MoneyTree


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



Overview

Summary:

MoneyTree is an ActiveX control used to download premium-rate dialers, generally for porn sites. Dialers are used by a variety of web sites, such as hotactiondating.com

Alias:

Active Alert, All-In-One Telcom, Backdoor.Blarul.b [Kaspersky], Bck/Blarul.A [Panda], Dial/DyFuCA-A, DyFuCA_BH Module, Internet Optimizer, InternetOptimizer, Internet-Optimizer, MoneyTree/DyFuCa, MoneyTree/MultiDist, MoneyTree/NSLite, MoneyTree/NSUpdate, MoneyTree/UniDist, Proclaim Telcom, Spyware/Dyfuca [Panda], Spyware/SafeSurf [Panda], TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ac, TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ak, TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.d [Kaspersky], TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.j [Kaspersky], TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.q [Kaspersky], Win32/Blarul.B trojan [Eset]

Category:

Dialer: Software that dials a phone number. Some dialers connect to local Internet Service Providers and are beneficial as configured. Others connect to toll numbers without user awareness or permission.

Backdoor: A secret or undocumented means of getting into a computer system, or software that uses such a means to penetrate a system. Some software has a backdoor placed by the programmer to allow them to gain access to troubleshoot or change the program. Software that is classified as a "backdoor" is designed to exploit a vulnerability in a system, and open it to future access by an attacker.

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.

Downloader: A program designed to retrieve and install additional files, when run. Most will be configured to retrieve from a designated web or FTP site.

Hijacker: Any software that resets your browser's settings to point to other sites. Hijacks may reroute your info and address requests through an unseen site, capturing that info. In such hijacks, your browser may behave normally, but be slower.

Trojan: Any program with a hidden intent. Trojans are one of the leading causes of breaking into machines. If you pull down a program from a chat room, new group, or even from unsolicited e-mail, then the program is likely trojaned with some subversive purpose. The word Trojan can be used as a verb: To trojan a program is to add subversive functionality to an existing program. For example, a trojaned login program might be programmed to accept a certain password for any user's account that the hacker can use to log back into the system at any time. Rootkits often contain a suite of such trojaned programs.

Variants:

  • MoneyTree.DyFuCA
  • MoneyTree.MutliDist
  • MoneyTree.NSLite
  • MoneyTree.NSUpdate
  • MoneyTree.UniDist
  • MoneyTree/DyFuCA installs dyfuca.ocx and dyfuca.inf in the Downloaded Program Files folder. This variant typically installs InternetOptimizer.
  • MoneyTree/NSLite installs nslite.dll and nslite.inf in the Downloaded Program Files folder.
  • MoneyTree/NSUpdate installs nsupdate.dll and NSupd9x.inf in the Downloaded Program Files folder.
  • MoneyTree/UniDist installs UniDist.ocx and UniDist.inf in the Downloaded Program Files folder.
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.aa
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ac
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ag
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ak
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.j
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.k
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.q
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.r
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.t
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.w
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.y
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.z
  • Similar Pests:

    Dialer · Backdoor · Browser Helper Object · Downloader · Hijacker · Trojan

    Origins

    Group:

    Avenue Media, N.V.

    By This Group:

    MoneyTree.DyFuCA ·

    Mailing Address:

    Avenue Media, NV New Haven Office Center Curacao, AN

    EMail:

    webmaster@avenuemedia.com

    URL:

    http://www.avenuemedia.com/

    Programming Language:

    Visual C

    Date of Origin:

    Variants from March, 2003 to July, 2004

    Distribution

    Distribution:

    Loaded by ActiveX drive-by-download in pages operated by mtree (domains such as mtreexxx.nl), which are often redirected to by pop-up advertisements, 404 pages at porn hosts and misspelled domains.

    May also use direct EXE file downloads to distribute the same dialers; this does not leave an ActiveX control loaded.

    Prevalence:

  • MoneyTree: 97.8%
  • MoneyTree.DyFuCA: 68.6%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.aa: 0.8%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.j: 1.1%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.r: 1.1%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.t: 0.2%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.w: 0.2%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.y: 0.7%
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.z: 0.3%
  • More Info

    Clot Factor:

  • MoneyTree: 3
  • 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:

  • MoneyTree: Insufficient data to report growth
  • MoneyTree.DyFuCA: Insufficient data to report growth
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.aa: Insufficient data to report growth
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.j: Insufficient data to report growth
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.y: Insufficient data to report growth
  • Operation

    Advertising:

    No.

    Storage Required:

  • MoneyTree: at least 969 KB
  • MoneyTree.DyFuCA: at least 289 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.aa: at least 105 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.ag: at least 85 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.j: at least 133 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.r: at least 65 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.t: at least 41 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.w: at least 17 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.y: at least 49 KB
  • TrojanDownloader.Win32.Dyfuca.z: at least 93 KB
  • Browser Performance:

    Likely to slow performance of Internet Explorer.

    Risks

    Privacy Issues:

    No.

    Privacy Policy:

    http://www.yoogee.com/privacypolicy.html

    Security Issues:

    Yes. With the control installed, any web page may download and execute arbitrary unsigned code from one of mtree's servers.

    Stability Issues:

    Yes. May trigger Windows XP error reporting.

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.



    Manual Removal:

    Open the 'Downloaded Program Files' folder (which can be found in the Windows folder), and delete the entry for 'NSUpdateLiteCtrl Class' (NSUpdate variant), 'NSLiteUpdateCtrl Class' (NSLitevariant), 'MoneyTree Dialer' (UniDist variant), 'MultiDist' (MultiDist variant), or 'Software Update Manager' (DyFuCA variant). Follow the additional instructions below.
    Stop Running Processes:

    Kill these running processes with Task Manager:

    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:

    Restore Settings:

    After following the instructions above, you will still need to restore your original settings and prevent this from happening again. Here''s how.

    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 03, 2005