WORM_SOHAND.I / WORM_SOHANAD.I / IM Virus

PLS BE INFORMED IMMEDIATELY! A virus is on a rampage in Messengers. The virus name is WORM_SOHAND.I. It shows itself as an innocent IM with a link to a site and tells you it is about cool pictures. Whne the link is clicked, it takes control of your registry, changes your browsers homepage and disables you to change the homepage! after clicked it also sends itself to everyone in your messenger list. So if you recieve it, please remeber DO NOT CLICK THE LINK! just close the window or read the other offline messages. Warning: it may come from your closest friends to! PLEASE, PASS IT ON TO ALL

Solution: (http://www.trendmicro.com)

Note: To fully remove all associated malware, perform the clean solutions for the following:

• JS_WONKA.N
• VBS_ADODB.AE

Identifying the Malware Program
To remove this malware, first identify the malware program.

1. Scan your computer with your Trend Micro antivirus product.
2. NOTE the path and file name of all files detected as WORM_SOHANAD.I.

Trend Micro customers need to download the latest virus pattern file before scanning their computer. Other users can use Housecall, the Trend Micro online virus scanner.
Terminating the Malware Program
Since this malware terminates the Windows Task Manager, it is necessary to use third party process viewers such as Process Explorer. You will need the name(s) of the file(s) detected earlier.

1. Download Process Explorer.
2. Extract the contents of the compressed (ZIP) file to a location of your choice.
3. Execute Process Explorer by double-clicking procexp.exe.
4. In the Process Explorer window, locate the malware file(s) detected earlier.
5. Right-click one of the detected files, then click Kill Process Tree.
6. Do the same for all detected malware files in the list of running processes.
7. Close Process Explorer.

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*NOTE: On computers running all Windows platforms, if the process you are looking for is not in the list displayed by Process Explorer, continue with the next solution procedure, noting additional instructions. If the malware process is in the list displayed by Process Explorer, but you are unable to terminate it, restart your computer in safe mode. Enabling The Registry Editor
This malware disables the Registry Editor. To restore the said system tool, perform the following instructions:

1. Open Notepad. Click Start>Run, type Notepad, then press Enter.
2. Copy and paste the following:
   On Error Resume Next Set shl = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") Set fso = CreateObject("scripting.FileSystemObject") shl.RegDelete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableRegistryTools" shl.RegDelete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskMgr" shl.RegDelete "HKU\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableRegistryTools" shl.RegDelete "HKU\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskMgr"
3. Save this file as C:\RESTORE.VBS.
4. Click Start>Run, type C:\RESTORE.VBS, then press Enter.
5. Click Yes at the prompt of the message box.

Editing the Registry
This malware modifies the computer's registry. Users affected by this malware may need to modify or delete specific registry keys or entries. For detailed information regarding registry editing, please refer to the following articles from Microsoft:

1. HOW TO: Backup, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME
2. HOW TO: Backup, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows NT 4.0
3. HOW TO: Backup, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows 2000
4. HOW TO: Back Up, Edit, and Restore the Registry in Windows XP and Server 2003

Removing Autostart Entries from the Registry
Removing autostart entries from the registry prevents the malware from executing at startup.
If the registry entries below is not found, the malware may not have executed as of detection. If so, proceed to the succeeding solution set.

1. Open Registry Editor. Click Start>Run, type REGEDIT, then press Enter.
2. In the left panel, double-click the following:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>
   Windows>CurrentVersion>Run
3. In the right panel, locate and delete the following entries:
   
   
   • Task Manager = "%Windows%\system\svchost32.exe"
   • Svchost = "%Windows%\system\svhost.exe"
   (Note: %Windows% is the default Windows folder, usually C:\Windows or C:\WINNT.)

Removing Added Keys and Entries from the Registry

1. Still in Registry Editor, in the left panel, double-click the following:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Policies>
   Microsoft>Internet Explorer>Control Panel
2. In the right panel, locate and delete the entry:
   Homepage = "1"
3. In the left panel, double-click the following:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Yahoo>
   pager>View
4. In the left panel, locate and delete the following keys:
   
   
   • YMSGR_buzz
   • YMSGR_Launchcast
5. Close Registry Editor.

Resetting Internet Explorer Home Page
This procedure restores the Internet Explorer home page to the default settings.

1. Close all Internet Explorer windows.
2. Open Control Panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel.
3. Double-click the Internet Options icon.
4. In the Internet Properties window, click the Programs tab.
5. Click the Reset Web Settings... button.
6. Select Also reset my home page. Click Yes.
7. Click OK.

Important Windows ME/XP Cleaning Instructions
Users running Windows ME and XP must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of infected computers.
Users running other Windows versions can proceed with the succeeding solution set(s).
Running Trend Micro Antivirus
If you are currently running in safe mode, please restart your computer normally before performing the following solution.
Scan your computer with Trend Micro antivirus and delete files detected as WORM_SOHANAD.I. To do this, Trend Micro customers must download the latest virus pattern file and scan their computer. Other Internet users can use HouseCall, the Trend Micro online virus scanner.



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