector14\UserReg

It adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
CyberLink\PowerDirector14
UserName = "{random characters}"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
CyberLink\PowerDirector14\UserReg
Prod_Activate = "0"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\
PowerDirector14
UserName = "{random characters}"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\
PowerDirector14\UserReg
Prod_Activate = "0"

Dropping Routine

This Potentially Unwanted Application drops the following files:

  • %User Temp%\Perfofghrmanacedwr.exe
  • %User Temp%\Perfofghrmancedwr.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(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

This report is generated via an automated analysis system.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

Step 1

Before doing any scans, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 2

Identify and terminate files detected as PUA.Win32.PowDirector.A

[ 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

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\CyberLink
    • PowerDirector14
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\PowerDirector14
    • UserReg

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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\CyberLink\PowerDirector14
    • UserName = "{random characters}"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\CyberLink\PowerDirector14\UserReg
    • Prod_Activate = "0"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\PowerDirector14
    • UserName = "{random characters}"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CyberLink\PowerDirector14\UserReg
    • Prod_Activate = "0"

Step 5

Search and delete these components

[ Learn More ]
There may be some components that are hidden. Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the "More advanced options" option to include all hidden files and folders in the search result.
  • %User Temp%\Perfofghrmanacedwr.exe
  • %User Temp%\Perfofghrmancedwr.exe

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as PUA.Win32.PowDirector.A. 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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