Win32/Winwebsec is a family of programs that claim to scan for malware and display fake warnings of “malicious programs and viruses”. They then inform the user that they need to pay money to register the software in order to remove these non-existent threats. Win32/Winwebsec has been distributed with several different names. The user interface varies to reflect each variant’s individual branding.
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, including Win32/Winwebsec, may display product names or logos in an apparently unlawful attempt to impersonate Microsoft products.
Symptoms vary among different distributions of Win32/Winwebsec, however, the presence of the following system changes (or similar) may indicate the presence of this program:
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Presence of the following files, or similar (for example):
%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\WinwebSecurity.exe
%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\config.udb
%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\init.udb
%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\Languages\English.lng
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Presence of the following registry modifications or similar (for example):
Adds value: "<randomly generated>" (same as the fake scanner file name, e.g. 1677291695)
With data: "<path to rogue>" (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\922926319\1677291695.exe)
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
Adds value: WinwebSecurity
With data: "%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\WinwebSecurity.exe"
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
Adds value: adpws
With data: "%COMMON_APPDATA%\<random>.exe" (e.g. "%COMMON_APPDATA%\5689887B.exe")
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
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Display of the following images/dialogs, or similar (for example):
Win32/Winwebsec is a family of programs that claim to scan for malware and display fake warnings of “malicious programs and viruses”. They then inform the user that they need to pay money to register the software in order to remove these non-existent threats. Win32/Winwebsec has been distributed with several different names. The user interface varies to reflect each variant’s individual branding. Installation details and functionality may vary slightly according to individual distributions of this rogue security program, however, differences are effectively only superficial. In the wild, Win32/Winwebsec has been observed being distributed with the following names:
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System Security
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Winweb Security
Note: Some variants of Winwebsec download additional malware. During installation they drop a file called installpv.exe into the same directory as the rogue itself. Installpv.exe downloads a file called pv.exe, which is usually a variant of
Worm:Win32/Swimnag, but was observed at one time to be a variant of
Worm:Win32/Koobface.
System Security
When distributed as 'System Security', Win32/Winwebsec performs the following actions.
Installation
The installer downloads a ZIP file and installs files from the ZIP. In the wild, we have observed this file being downloaded with the filename 'ws.zip' from the 'securedownloadsoftware.com' domain. It displays the following image as it downloads,
and this image when it has finished installation:
It then runs the fake scanner.
It creates a directory under %COMMON_APPDATA% with a randomly generated name (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\922926319). The fake scanner is copied to this directory, also using a randomly generated file name (e.g. "1677291695.exe"). It also installs the following clean files:
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config.udb
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init.udb
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Langs.udb
The registry is modified to ensure that the fake scanner is executed at each Windows start:
Adds value: "<randomly generated>" (same as the fake scanner file name, e.g. 1677291695)
With data: "<path to rogue>" (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\922926319\1677291695.exe)
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
It also creates the following shortcuts to the rogue executable on the desktop and in a new folder under Start | Programs:
See below for examples of the interface, fake alerts, false scanning results, icons and pop-ups used by Win32/Winwebsec when distributed as 'System Security':
Winwebsec may also display a dialog, similar to the following example, that appears to be closely modeled on the Windows Security Center:
Winweb Security
When distributed as 'Winweb Security', Win32/Winwebsec performs the following actions.
Installation
The installer downloads a ZIP file and installs files from the ZIP. In the wild, we have observed this file being downloaded with the filename 'ws.zip' from the 'winwebsecurity.com' domain. It displays the following image as it downloads;
and this image when it has finished installation:
It then runs the fake scanner.
It creates a directory called %COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity and drops these files there:
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WinwebSecurity.exe
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config.udb
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init.udb
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Languages\English.lng
It also drops a file directly into %COMMON_APPDATA% (e.g. %COMMON_APPDATA%\5689887B.exe). This component may periodically try to open a URL in Internet Explorer.
The registry is also modified to ensure that the fake scanner is executed at each Windows start:
Adds value: WinwebSecurity
With data: "%COMMON_APPDATA%\WinwebSecurity\WinwebSecurity.exe"
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
Adds value: adpws
With data: "%COMMON_APPDATA%\<random>.exe" (e.g. "%COMMON_APPDATA%\5689887B.exe")
To subkey: HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\RUN
See below for examples of the interface, fake alerts, false scanning results, icons and pop-ups used by Win32/Winwebsec when distributed as 'Winweb Security':
Analysis by Hamish O'Dea
Follow these general security tips to better protect your system:
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Enable a firewall on your computer.
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Get the latest computer updates.
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Run an up-to-date scanning and removal tool.
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Use caution with attachments and file transfers.
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Use caution when clicking on links to web pages.
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Protect yourself against social engineering attacks.
Enable a firewall on your computer
Use a third-party firewall product or turn on the Microsoft Windows Internet Connection Firewall.
To turn on the Windows Firewall in Windows Vista
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Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click Security.
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Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.
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Select On.
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Click OK.
To turn on the Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP
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Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click Network and Internet Connections. If you do not see Network and Internet Connections, click Switch to Category View.
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Click Change Windows Firewall Settings.
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Select On.
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Click OK.
Get the latest computer updates
Updates help protect your computer from viruses, worms, and other threats as they are discovered. It is important to install updates for all the software that is installed in your computer. These are usually available from vendor websites.
You can use the Automatic Updates feature in Windows to automatically download future Microsoft security updates while your computer is on and connected to the Internet.
To turn on Automatic Updates in Windows Vista
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Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click System and Maintainance.
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Click Windows Updates.
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Select a setting. Microsoft recommends selecting Install updates automatically and choose a time that is convenient for you. If you do not choose Automatic, but you choose to be notified when updates are ready, a notification balloon appears when new downloads are available to install. Click the notification balloon to review and install the updates.
To turn on Automatic Updates in Windows XP
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Click Start, and click Control Panel.
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Click System.
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Click Automatic Updates.
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Select a setting. Microsoft recommends selecting Automatic. If you do not choose Automatic, but you choose to be notified when updates are ready, a notification balloon appears when new downloads are available to install. Click the notification balloon to review and install the updates.
Run an up-to-date scanning and removal tool
Most scanning and removal software can detect and prevent the installation of known malicious software and potentially unwanted software such as adware or spyware. You should frequently run a scanning and removal tool that is updated with the latest signature files.
For more information, see http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/vista.mspx.
Use caution with attachments and file transfers
Exercise caution with e-mail and attachments received from unknown sources, or received unexpectedly from known sources. Use extreme caution when accepting file transfers from known or unknown sources..
Use caution when clicking on links to web pages
Exercise caution with links to web pages that you receive from unknown sources, especially if the links are to a web page that you are not familiar with or are suspicious of. Malicious software may be installed in your system simply by visiting a web page with harmful content.
Protect yourself from social engineering attacks.
While attackers may attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in hardware or software in order to compromise a system, they also attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in human behavior in order to do the same. When an attacker attempts to take advantage of human behavior in order to persuade the affected user to perform an action of the attacker's choice, it is known as 'social engineering'. Essentially, social engineering is an attack against the human interface of the targeted system. For more information, please see our article '
What is social engineering?'.
