W32/Agobot-ME

Please follow the instructions for removing worms.

You will also need to edit the following registry entries, if present. Please read the warning about editing the registry.

At the taskbar, click Start|Run. Type 'Regedit' and press Return. The registry editor opens.

Before you edit the registry, you should make a backup. On the 'Registry' menu, click 'Export Registry File'. In the 'Export range' panel, click 'All', then save your registry as Backup.

Locate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE entries:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
mssvc32 = mssvc32.exe
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\
mssvc32 = mssvc32.exe

and delete them if they exist.

Close the registry editor.

• Check your administrator passwords and review network security.
• Replace the Hosts file from a backup or edit it in Notepad to remove the changes that the Trojan has made.

W32/Agobot-ME is an IRC backdoor Trojan and network worm which also terminates and disables various anti-virus and security related programs. W32/Agobot-ME is an IRC backdoor Trojan and network worm.

W32/Agobot-ME is capable of spreading to computers on the local network protected by weak passwords.

When first run W32/Agobot-ME moves itself to the Windows system folder as mssvc32.exe and creates the following registry entries to run itself on system logon:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
mssvc32 = mssvc32.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\
mssvc32 = mssvc32.exe

On NT-based versions of Windows the worm creates a new service named "mssvc32" with the startup property set to automatic, so that the service starts automatically each time Windows is started.

Each time W32/Agobot-ME is run it attempts to connect to a remote IRC server and join a specific channel. The worm then runs continuously in the background, allowing a remote intruder to access and control the computer via IRC channels.

W32/Agobot-ME attempts to terminate and disable various anti-virus and security related programs.

W32/Agobot-ME attempts to restrict access to several anti-virus and security related websites by appending the following to the HOSTS file:

127.0.0.1 www.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 securityresponse.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 symantec.com
127.0.0.1 www.sophos.com
127.0.0.1 sophos.com
127.0.0.1 www.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 liveupdate.symantecliveupdate.com
127.0.0.1 www.viruslist.com
127.0.0.1 viruslist.com
127.0.0.1 viruslist.com
127.0.0.1 f-secure.com
127.0.0.1 www.f-secure.com
127.0.0.1 kaspersky.com
127.0.0.1 www.avp.com
127.0.0.1 www.kaspersky.com
127.0.0.1 avp.com
127.0.0.1 www.networkassociates.com
127.0.0.1 networkassociates.com
127.0.0.1 www.ca.com
127.0.0.1 ca.com
127.0.0.1 mast.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 my-etrust.com
127.0.0.1 www.my-etrust.com
127.0.0.1 download.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 dispatch.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 secure.nai.com
127.0.0.1 nai.com
127.0.0.1 www.nai.com
127.0.0.1 update.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 updates.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 us.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 liveupdate.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 customer.symantec.com
127.0.0.1 rads.mcafee.com
127.0.0.1 trendmicro.com
127.0.0.1 www.trendmicro.com