W32/Forbot-AN

Please follow the instructions for removing worms.

Change any data that may have become compromised.

You will also need to edit the following registry entries, if they are 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\
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\

and remove any reference to any file you deleted.

Each user has a registry area named HKEY_USERS\[code number indicating user]\. For each user locate the entries:

HKU\[code number]\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Run\

HKU\[code number]\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\RunOnce\

and remove any reference to any file you deleted.

Close the registry editor.

Sophos Anti-Virus version 3.86 detects this worm as W32/Forbot-Gen without requiring an update. W32/Forbot-AN is a network worm and backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform.

When first run, W32/Forbot-AN copies itself to the Windows system folder as sys32snd.exe. In order to run on system startup, the worm creates the following registry entries:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
Win32 USB2 Driver = sys32snd.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\
Win32 USB2 Driver = sys32snd.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\
Win32 USB2 Driver = sys32snd.exe

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
Win32 USB2 Driver = sys32snd.exe

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\
Win32 USB2 Driver = sys32snd.exe

W32/Forbot-AN registers itself as a service process and connects to an IRC channel where it awaits commands from a remote user.

The backdoor component can be used to perform the following functions:

execute arbitrary commands (remote shell)
download and execute files from the internet
harvest product registration keys from the system registry
socks4 proxy server
port scanner
start/stop system service processes
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks
delete network shares

W32/Forbot-AN spreads through the network via the LSASS exploit and through backdoors left open by the Optix family of backdoor Trojans.

Sophos Anti-Virus version 3.86 detects this worm as W32/Forbot-Gen without requiring an update.