W32/Rbot-TQ

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\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 entry:

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

and remove any reference to any file you deleted.

Close the registry editor.

Check the following items

• To renable DCOM you can edit the registry, but it's better to use Dcomcnfg.exe. See Microsoft article 825750 for details.
• The HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\restrictanonymous = "1" setting does not allow enumeration of SAM accounts and names. The default is "0". It can be changed in Local Security Policy. See Microsoft article 246261 for details.
• Check your administrator passwords and review network security.

W32/Rbot-TQ is a worm that attempts to spread to remote network shares. It also contains backdoor Trojan functionality allowing unauthorised remote access to the infected computer via IRC channels while running in the background as a service process.

W32/Rbot-TQ will also download and execute remote files to the infected computer, log key strokes, retrieve information such as CD keys for various games and flood other computers with network packets.

Sophos's anti-virus products include proactive protection technology, which can defend against new threats without requiring an update. Sophos customers have been protected against W32/Rbot-TQ (detected as W32/Rbot-Fam) since version 3.87. W32/Rbot-TQ is a worm that attempts to spread to remote network shares. It also contains backdoor Trojan functionality allowing unauthorised remote access to the infected computer via IRC channels while running in the background as a service process.

W32/Rbot-TQ will also download and execute remote files to the infected computer, log key strokes, retrieve information such as CD keys for various games and flood other computers with network packets.

W32/Rbot-TQ moves itself to the Windows system folder as msexcel.exe and creates the following registry entries to ensure it is run at system logon:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
Microsoft Excel = msexcel.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
Microsoft Excel = msexcel.exe

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\
Microsoft Excel = msexcel.exe

W32/Rbot-TQ may also set the following registry entries:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Ole\EnableDCOM = N
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\restrictanonymous = 1

W32/Rbot-TQ speads to network shares with weak passwords and by exploiting system vulnerabilities including the RPC DCOM (MS04-012), WebDav (MS03-007) and LSASS (MS04-011) vulnerabilities.

Sophos's anti-virus products include proactive protection technology, which can defend against new threats without requiring an update. Sophos customers have been protected against W32/Rbot-TQ (detected as W32/Rbot-Fam) since version 3.87.