Analysis by: Rhena Inocencio

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Spyware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This spyware 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: 149,504 bytes
File Type: EXE
Initial Samples Received Date: 05 Jun 2012

Arrival Details

This spyware 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 and executes them:

  • %User Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name 1}\{random file name 1}.exe

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name} on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name} on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)

It drops the following files:

  • %User Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name 2}\{random file name 2}.{random extension}

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name} on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name} on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %User Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name 1}
  • %User Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name 2}

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name} on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name} on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)

Autostart Technique

This spyware adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
{GUID} = "%User Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name 1}\{random file name 1}.exe"

Other System Modifications

This spyware adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer\Privacy
CleanCookies = "0"

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
{random}

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer\Privacy

It creates the following registry entry(ies) to bypass Windows Firewall:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\
List
%Windows%\EXPLORER.EXE = "%Windows%\EXPLORER.EXE:*:Enabled:Windows Explorer"

Other Details

This spyware connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}sbackup.com/markup.cxg.bin