Home / malware Win32/FakeCog
First posted on 17 September 2010.
Source: SecurityHomeAliases :
Win32/FakeCog is also known as CoreGuard Antivirus 2009 (other), Dr.Guard (other), Digital Protection (other), Your Protection (other), Protection Center (other), Defense Center (other), Anvi Antivirus (other), Data Protection (other), AntiMalware (other), Malware Defense (other), Paladin Antivirus (other), User Protection (other), Protection Center (other), AntiVirus (other).
Explanation :
Win32/FakeCog is a family of programs that claim to scan for malware and display fake warnings of malicious files. They then inform the user that they need to pay money to register the software in order to remove these non-existent threats. Special Note:
Reports of Rogue Antivirus programs have been more prevalent as of late. These are programs that generate misleading alerts and false detections in order to convince users to purchase illegitimate security software. Some of these programs may display product names or logos in an apparently unlawful attempt to impersonate Microsoft products.
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Win32/FakeCog is a family of programs that claim to scan for malware and display fake warnings of malicious files. They then inform the user that they need to pay money to register the software in order to remove these non-existent threats. InstallationUpon execution, Rogue:Win32/FakeCog may create a registry subkey and its associated entries, for example: To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\AntiMalwareAdds value: "Settings_0"
With data: "dword:00000000" Adds value: "SecStatus_3"
With data: "dword:00000001" Adds value: "SecStatus_4"
With data: "dword:00000001" Adds value: "SecStatus_5"
With data: "dword:00000001" Adds value: "FD"
With data: "dword:00000000" Adds value: "GUID"
With data: "455366164553576845534928" Adds value: "Data"
With data: ":1830:2040:2145:2250:2355:2460:2670:2775:2880:" Adds value: "swver"
With data: "1.0" Adds value: "dbver"
With data: "1.0" Adds value: "dbsigns"
With data: "61473" Adds value: "InfectedFiles"
With data: "C:\WINDOWS\System32\olecli.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\scrrun.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\stclient.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\url.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\winhttp.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\oobe\dtsgnup.htm,C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\cdaudio.sys,C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\sonydcam.sys,C:\Program Files\outlook Express\wab.exe," Adds value: "Infected"
With data: "dword:00000009" Win32/FakeCog has been observed to drop two components in the %TEMP% directory. The first component drops a DLL file with a variable name in the same folder, and injects it into the Windows Explorer process so that it can remain running on the computer. The second component displays an imitation of the Windows Security Center dialog box and drops an EXE file with a double name extension €œ.tmp.exe€ (for example, asdf.tmp.exe) in the same folder. This EXE file tries to uninstall legitimate security products that it finds in the system and also installs its own rogue software. Note: %TEMP% refers to a variable location that is determined by the malware by querying the Operating System. The default installation location for the Temp folder for Windows 2000 and NT is C:\DOCUME~1\<user>\LOCALS~1\Temp; and for XP, Vista, and 7 is %TEMP% = C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp. Win32/FakeCog may create desktop shortcuts, as seen in the example below: Win32/FakeCog has also been observed to download and install variants of the Win32/Alureon family onto the infected system. Payload Displays false security alerts and misleading dialogs Win32/FakeCog displays false security alerts on the system to prompt the user into purchasing its registered version. Win32/FakeCog attempts to masquerade as the Windows Security Center in order to convince affected users of its legitimacy. It does this as an attempt to convince the user to install the rogue, as seen in the image below: Win32/FakeCog poses as legitimate software by displaying Install messages, as seen below: Win32/FakeCog displays a scanner which falsely reports a number of threats in the system. If the user clicks on the 'Activate your copy' button, he or she may see the following: Note that the logos on the lower right hand corner are there to mislead the user into thinking that the transaction is secure and legitimate. None of these companies are actually affiliated with this program. The rogue informs the user this version is a demo which requires an upgrade. It also periodically displays a number of dialog boxes and system tray balloons which attempt to convince the user to pay money to register the software: Prompts user to uninstall antivirus softwareWin32/FakeCog may prompt the user to remove legitimate antivirus software that is installed in the computer. To do this, it may display a message box such as the following: Pressing OK runs the uninstaller for certain antivirus software. In the above example, the legitimate antivirus software it attempts to force the user to uninstall is Microsoft Security Essentials. Connects to remote sites and downloads arbitrary files Win32/FakeCog may also download encrypted files from remote sites. The encrypted files may contain data or may also be malware. Disables task manager Some variants of Win32/Fakecog have been observed disabling Task Manager by making the following registry modifications: Adds value: "DisableTaskMgr"With data: "1"To subkey: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System Adds value: €œDisableTaskMgr"With data: "1€To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
Analysis by Francis Allan Tan Seng & Gilou TenebroLast update 17 September 2010
