W32.HLLW.Reckus

1. Copies itself to the following hard-coded locations as the following files:
   
   • C:\Windows
     • LOL.exe
     • Notepad.exe
     • Regedit.exe
       
       

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       Note: The worm overwrites the legitimate applications, Notepad and Regedit, if they are found in this location.

       ---

       
       
   • C:\Windows\System32
     • Progman.exe
     • Shutdown32.exe
     • Userinit.exe
     • Winsys32.exe
       
       
   • C:\Windows\System32\Shared, C:\Program Files\WinMX\My Shared Folder, and C:\My Downloads
     • Alcohol 120 keygen.exe
     • Battlefield 1942 keygen.exe
     • BlackICE PC Protection 3.5 keygen.exe
     • BlindWrite crack (all versions).exe
     • Briana Banks (screensaver).exe
     • Britney spears DressUp Doll.exe
     • Britney Spears NUDE (screensaver).exe
     • Carmen Electra NUDE (screensaver).exe
     • DC++ ShareFaker.exe
     • Delphi 7 Enterprise keygen.exe
     • Dransik character editor.exe
     • Dransik classic account unlocker.exe
     • Everquest 2 NoCD crack.exe
     • GTA Vice City Universal NoCD patch.exe
     • Half-Life keygen.exe
     • Imesh No-Adverts.exe
     • Jedi Academy keygen.exe
     • KAV Personal Pro crack & keygen.exe
     • Kazaa AD-remover.exe
     • Kazaa Speedup 3.05.exe
     • KMD 2.1.exe
     • Krystal Steel (screensaver).exe
     • Lavasoft Ad-Aware 6 keygen.exe
     • Lavasoft Ad-aware 6 pro keygen.exe
     • Matrix Code Emulator Screensaver.exe
     • Microsoft Visual C++ keygen.exe
     • Mirc 6.03 serial generator.exe
     • MusicMatch JukeBox 8.0 keygen.exe
     • Nero Burning Rom (5.X + 6.X) keygen.exe
     • Norton Anti-Virus 2003 crack.exe
     • Norton Anti-Virus 2003 keygen.exe
     • Norton Anti-Virus 2004 crack.exe
     • Norton Anti-Virus 2004 keygen.exe
     • Norton Internet Security crack.exe
     • Office XP keygen.exe
     • Panda Anti-Virus Titanium keygen.exe
     • Playstation 2 emulator.exe
     • PopUp Killer crack (all versions).exe
     • Retina vulnerability scan keygen.exe
     • Runescape character editor.exe
     • Sophie Sweet (screensaver).exe
     • Tawny Roberts (screensaver).exe
     • Tiny Personal Firewall 5.0 crack.exe
     • UT 2003 keygen.exe
     • Vietcong keygen.exe
     • Visual Basic 6 keygen.exe
     • Visual Studio keygen.exe
     • Warcraft III Reign Of Chaos 1.0X Virtual Crack.exe
     • Window Washer 4.8 keygen.exe
     • Windows XP activation crack.exe
     • WinRAR keygen (all versions).exe
     • WinZip keygen (all versions).exe
       
       

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       Note: C:\Windows, C:\Windows\System32, and C:\Windows\System32\Shared are created if they do not already exist.

       ---

       
       
2. Creates the following non-viral files in C:\Windows:
   • Winbfkey.txt
   • Winhelp.txt
   • Winkey.txt
   • Winutkey.txt
     
     
3. Adds the value:
   
   "WinSys32"="C:\Windows\system32\Winsys32.exe"
   
   to the registry key:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   
   so that the worm runs when you start Windows.
   
   
4. Creates a script.ini file in the following folders, if they exist:
   • C:\Program Files\mIRC
   • C:\Program Files\NoNameScript
   • C:\Scoop2003
   • C:\Program Files\FinnishIRC XP
   • C:\Sentinel4
   • C:\Program Files\Gamers.IRC
   • C:\evolution
   • C:\mIRC
     
     The script contains commands that will automatically send messages to other IRC users. The messages consist of links to various Web sites, some of which may contain malicious code.
     
     
5. Attempts to steal CD keys for various games.
   
   
6. Deletes the following files, if they exist:
   • C:\Windows\Cmd.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Taskman.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Taskmgr.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Regedt32.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Regsvr32.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Autochk.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Chkntfs.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Chkdsk.exe
   • C:\Windows\System32\Shutdown.exe
     
     
7. Changes the Internet Explorer home page to point to a pornographic Web site.
   
   
8. Enters an infinite loop. Every 10 seconds, the worm terminates antivirus and firewall processes, and re-copies itself as C:\Windows\System32\Winsys32.exe.

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

• Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.
• Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
• Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.
• Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.
• Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.
• Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.
• If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
• Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
• Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
• Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
• Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
• If Bluetooth is not required for mobile devices, it should be turned off. If you require its use, ensure that the device's visibility is set to "Hidden" so that it cannot be scanned by other Bluetooth devices. If device pairing must be used, ensure that all devices are set to "Unauthorized", requiring authorization for each connection request. Do not accept applications that are unsigned or sent from unknown sources.
• For further information on the terms used in this document, please refer to the Security Response glossary.