Expert: Brian Benosky - 5/4/2009

Question
QUESTION: I was using my computer,later shut it down when I restarted it my desktop icons + taskbar startup menu disappeared,I ran task manager and have tried numerous "fixes" from the net but so far nothing has worked. I have my computer which is windows xp for 2yrs now and I have no idea where my windows xp or recovery discs are. I can get on the net via task manager and can also open documents etc using this method but it's so frustrating, can you please, please help me?
Thank You

rushna


ANSWER: Hi Rushna

Sometimes, malware can cause these symptoms, so let's take a look and see if you have got any nasties installed.  Please download HijackThis to your desktop from here:
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/_download/HJTInstall.exe
Make sure you close EVERY open window and ALL browser windows. The only thing that should be open is the HijackThis program.
Double-click on the file you just downloaded.
Click on the "Install" button.
Upon install, HijackThis should open for you.
Should it not open, go to C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis and double click on HijackThis.exe
Choose 'Do a system scan and save a log file'.
Copy the text file which opens in Notepad and paste it in your follow-up to me.
   * Do not fix any entries in HijackThis, as they may be harmless.

Brian


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: O1 - Hosts: Policy</a> - <a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Terms
O1 - Hosts: of Service</a></p></div>
O1 - Hosts: </div></body></html>
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:Program FilesAdobeAcrobat 5.0ReaderActiveXAcroIEHelper.ocx
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {CA356D79-679B-4b4c-8E49-5AF97014F4C1} - C:Program FilesStarware343inStarware343.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Starware Maps Toolbar - {D49E9D35-254C-4c6a-9D17-95018D228FF5} - C:Program FilesStarware343inStarware343.dll
O4 - HKLM..Run: [USB Storage Toolbox] C:Program FilesUSB Disk Win98 DriverRes.EXE
O4 - HKLM..Run: [Norman ZANDA] C:Documents and SettingsmmmMy DocumentswordinZLH.EXE /LOAD /SPLASH
O4 - HKLM..Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:Program FilesQuickTimeqttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM..Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:Program FilesiTunesiTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM..Run: [MRT] "C:WINDOWSsystem32MRT.exe" /R
O4 - HKLM..RunOnce: [*Restore] C:WINDOWSsystem32
estore
strui.exe -c
O4 - HKCU..Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:WINDOWSsystem32ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU..Run: [MSMSGS] "C:Program FilesMessengermsmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU..Run: [Creative Detector] C:Program FilesCreativeMediaSourceDetectorCTDetect.exe /R
O4 - HKUSS-1-5-19..Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:WINDOWSsystem32CTFMON.EXE (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUSS-1-5-20..Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:WINDOWSsystem32CTFMON.EXE (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUSS-1-5-18..Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:WINDOWSsystem32CTFMON.EXE (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS.DEFAULT..Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:WINDOWSsystem32CTFMON.EXE (User 'Default user')
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice10OSA.EXE
O7 - HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem, DisableRegedit=1
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:PROGRA~1MICROS~2Office10EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Sky - {08E730A4-FB02-45BD-A900-01E4AD8016F6} - http://www.sky.com (file missing)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:Program FilesMessengermsmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:Program FilesMessengermsmsgs.exe
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:Program FilesInternet ExplorerPluginsNPDocBox.dll
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:Program FilesCommon FilesAppleMobile Device SupportinAppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:Program FilesBonjourmDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:WINDOWSsystem32CTsvcCDA.EXE
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:Program FilesiPodiniPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Norman NJeeves - Unknown owner - C:Documents and SettingsmmmMy DocumentswordinNJEEVES.EXE
O23 - Service: Norman ZANDA - Unknown owner - C:Documents and SettingsmmmMy DocumentswordBinZanda.exe
O24 - Desktop Component 0: (no name) - http://bollywoodpimp.com/pics/ashcannes23.jpg

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End of file - 8902 bytes

ANSWER: Hi Rushna

Please post another HJT log, as the previous one is not formatted properly and is difficult to read.  Run another Scan and Save a Log File.  When notepad opens, right click in the box and choose Select All, which will highlight everything.  Then right click again, choose Copy, then Paste the log into a follow up to me.  Thanks.

Brian

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 15:13:18, on 04/05/2009
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\Bin\Zanda.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\bin\NJEEVES.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\WgaTray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wscntfy.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\bin\niu.exe
C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.sky.com
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.google.co.uk/
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://as.starware.com/dp/search?x=wKX1ILEOi+Vh7AfA98Gm4Me69ZMbubcD6jnrmkc3gR3p7
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Internet Explorer Provided By Sky Broadband
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R3 - Default URLSearchHook is missing
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=
O1 - Hosts: <!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
O1 - Hosts: <html><head><title>Yahoo! - 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable</title><style>
O1 - Hosts: /* nn4 hide */
O1 - Hosts: /*/*/
O1 - Hosts: body {font:small/1.2em arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font:x-small;text-align:center;}table {font-size:inherit;font:x-small;}
O1 - Hosts: html>body {font:83%/1.2em arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;}input {font-size:100%;vertical-align:middle;}p, form {margin:0;padding:0;}
O1 - Hosts: p {padding-bottom:6px;margin-bottom:10px;}#doc {width:48.5em;margin:0 auto;border:1px solid #fff;text-align:center;}#ygma {text-align:right;margin-bottom:53px}
O1 - Hosts: h1 {font-size:135%;text-align:center;margin:0 0 15px;}legend {display:none;}fieldset {border:0 solid #fff;padding:.8em 0 .8em 4.5em;}
O1 - Hosts: form {position:relative;background:#eee;margin-bottom:15px;border:1px solid #ccc;border-width:1px 0;}
O1 - Hosts: form span {position:absolute;left:70%;top:.8em;}form a {font:78%/1.2em arial;display:block;padding-left:.8em;white-space:nowrap;background: url(http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/s/bullet.gif) no-repeat left center;}
O1 - Hosts: form .sep {display:none;}.more {text-align:center;}#ft {padding-top:10px;border-top:1px solid #999;}#ft p {text-align:center;font:78% arial;}
O1 - Hosts: /* end nn4 hide */
O1 - Hosts: </style></head>
O1 - Hosts: <body><div id="doc">
O1 - Hosts: <div id="ygma"><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://www.yahoo.com"><img
O1 - Hosts: src=http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yahoo.gif
O1 - Hosts: width=147 height=31 border=0 alt="Yahoo!"></a><div><a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo!</a>
O1 - Hosts: - Help</div></div>
O1 - Hosts: <div id="bd"><h1>Sorry, Service Temporarily Unavailable.</h1>
O1 - Hosts: The server is temporarily unable to service your
O1 - Hosts: request due to maintenance downtime or capacity
O1 - Hosts: problems. Please try again later.
O1 - Hosts: <P>Additionally, a 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable
O1 - Hosts: error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
O1 - Hosts: <p>Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If
O1 - Hosts: you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the
O1 - Hosts: <strong><a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo! home
O1 - Hosts: page</a></strong> or look through a list of <strong><a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://docs.yahoo.com/docs/family/more/">Yahoo!'s
O1 - Hosts: online services</a></strong>. Also, you may find what you're looking for
O1 - Hosts: if you try searching below.</p>
O1 - Hosts: <form name="s1" action="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*-http://search.yahoo.com/search"><fieldset>
O1 - Hosts: <legend><label for="s1p">Search the Web</label></legend>
O1 - Hosts: <input type="text" size=30 name="p" id="s1p" title="enter search terms here">
O1 - Hosts: <input type="submit" value="Search">
O1 - Hosts: <span>advanced search <span class=sep>|</span> most popular</span>
O1 - Hosts: </fieldset></form>
O1 - Hosts: <p class="more">Please try <strong><a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://help.yahoo.com">Yahoo!
O1 - Hosts: Help Central</a></strong> if you need more assistance.</p>
O1 - Hosts: </div><div id="ft"><p>Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc.
O1 - Hosts: All rights reserved. <a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://privacy.yahoo.com">Privacy
O1 - Hosts: Policy</a> - <a
O1 - Hosts: href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/503/*http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Terms
O1 - Hosts: of Service</a></p></div>
O1 - Hosts: </div></body></html>
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.ocx
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {CA356D79-679B-4b4c-8E49-5AF97014F4C1} - C:\Program Files\Starware343\bin\Starware343.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Starware Maps Toolbar - {D49E9D35-254C-4c6a-9D17-95018D228FF5} - C:\Program Files\Starware343\bin\Starware343.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [USB Storage Toolbox] C:\Program Files\USB Disk Win98 Driver\Res.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Norman ZANDA] C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\bin\ZLH.EXE /LOAD /SPLASH
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MRT] "C:\WINDOWS\system32\MRT.exe" /R
O4 - HKLM\..\RunOnce: [*Restore] C:\WINDOWS\system32\restore\rstrui.exe -c
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Creative Detector] C:\Program Files\Creative\MediaSource\Detector\CTDetect.exe /R
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'Default user')
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O7 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, DisableRegedit=1
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Sky - {08E730A4-FB02-45BD-A900-01E4AD8016F6} - http://www.sky.com (file missing)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.EXE
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: Norman NJeeves - Unknown owner - C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\bin\NJEEVES.EXE
O23 - Service: Norman ZANDA - Unknown owner - C:\Documents and Settings\mmm\My Documents\word\Bin\Zanda.exe
O24 - Desktop Component 0: (no name) - http://bollywoodpimp.com/pics/ashcannes23.jpg

--
End of file - 8845 bytes


Answer
Hi Rushna

Yes, the computer is quite infected.  Let's begin the cleanup by downloading and running a Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan, preferably in safe mode, then post me that log and a HJT log, and we'll see where that takes us.

Restart the computer in Safe Mode by continuously tapping the F8 key on boot until a black screen with a menu appears.  Choose to Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking.  Log on as usual.  

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop from here:

http://www.besttechie.net/mbam/mbam-setup.exe

Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to
o Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
* then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
*Run a Full Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad.  Save that log to your desktop and reboot normally, then post me the MBAM log and a new HJT log.

Brian