amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:
| reply to Cometcom1
Re: foxnews.com infected?
I am also interested in how it "hides" as well...
Last infection I got on one of my machines (first one in years), was likely due to an iframe. That, or the unlikely chance that an infected gmail "news ticker" (whatever its called above the inbox - which I've disabled since then...) did it.
iframes have also been forbidden in noscript ever since that.
Agree with a post earlier - this is why I have zero qualms about using adblockplus, and especially noscript. Two of the best plugins IMHO.
Was shocked, however, to still get an infection with these two plugins......
iFrames have only been "forbidden" on the one machine I saw the infection on. On others, I've left noscript at its default settings for the most part. |
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MGD
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-31
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to HowDoesItWork
said by HowDoesItWork :
... Shouldn't the browser still display a download dialog prompt, even if the popup is set to download anyway when you click on anything, including the no thanks button? Seems to me that it should, unless there's a serious flaw in the browser that makes it possible to download stuff without the user accepting the download. ... Yes, for clarification, If you decline the scan, it will do the fake scan anyway and impose a full screen in your browser. If you then choose "cancel" for the recommended install, it will proceed with the download. The warning that the user will get is from their system alerting them to the dangers of allowing an .exe file to run. They should be able to use their system at that point to block the install. However, prior to that point, "cancel" and "no" means "Yes".
Be aware that as mysec  points out, the initial popup redirect will also avail of the opportunity to look for several available exploits in the users system configuration.
The IP 78.47.132.222 also contains a frame that sources from: >http://redirectclicks.com/?accs=845&tid=338
redirectclicks.com is associated with multiple malware:
»www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2···o.com%22
Redirectclicks.com is hosted once again on Hetzner Online AG (AS24940) at IP 88.198.69.115 [static.88-198-69-115.clients.your-server.de] alongside Traffic-go.com »www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2···G=Search
Both of those criminal domains have infected thousands of sites. While the current focus is on the exploitation of foxnews.com. This is a global problem that infects users every where:
Fox needs to quickly identify the responsible advertiser/s and remove and suspend them. You can find victim reports of infection attacks from Fox going back well over a month.
Incidentally, while wading through the cesspools of cyberspace following the trail of toppromooffer.com I bumped into our friend "Cactus" from Moscow. Small world!!
MGD |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to HowDoesItWork
said by HowDoesItWork :
To moonpuppy, are you saying that you got infected by doing just browsing the site, not accepting any downloads, with a fully patched browser and fully patched plugins (flash, java, the usual)? If so, how does this thing do that? I'm confused.
Fully patched OS, IE, Java, FLASH, etc. I saw multiple popups and I did not click no but the "X" of the window. When I realized what was happening, I immediately shut the laptop down HARD. I pressed the power button until it shut off completely and restarted the system with the wi-fi off. When I saw no activity, I turned the wi-fi back on and immediately headed here to do some cleaning and that's when I found the issues I mentioned earlier. I then posted here about it. |
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foxblockedfornow
@rr.com | reply to moonpuppy
I'm curious. Not interested in knocking MS, but is this limited to windows? Any reports from mac or linux users? Thnx. |
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Dude111
An Awesome Dude
Premium
join:2003-08-04
USA | reply to moonpuppy
Well if FOX knows about this and does nothing,they really do suck!! |
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HowDoesItWork
@inet.fi
| reply to MGD
quote:
Yes, for clarification, If you decline the scan, it will do the fake scan anyway and impose a full screen in your browser. If you then choose "cancel" for the recommended install, it will proceed with the download. The warning that the user will get is from their system alerting them to the dangers of allowing an .exe file to run. They should be able to use their system at that point to block the install. However, prior to that point, "cancel" and "no" means "Yes".
Now I feel a little stupid, but I still don't understand how it works. It's business as usual that the popup has a bogus cancel button and the X close window button, and it tries to make you download their crapware anyway. But unless the browser does something completely wrong, there should eventually be a download prompt and you should then be able to cancel the whole thing, so it can't infect your system. If this isn't the case with this particular crapware, I would sure like to know how it accomplishes this feat, technically. There are exploits, but unless it uses an unknown, unpatched zero day vulnerability, that shouldn't work against a fully patched browser and plugins...
quote:
Fully patched OS, IE, Java, FLASH, etc. I saw multiple popups and I did not click no but the "X" of the window. When I realized what was happening, I immediately shut the laptop down HARD. I pressed the power button until it shut off completely and restarted the system with the wi-fi off. When I saw no activity, I turned the wi-fi back on and immediately headed here to do some cleaning and that's when I found the issues I mentioned earlier. I then posted here about it.
So it could infect you without requiring any form of consent from the user? Now that is weird. For IE, I wouldn't be surprised, but if Firefox or Opera would do the same, that would be strange. I'm further confused because mysec on the previous page posted that with Opera, it does pop up a download prompt, and if you cancel the download, it can't infect you.
So, is there something in Opera that prevents this thing from insta-infection without any user consent that doesn't exist in IE or even Firefox? Hate to ask that many questions, but I don't understand the technique that this thing could possibly use to infect you instantly without you accepting a download, and then executing that download... aside from unpatched vulnerabilities. I wonder if the people infected by this were running as admin... |
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Carnivore
join:2003-01-06
| reply to moonpuppy
I got this popup last night when I visited foxnews.com with IE8, and the fake virus scan began in a new window.
I forced the browser closed as quickly as I could with task manager, and ran a real scan with AVG 8.5 which appeared to be clean.
Does anyone know if AVG effectively detects this infection, and/or what other steps should be taken to ensure this thing didn't get its tentacles into my system? |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to HowDoesItWork
said by HowDoesItWork :
So it could infect you without requiring any form of consent from the user? Now that is weird. For IE, I wouldn't be surprised, but if Firefox or Opera would do the same, that would be strange. I'm further confused because mysec on the previous page posted that with Opera, it does pop up a download prompt, and if you cancel the download, it can't infect you.
Part of the infection can be done with PDF documents. Adobe even put out a warning that they wouldn't have a fix for a month. |
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mysec
Premium
join:2005-11-29
1 edit | reply to HowDoesItWork
The fake antivirus exploit prompts for a download in IE, Opera, and Firefox because the download is an executable file for which these browsers prompt by default. I showed Opera in a previous post. Here are IE and Firefox:
The other exploits I found are automatically triggered (drive-by download):
IE exploits against the browser as I showed in the previous post.
PDF exploit in Firefox. This is from a previous exploit. Note that it is Acrobat calling out for the trojan and not Firefox:
Note that this is an Acrobat Reader exploit, not a browser exploit. The browser just loads the PDF file. This exploit works in all browsers. Be sure and configure your file types to Prompt for Download, or "Always Ask"
Opera:
Firefox:
----
rich |
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Airborne29th
join:2008-10-20
Staunton, VA | Has this been cleaned? Ive gone all through foxnews on our test computer to see if our antivirus will catch it, and nothing is coming up.. Either that or its silently being stopped, tried with adblock plus and without, IE and Firefox. |
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nojava
@acsalaska.net | reply to moonpuppy
Does this malware require java ? No Java = no infection? |
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bobince
join:2002-04-19
DE
| reply to mysec
Re: foxnews.com infected?
quote:
Be sure and configure your file types to Prompt for Download, or "Always Ask"
You can also disable the plugin for all browsers from Reader's “Edit->Preferences->Internet->Display PDF in browser” option, or use a different PDF reader that doesn't install a plugin. (Who wants to read a PDF stuck inside a browser window anyway?)
As always, if you aren't using a plugin, remove it, and you'll reduce the attack surface of your browser and the number of things you have to worry about keeping updated. Do you really need PDF, Java, QuickTime and Real plugins? Probably not. |
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HowDoesItWork
@inet.fi
| reply to mysec
quote:
The fake antivirus exploit prompts for a download in IE, Opera, and Firefox because the download is an executable file for which these browsers prompt by default. I showed Opera in a previous post.
Ok, so there is a download prompt and you get a chance to cancel the whole thing, in those cases where it attempts to make you download an exe file instead of serving a browser or plugin exploit. That is good news. 
quote:
The other exploits I found are automatically triggered (drive-by download):
IE exploits against the browser as I showed in the previous post.
PDF exploit in Firefox. This is from a previous exploit. Note that it is Acrobat calling out for the trojan and not Firefox:
Note that this is an Acrobat Reader exploit, not a browser exploit. The browser just loads the PDF file. This exploit works in all browsers. Be sure and configure your file types to Prompt for Download, or "Always Ask"
Ok, so the actual drive-by downloads (no user consent required) of this badware are based on exploits in either the browser or some other related program like PDF viewers, as usual. And the PDF exploits you can stop just by having the browser prompt for download of pdf files instead of opening them in the proper program, or even just by not giving the PDF viewer permission to go online when your firewall prompts for it. Good news, again!
Thanks for all the advice, guys, I think I understand how this thing operates now. If I got it right, this thing is not a threat as long as you
- have your browser set to prompt for download for exes, pdfs etc instead of having the browser run them at once, and cancel any suspicious, unwanted downloads, and
- have a fully patched browser that isn't vulnerable to the browser exploits this thing tries, such as the latest Opera version.
Or in other words, it's a pretty basic baddie. Sounds like I'm good to go, and have nothing to worry about this malware. It should be easy to avoid this thing: just keep the browser patched (and preferably use Opera) and have it set to prompt for downloading stuff, or disable all the pointless plugins we don't need like Adobe Reader etc.
Still, Foxnews should get their ads cleaned right the F now. It's inexcusable for a big outfit like that to serve crapware via ads. I wonder if a popup blocker would help against these things. |
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acid343211
Hallo lisa Aus Amerika
Premium
join:2001-08-31
Byron, GA
| reply to kpatz
said by kpatz :
Internet Explorers addon Shockwave Flash vs.3 found to be linking to the FormSpy website hosted at IP address 81.95.109.11 This addon tries to send your private information to attackers IP 72.95.109.11 (Malaysia)
quote:
IP address country: 81.95.109.11
IP address country flag Czech Republic
IP address state: Hlavni Mesto Praha
IP address city: Praha
quote:
IP address 72.95.109.11
IP country code: US
IP address country: flag United States
IP address state: Maine
IP address city: Orono
IP address latitude: 44.879101
IP address longitude: -68.733002
ISP of this IP [?]: Fairpoint Communications
Organization: Fairpoint Communications
--
Visit-
www.liveleak.com/view?i=e32_1231680425 |
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MGD
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-31
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to mysec
said by mysec :.... Note that this is an Acrobat Reader exploit, not a browser exploit. The browser just loads the PDF file. This exploit works in all browsers. Be sure and configure your file types to Prompt for Download, or "Always Ask" .. ---- rich Great write up !
I was particularily interested in this driveby:
quote:
[Adobe Reader 6.0 from your computer wants to
connect to plathost.ru [78.109.25.217], port 80]
as that location has come to my attention on several occasions.
IP 78.109.25.217
appears to be hosting 3 domains: »whois.domaintools.com/78.109.25.217
1. Nevervhudo.ru »whois.domaintools.com/nevervhudo.ru
2. Socksps.ru »whois.domaintools.com/Socksps.ru
3. Stopgam.cn »whois.domaintools.com/Stopgam.cn
Due to the name, Socksps.ru aroused some curiosity, however, the main page only offers a log in:
If one can overcome that restriction an account holder can purchase the use of compromised machines around the globe to use as a secure proxy:
This may be where some of the compromised victim machines are leveraged for additional income:
The master list of available for rent machines is several pages long:
You can sort the available hijacked machines by country, and then buy access, daily or monthly to mask your true origin for any nefarious purpose:
USA:
UK:
Iran:
Note the banner add for "carding Conference" at cashing.cc:
This may be where the compromised extracted financial data ends up for sale:
It appears that the only way to obtain a log in account in order to use the services of Socksps.ru is to contact ICQ 431278403
Or you can resond directly to his promotion on forum.zloy.org a cyber criminals one stop shop for carding, hacking exploits, money transfers, banking etc.
His translated add posting on the forum.zloy.org for Socksps.ru services is here:
The main zloy.org page is translated here:
MGD |
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acid343211
Hallo lisa Aus Amerika
Premium
join:2001-08-31
Byron, GA | reply to moonpuppy
Easy Fix block the site and Disable Downloading on your PC.
Now when i go to the Site it gives me a Red screen Blocked by Administrator.
--
Visit-
www.liveleak.com/view?i=e32_1231680425 |
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milvos
| reply to moonpuppy
I have been reading all this and maybe am no great with virus, adware, spyware etc.
I have been getting this up with the fake virus scan for a few days now. And want to know whether it is something on my computer or whether this is coming from sites I am visiting. When I leave my computer idle for while it seems to come up.
Any help appreciated. |
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FiOS Dan
Premium
join:2001-07-06
Redondo Beach, CA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Sentinel
said by Sentinel :...I use a hosts file to block ads as well. Methinks that's the ticket.
--
Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.
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