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7.3

Steps to eliminate browser hijacking adware?

Asked by Zoplax in Internet Security, Anti-Virus Applications, Windows XP Operating System

Tags: windows xp, adware, browser hijack, removal

My wife recently encountered what appears to be a new piece of adware.

She got a message via her Facebook account from someone among her friends saying she needed to update her Adobe Flash player to view certain content, and not expecting anything bad she clicked. Thing is, the update wasn't Flash but turned out to be related to a family of malware dubbed "Adware-Memwatcher".

This appears to hang out in memory (both IE 8 and the latest Firefox are affected), and when you query a search engine (Google, Ask, etc), clicking any of the returned links will cause it to hijack the session and divert you first to the domain "wa-search.com", and then to various advertising links which may also include popups.

The latest Trend Micro appeared to recognize parts of it but wasn't able to remove it, and the "fix" clobbered winsock, requiring me to run a fix from Microsoft to be able to browse again (that fix described at this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259). I scanned using Malwarebytes and SpyBot with the latest available definitions, but no traces were found. Also tried a product SUPERAntiSpyware and a product Browser Hijack Recover, to no avail.

Assuming this is a brand new variant which these scanners can't recognize, I'm hoping someone can help me determine how to remove this adware's hooks into the system, so that I can track it down manually and remove it. Running Windows XP with service pack 2 installed, IE8 and Firefox 3.0.9 browsers.
 
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[+][-]06/04/09 07:51 AM, ID: 24547594Accepted Solution

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Zones: Internet Security, Anti-Virus Applications, Windows XP Operating System
Tags: windows xp, adware, browser hijack, removal
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Solution Provided By: astaec
Participating Experts: 3
Solution Grade: B
 
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