W32/Forbot-AO

Please follow the instructions for removing worms.

Please read the instructions for removing W32/Forbot-AO.

W32/Forbot-AO is an IRC backdoor Trojan and network worm.

W32/Forbot-AO is capable of spreading to other computers via network shares and by using various exploits, including the LSASS vulnerability (see Microsoft Security bulletin MS04-011).

When first run W32/Forbot-AO moves itself to the Windows system folder as svhost.exe and creates the following registry entries to run svhost.exe on startup:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run = svhost.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run = svhost.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run = svhost.exe

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run = svhost.exe

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\\OFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run = svhost.exe

and the new service will have a display name of:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\
Run

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