Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU is a trojan that redirects web searches and may and download and run arbitrary files.

It is a member of the Win32/Tracur family of trojans.

System changes

The following system changes may indicate the presence of this malware:

• Searches you make in the following search engines may be redirected:
   
  
  • AOL
  • Bing
  • Google
  • Yahoo
     
• The presence of the following registry modification:
   
  In subkey: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
  Sets value: "<malware's sub-folder>"
  With data: "rundll32.exe "%LOCALAPPDATA%\<malware's sub-folder>\<random>.dll",<export function>"

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU is a trojan that redirects web searches and may download and run arbitrary files.

It is a member of the Win32/Tracur family of trojans.

Installation

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU is dropped and run by another piece of malware, called a "loader", which is also detected as Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU.

The loader drops Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU as a DLL file with a random name into a folder in %LOCALAPPDATA%. It creates the folder by using the names of existing folders, as in the following examples: 

• %LOCALAPPDATA%\Local AppWizard-Generated Applications\ztqtolqs.dll
• %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\nlpvosgf.dll

Note: %LOCALAPPDATA% refers to a variable location that is determined by the malware by querying the operating system. The default location for the Local Application Data folder for Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 is "C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data". For Windows Vista, 7, and 8, the default location is "C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local".

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU modifies the following registry entry to ensure that its copy runs at each Windows start:

In subkey: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Sets value: "<malware's sub-folder>"
With data: "rundll32.exe "%LOCALAPPDATA%\<malware's sub-folder>\<random>.dll",<export function>"

where <export function> is a function defined in the DLL's code, for example:

• CheckCTCRCVersion
• TX-Export
• mpegInVideoAuxinfo

The following is an example of the modified registry entry:

In subkey: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Sets value: "Local AppWizard-Generated Applications"
With data: "rundll32.exe "C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Local AppWizard-Generated Applications\ztqtolqs.dll", CheckCTCRCVersion"

When run, Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU loads the dropped DLL.

Payload

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU redirects searches you make in the following search engines:

• AOL
• Bing
• Google
• Yahoo

Contacts remote host

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU may contact the following remote hosts:

• 199.71.233.126
• 83.133.127.200
• cms.abmr.net

The trojan contacts these hosts to determine the addresses to redirect your searches to. However, the trojan may also contact these hosts for the following purposes:

• To receive configuration or other data
• To download and execute arbitrary files (including updates or additional malware)
• To receive instruction from a remote attacker
• To upload data or browsing activity taken from your computer

Additional information

Trojan:Win32/Tracur.AU creates a mutex with a random GUID as its name, possibly as an infection marker to prevent multiple instances running on your computer, for example:

• {437E2C19-A2E9-859E-3CE7-A178DEFBBCA9}
• {A3AC9628-2432-34FC-AC06-04E04050F2DC}
• {84B016AA-E679-0362-D199-416162D379A2}

The trojan may also modify the following registry entry, possibly to store additional configuration details or information about the malware:

In subkey: HKCU\Software\<randomly chosen existing folder name>
Sets value: "<random GUID>"
With data: "<encrypted data>"

For example:

In subkey: HKCU\Software\Intel
Sets value: "{6C2A9407-A1A1-6264-1411-DAA157C1708D}"
With data: "<encrypted data>"

Related encyclopedia entries

Win32/Tracur

Analysis by Rex Plantado

To detect and remove this threat and other malicious software that may be installed on your computer, run a full-system scan with an appropriate, up-to-date, security solution. The following Microsoft products detect and remove this threat:

• Microsoft Security Essentials or, for Windows 8, Windows Defender
• Microsoft Safety Scanner