BookedSpace

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

Overview

Alias:

 Adware/BookedSpace [Panda], BookedSpace - Remanent

See Also:

 nCase

Category:

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.

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.

Variants:
  • BookedSpace.BS2
  • BookedSpace.BS3
  • BookedSpace.Remanent
    		•

    Similar Pests:

    		 Browser Helper Object · Adware

    Origins

    EMail:

    		 more@bookedspace.com

    URL:

    		 66.225.192.199 for BookedSpace/Remanent; www.bookedspace.com for /BS2 and /BS3 variants.

    Date of Origin:

    		 Variants from July, 2003 to February, 2005

    Distribution

    Distribution:

    		 BookedSpace/Remanent is silently installed by MThree MP3 to WAV converter. BookedSpace/BS2 is silently installed by FreeWire's FreeMP3Player. May be bundled with BikiniDesk 1.21.

    Prevalence:
  • BookedSpace: 0.1%
  • BookedSpace.BS3: < 0.00005%
  • BookedSpace.Remanent: < 0.00005%
    • More Info

    Clot Factor:
  • BookedSpace: 12

    • 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:
  • BookedSpace: Insufficient data to report growth
  • BookedSpace.Remanent: Insufficient data to report growth
    		•

    Operation

    Advertising:

    		 Yes. BookedSpace can contact its controlling server when a new page is visited, which may direct it to open pop-up ads.

    Storage Required:
  • BookedSpace: at least 2457 KB
  • BookedSpace.BS2: at least 281 KB
  • BookedSpace.Remanent: at least 109 KB
    		•

    Browser Performance:

    		 Likely to slow performance of Internet Explorer.

    Risks

    Privacy Issues:

    		 Yes. When the controlling server is contacted, the URL of the current page is passed along with a user ID for tracking purposes.

    Privacy Policy:

    		 None available from http://www.bookedspace.com

    Security Issues:

    		 Yes. May download and install third-party software as directed by its controlling server. BookedSpace/BS2 has been seen to install the BargainBuddy, nCase and eBates.

    Stability Issues:

    		 IE address bar searches may no longer work.

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.

    Manual Removal:

    		 Try the uninstaller at http://bookedspace.com/uninstaller.exe
    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 bxxs5 , delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\bookedspace, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\bsx3, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\bxss5, delete it and reboot the machine immediately.
    If you find the value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\bxsx5, 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:
  • Andrew Clover
  • PestPatrol's Pest Research Center
    		•

    Last Revised:

    		 April 15, 2005