Screen freezes, hard crash + Malware found

tha_dude · Mar 31, 2011

Hi,

I am encountering a weird problem:

1. The browsers I use (FF, IE) freeze on random pages - mostly with Flash (video) content on them. The screen is garbled, computer doesn't respond.
2. I do a hard re-boot.
3. I get to the Windows XP start-up screen, the one which is still in low-res VGA with loading bar.
4. Once, Windows should switch into hi-res, screen goes black - the odd line on the screen, computer doesn't respond or even shuts down itself.
5. I reboot again hit F8 to select "Last known configuration" from the start-up options.
6. Windows boots normally, things are back to normal until...
7. Repeat from 1.

I cannot figure out if it's a virus/malware which corrupts the system to a state where it cannot boot normally, if this is a hardware (driver) issue - or maybe two separate hardware/virus problems.

I have not installed any new drivers for the graphics card. I've read that there have been issues with nvidia on Dell laptops in the past but this machine has been running flawlessly for 3 years.

Not long after this kind of crash first occured I got weird re-directs in Firefox, a fake Windows Update AntiVirus popup that only went away after I killed the process and occasional system sounds for no apparent reasons.

I ran Malwarebyte's Anti-MalWare and Superantispyware scans, trojans + "OfferBox" were found and removed.

I thought I had it fixed, but alas - another crash of the type described above a few days later. I brought out the big gun that is ComboFix and I'll include the log in this post. It looks like more of the bad stuff was found, it also gave me a warning about rootkit activity and asked me to write down "System32\Drivers\sptd.sys" which apparently is related to DemonTools (disabled at scan time).

Most importantly, I want to know if the hard crashes are actually caused by malware.

Thank you a lot in advance for the taking the time to look at this.

/David

TimW · Mar 31, 2011

Please put ComboFix directly on your desktop, not here:
Running from: c:\documents and settings\<user_name_replaced>\My Documents\Downloads\ComboFix.exe

Now please follow all the step in this thread:
READ & RUN ME FIRST. Malware Removal Guide

Also, please download the[/B] TDSS Rootkit Removing Tool (TDSSKiller.exe) and save it to your Desktop. <-Important!!!

Be sure to download TDSSKiller.exe (v2.4.0.0) from Kaspersky's website and not TDSSKiller.zip which appears to be an older version 2.3.2.2 of the tool.

Double-click on TDSSKiller.exe to run the tool for known TDSS variants.
Vista/Windows 7 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.

If TDSSKiller does not run, try renaming it. To do this, right-click on TDSSKiller.exe, select Rename and give it a random name with the .com file extension (i.e. 123tdk.com).

If you do not see the file extension, please refer to: How to view hidden, system files & folders!

Click the Start Scan button.

Do not use the computer during the scan

If the scan completes with nothing found, click Close to exit.

If malicious objects are found, they will show in the Scan results - Select action for found objects and offer three options.

Ensure Cure (default) is selected, then click Continue > Reboot now to finish the cleaning process.

A log file named TDSSKiller_version_date_time_log.txt (i.e. TDSSKiller.2.4.0.0_27.07.2010_14.17.05_log.txt) will be created and saved to the root directory ( usually Local Disk C ).

Attach this log to your next message

tha_dude · Apr 1, 2011

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. I worked through the instructions. The logs are included. The RootRepeal Log I'll copy paste into here since only 4 file uploads are allowed.
Code:
ROOTREPEAL (c) AD, 2007-2009
==================================================
Scan Start Time:		2011/04/01 23:15
Program Version:		Version 1.3.5.0
Windows Version:		Windows XP SP3
==================================================

Hidden/Locked Files
-------------------
Path: C:\hiberfil.sys
Status: Locked to the Windows API!

Path: C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git-gc.exe
Status: Locked to the Windows API!
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\sptd.sys still shows up in the TDSSKiller Log, I removed DemonTools after that.

Thanks again,

/David

TimW · Apr 1, 2011

I am not finding any malware in your logs. I suggest you post in the software forum for additional assistance with the freezes and crashes.

If you are not having any other malware problems, it is time to do our final steps:

We recommend you keep SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for scanning/removal of malware. Unless you purchase them, they provide no real time protection. They do not use any significant amount of resources ( except a little disk space ) until you run a scan.We recommend them for doing backup scans when you suspect a malware infection.

If we had you use ComboFix, uninstall ComboFix (This uninstall will only work as written if you installed ComboFix on your Desktop like we requested.)

Click START then RUN and enter the below into the run box and then click OK. Note the quotes are required

"%userprofile%\Desktop\combofix" /uninstall

Notes: The space between the combofix" and the /uninstall, it must be there.

This will uninstall ComboFix and also reset hidden files and folders settings back to Windows defaults.

Go back to step 6 of the READ ME and renable your Disk Emulation software with Defogger if you had disabled it.

Any other miscellaneous tools we may have had you install or download can be uninstalled and deleted.

If we had you download any registry patches like fixme.reg or fixWLK.reg (or any others), you can delete these files now.

If running Vista, it is time to make sure you have reenabled UAC by double clicking on the C:\MGtools\enableUAC.reg file and allowing it to be added to the registry.

Go to add/remove programs and uninstall HijackThis.

Goto the C:\MGtools folder and find the MGclean.bat file. Double click on this file to run this cleanup program that will remove files and folders related to MGtools and some other items from our cleaning procedures.

If you are running Win 7, Vista, Windows XP or Windows ME, do the below:

Refer to the cleaning procedures pointed to by step 7 of the READ ME
for your Window version and see the instructions to Disable System Restore which will flush your Restore Points.

Then reboot and Enable System Restore to create a new clean Restore Point.

After doing the above, you should work thru the below link:

How to Protect yourself from malware!

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Screen freezes, hard crash + Malware found

tha_dude Private E-2

Attached Files:

ComboFix.txt

TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member

tha_dude Private E-2

Attached Files:

SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log - 04-01-2011 - 01-05-44.log

mbam-log-2011-04-01 (22-38-12).txt

ComboFix.txt

MGlogs.zip

TimW MajorGeeks Administrator - Jedi Malware Expert Staff Member