Installation
This Trojan drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:
- %Application Data%\hotfix.exe
(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Application Data on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)
Autostart Technique
This Trojan adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Shell = %Application Data%\hotfix.exe
Other System Modifications
This Trojan adds the following registry entries:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\Schedule
AtTaskMaxHours = 48
Dropping Routine
This Trojan drops the following files:
- %Application Data%\{random numbers}.bat
- %Windows%\Tasks\At1.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At2.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At3.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At4.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At5.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At6.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At7.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At8.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At9.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At10.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At11.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At12.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At13.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At14.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At15.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At16.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At17.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At18.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At19.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At20.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At21.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At22.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At23.job
- %Windows%\Tasks\At24.job
(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Application Data on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.. %Windows% is the Windows folder, which is usually C:\Windows or C:\WINNT.)
Step 1
For Windows ME and XP 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
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To restart in Safe Mode:
• For Windows 98 and ME users
- Restart your computer.
- Press the CTRL key until the startup menu appears.
- Choose the Safe Mode option then press Enter.
• For Windows NT (VGA mode) users
- Click Start>Settings>Control Panel.
- Double-click the System icon.
- Click the Startup/Shutdown tab.
- Set the Show List field to 10 seconds and click OK to save this change.
- Shut down and restart your computer.
- Select VGA mode from the startup menu.
• For Windows 2000 users
- Restart your computer.
- Press the F8 key, when you see the Starting Windows bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose the Safe Mode option from the Windows Advanced Options Menu then press Enter.
• For Windows XP users
- Restart your computer.
- Press F8 after the Power-On Self Test (POST) is done. If the Windows Advanced Options Menu does not appear, try restarting and then pressing F8 several times after the POST screen.
- Choose the Safe Mode option from the Windows Advanced Options Menu then press Enter.
• For Windows Server 2003 users
- Restart your computer.
- Press F8 after Windows starts up. If the Windows Advanced Options Menu does not appear, try restarting again and then pressing F8 several times after restarting.
- On the Windows Advanced Option menu, use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode, and then press Enter.
Step 3
Delete this registry value
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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_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- Shell = %Application Data%\hotfix.exe
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule
To delete the registry value this malware created:
- Open Registry Editor. To do this, click Start>Run, type regedit in the text box provided, then press Enter.
- In the left panel of the Registry Editor window, double-click the following:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows NT>CurrentVersion>Winlogon - In the right panel, locate and delete the entry:
Shell = %Application Data%\hotfix.exe - In the left panel of the Registry Editor window, double-click the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SYSTEM>CurrentControlSet>Services>Schedule - In the right panel, locate and delete the entry:
AtTaskMaxHours = 48 - Close Registry Editor.
Step 4
Search and delete these files
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There may be some component files 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.
%Application Data%\{random numbers}.bat
%Windows%\Tasks\At1.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At10.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At11.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At12.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At13.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At14.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At15.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At16.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At17.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At18.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At19.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At2.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At20.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At21.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At22.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At23.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At24.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At3.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At4.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At5.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At6.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At7.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At8.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At9.job
To delete malware/grayware/spyware component files:
- Right-click Start then click Search... or Find..., depending on the version of Windows you are running.
- In the Named input box, type:
- In the Look In drop-down list, select My Computer, then press Enter.
- Once located, select the file then press SHIFT+DELETE to permanently delete the file.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the remaining files:
%Application Data%\{random numbers}.bat
%Windows%\Tasks\At1.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At10.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At11.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At12.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At13.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At14.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At15.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At16.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At17.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At18.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At19.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At2.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At20.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At21.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At22.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At23.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At24.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At3.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At4.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At5.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At6.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At7.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At8.job
%Windows%\Tasks\At9.job
Step 5
Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as TROJ_FAKEALE.IG 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.
