FlashTrack

· Overview ·
· Origins ·
· Distribution ·
· Operation ·
· Risks ·
· Detection and Removal ·
· Research ·

Overview

Summary:

 FlashTrack is an IE browser helper object. It monitors web pages viewed and terms entered into forms on search engines.

Vendor Notes:

 'FlashTrack delivers targeted messages anywhere on the Internet. We reach the Web surfer in real time, based on where they are and what they may be doing online. By reaching users wherever they are, whatever they may be doing and whenever a marketer desires, FlashTrack delivers messages that have more impact! FlashTrack's users actively choose to download our software to benefit from our real time Point of Surfing technology and to support our many software partners.' -- http://www.flashtrack.net/index.html

Alias:

 Adware.Flashtrack [Symantec], Adware/FlashTrack [Panda], FTApp, the name of the program DLL.

See Also:

 nCase

Category:

Adware: Software that displays popup/popunder ads when the primary user interface is not visible or which do not appear to be assocaited with the product.

Browser Helper Object: (BHO). A component that Internet Explorer will load whenever it starts, shares IE's memory context, can perform any action on the available windows and modules. A BHO can detect events, create windows to display additional information on a viewed page, monitor messages and actions. Microsoft calls it "a spy we send to infiltrate the browser's land." BHOs are not stopped by personal firewalls, because they are seen by the firewall as your browser itself. Some exploits of this technology search all pages you view in IE and replace banner advertisements with other ads. Some monitor and report on your actions. Some change your home page.

Variants:
  • FlashTrack/flt, a newer variant, installs into C:\Program Files\flt
  • FlashTrack/FTApp is the original version, with the program files being written to C:\Program Files\FTApp (regardless of where your actual Program Files folder is).
    		•

    Similar Pests:

    		 Adware · Browser Helper Object

    Origins

    Group:

    		 FlashTrack

    Vendor:

    		 FlashTrack

    By This Group:

    		 FlashTrack.Ftapp ·

    EMail:

    		 admin@flashtrack.net

    URL:

    		 http://www.flashtrack.net/

    Date of Origin:

    		 Variants from January, 2002 to September, 2004

    Distribution

    Distribution:

    		 from the EULA: 'Users either download FlashTrack directly or it comes along with software applications our users install. These include screensavers, music management software, document sharing applications, etc.'

    Prevalence:
  • FlashTrack: 17.2%
    • More Info

    Clot Factor:
  • FlashTrack: 11

    • The "Clot Factor" is a measure of how much a pest "gums up" a machine by adding registry entries, files, and directories. As more objects are placed in a machine, manual removal becomes more difficult and more error-prone.

    Growth:
  • FlashTrack: Insufficient data to report growth
    		•

    Operation

    Platform:

    		 Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP

    Advertising:

    		 Yes. 'FlashTrack anonymously categorizes the interests of its users, based on real time Web browsing, in order to deliver advertisements that are relevant. FlashTrack matches available advertisements with the type of offeres users may be seeking.' -- from the EULA.

    Storage Required:
  • FlashTrack: at least 2001 KB
    		•

    Browser Performance:

    		 Likely to slow performance of Internet Explorer.

    Risks

    Privacy Issues:

    		 Some. There is no evidence that the software sends browsing history back to FlashTrack's servers directly, but targeted sites and search terms generate traffic that FlashTrack can monitor.

    Privacy Policy:

    		 http://flashtrack.net/policy.html

    Security Issues:

    		 Yes. the EULA indicates that the product will 'Upgrade users with the FlashTrack Auto-Update capability, thereby enhancing the user experience without the need for its users to reinstall or confirm the update process', thus installing unknown software without user awareness at the time of install.

    Stability Issues:

    		 Yes. Reported browser crashes particularly after monitored form submissions.

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.

    Manual Removal:

    		 An uninstaller is available from http://www.flashtrack.net/apps/ft_uninst.exe
    Stop Running Processes:

    Kill these running processes with Task Manager:

    Remove AutoRun Reference:

    Go To the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\jreg, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\t, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\xcpy1, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\runonce\t, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.



    Unregister DLLs:

    Unregister these DLLs with Regsvr32, then reboot:

    Clean Registry:

    Remove these registry items (if present) with RegEdit:

    Remove Files:

    Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    Remove Directories:

    Remove these directories (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    Research

    File Analyses:

    More Info:
  • AllTheWeb, AltaVista, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Google, HotBot, Lycos, LookSmart, MSN, Yahoo!
    		•

    Research By:
  • David Stang
  • PestPatrol's Pest Research Center
    		•

    Last Revised:

    		 April 03, 2005