TSPY_FARFLI.B

 Analysis by: Mark Joseph Manahan

 ALIASES:

a variant of Win32/Agent.PEY trojan (Eset), Trojan:Win32/Malagent (Microsoft), Trojan-Dropper.Agent (Ikarus)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Spyware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Spammed via email, Downloaded from the Internet


This spyware arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users. 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 gathers certain information on the affected computer.

It connects to certain websites to send and receive information.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

28,672 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

04 Oct 2012

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

This spyware arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users.

It 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 spyware drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %System%\uvehopt.exe

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, which is usually C:\Windows\System32.)

It adds the following mutexes to ensure that only one of its copies runs at any one time:

  • xi4ohax

It injects codes into the following process(es):

  • svchost.exe

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\MediabCenterg

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Enum\Root\LEGACY_MEDIABCENTERG

Information Theft

This spyware gathers the following information on the affected computer:

  • OS Version
  • Disk Space
  • Default Language

Other Details

This spyware connects to the following website to send and receive information:

  • {BLOCKED}0.com:1433

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.200

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

9.448.03

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

08 Oct 2012

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

9.449.00

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 TSPY_FARFLI.B

[ 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. Before you could do this, you must restart in Safe Mode. For instructions on how to do this, you may refer to this page If the preceding step requires you to restart in safe mode, you may proceed to edit the system registry.

 
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
    • MediabCenterg
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root
    • LEGACY_MEDIABCENTERG

Step 4

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