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ADWARE_WILDTANGENT

October 09, 2012
 Analysis by: kathleenno
 ALIASES:

Trojan Horse (Symantec); Generic.dq (Mcafee); Trojan W32/Suspicious_Gen.IAHA (Norman); Trojan-Dropper.Agent (Ikarus)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:

  • Threat Type: Adware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW


This adware 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:

397,112 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

07 Apr 2011

Arrival Details

This adware 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 adware drops the following files:

  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\info.txt
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\stopwcmdr.bat
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\updatenow.bat
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\wcmdmgr.exe
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\wcmdmgrl.exe
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\wtcpl.cpl
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\wtisa.dll
  • %Windows%\wt\backup\1.6.1.002\_privacy.txt
  • %Windows%\wt\info.txt
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\data.wts
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\stopwcmdr.bat
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\updatenow.bat
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\wcmdmgr.exe
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\wcmdmgrl.exe
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\wt.ini
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\wtisa.dll
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\wtlog.txt
  • %Windows%\wt\updater\_privacy.txt
  • %Windows%\wt\WDInUsePlugin.dll
  • %Windows%\wt\wtupdates\wtDMMP\update_info\data.wts
  • %Windows%\wt\wtupdates\wtupdater\appinfo.dat
  • %Windows%\wt\wtupdates\wtwebdriver\update_info\data.wts

(Note: %Windows% is the Windows folder, which is usually C:\Windows or C:\WINNT.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %Windows%\wt
  • %Windows%\wt\backup
  • %Windows%\wt\updater
  • %Windows%\wt\wtupdates

(Note: %Windows% is the Windows folder, which is usually C:\Windows or C:\WINNT.)

Other System Modifications

This adware adds the following registry keys as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Logger.LogSession

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Logger.LogSession.1

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A62FA99E-922E-4ECA-A1D9-B54EF294A3CC}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{1FAD572E-1A3D-44D9-9C23-A87F922DA8C0}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{7946205B-FEF7-494F-A64B-3E992A780866}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WildTangent

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
wcmdmgr.exe

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

8.900

SSAPI PATTERN File:

1.164.28

SSAPI PATTERN Date:

07 Apr 2011

Step 1

For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users, before doing any scans, please make sure you disable System Restore to allow full scanning of your computer.

Step 2

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

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_CLASSES_ROOT
    • Logger.LogSession
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
    • Logger.LogSession.1
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID
    • {A62FA99E-922E-4ECA-A1D9-B54EF294A3CC}
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface
    • {1FAD572E-1A3D-44D9-9C23-A87F922DA8C0}
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib
    • {7946205B-FEF7-494F-A64B-3E992A780866}
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
    • WildTangent
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    • wcmdmgr.exe

Step 4

Search and delete these folders

[ 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.  %Windows%\wt

Step 5

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as ADWARE_WILDTANGENT. 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.

NOTES:

GENERAL RECOMMENDATION

  1. Always keep pattern files and engines up-to-date. For more information, you may click here.
  2. Enable real-time scanning on your AV product. For more information, you may click here.
  3. Disable unnecessary services.
  4. Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task.
  5. Enable firewall to protect against threats. For more information, you may click here.
  6. Enforce a strong password policy.
  7. Always keep software patch levels and OS up-to-date.
  8. Block unused ports.
  9. Be aware of social engineering attacks.
  10. Use safe coding practices to avoid exploit of websites and applications.
  11. Block malware related websites.
  12. Monitor the network for any suspicious connection or connectivity.
  13. Avoid visiting un-trusted sites.
  14. Turn off file sharing if not needed. If needed, disable anonymous access to shared folders.

SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION

For malware that is downloaded from malicious websites and downloads malicious files in the Internet:

  1. Avoid downloading crack/pirated applications.
  2. Clear browser cache and delete cookies regularly.
  3. Delete files in the %User Temp% folder.


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