ADW_BUZZSEARCH

February 03, 2014
 Analysis by: Rika Joi Gregorio
 Modified by: Jennifer Gumban
 ALIASES:

Adware/Agent(Fortinet), variant of Win32/BrowseFox.F application(Eset)

 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:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This adware may be dropped by other malware.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

872,920 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

No

Initial Samples Received Date:

12 Dec 2013

Arrival Details

This adware may be dropped by other malware.

Autostart Technique

This adware registers itself as a BHO to ensure its automatic execution every time Internet Explorer is used by adding the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Browser Helper Objects\{5cf5a690-c8f4-488e-9d20-f21aef602d41}

It registers itself as a BHO to ensure its automatic execution every time Internet Explorer is used by adding the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Browser Helper Objects\{5cf5a690-c8f4-488e-9d20-f21aef602d41}
(Default) = "BuzzSearch"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Browser Helper Objects\{5cf5a690-c8f4-488e-9d20-f21aef602d41}
NOExplorer = "1"

Other System Modifications

This adware adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81}

It adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}
(Default) = "BuzzSearch"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}\
InprocServer32
(Default) = "{malware path and file name}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}\
InprocServer32
ThreadingModel = "Apartment"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}\
TypeLib
(Default) = "{random}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{CLSID}\
Version
(Default) = "1.0"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}
(Default) = "IBuzzSearchBHO"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}\
ProxyStubClsid
(Default) = "{random}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}\
ProxyStubClsid32
(Default) = "{random}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}\
TypeLib
(Default) = "{random}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693}\
TypeLib
Version = "1.0"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81}\
1.0
(Default) = "BuzzSearchIEClientLib"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81}\
1.0\0\win32
(Default) = "{malware path and file name}"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81}\
1.0\FLAGS
(Default) = "0"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81}\
1.0\HELPDIR
(Default) = "{malware path}"

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.700

SSAPI PATTERN File:

1.466.07

SSAPI PATTERN Date:

12 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

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_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID
    • {CLSID} = ""
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface
    • {D0EC4142-5808-41D2-A4DC-6081CF1A9693} = ""
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib
    • {396ECD31-EDF7-489F-BDA1-83DBA4C36E81} = ""
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects
    • {5cf5a690-c8f4-488e-9d20-f21aef602d41} = ""

Step 3

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to clean files detected as ADW_BUZZSEARCH. 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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