Trojan and Adware - Vundo (vtsts.dll) Removal

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(Continued from previous part...)

2. Ran VundoFix and clicked "Scan for Vundo". It scanned only the system directories and returned the results in a few minutes:

jkkjj.dll
vtsts.dll
ststv.ini
ststv.bak1
ststv.bak2
ststv.ini2
ststv.tmp
vtsts.dll 
drivers\dp.sys
ststv.ini
ststv.bak1
ststv.bak2
ststv.ini2
ststv.tmp
ststv.ini
ststv.bak1
ststv.bak2
ststv.ini2
ststv.tmp

This was nice. VundoFix.exe was able to detect this Trojan Vundo perfectly. It also reported an extra file: \windows\system32\drivers\dp.sys. It was a hidden system file with a suspicious date (my friend got his computer in Oct. 2005):

DP.sys          12,288    7/24/2006  8:51 PM

3. I restarted the system in safe mode (Safe mode with command line prompt). This was not mentioned in Atribune.org's instruction. But I thought that removing viruses in safe mode is always better.

4. Ran VundoFix.exe again from the command line and clicked "Scan for Vundo". I got the same list of infected files.

5. Clicked "Remove Vundo". It did some work and displayed a message saying: "vtsts.dll could not be deleted. VundoFix will load on reboot to attempt removal. Please click Remove Vundo when rebooted".

6. Clicked OK to let the system to reboot. VundoFix.exe started by itself. I clicked "Remove Vundo". It did some work and closed itself.

7. I Ran VundoFix.exe and did scan again. Surprisingly, it still reported two Vundo files:

vtsts.dll
ststv.ini

8. This time, I clicked "Remove Vundo" right in the normal mode, no restarting in safe mode.

9. VundoFix.exe closed all other running processes, only leaving the desktop background image on the screen. After a couple of minutes, it shows a message saying "Done. Click OK to reboot the system".

10. Clicked OK. System rebooted without any problem.

Checking Result:

Looking at those suspicious files with File Explorer. They were all gone!

Scanning with HiJackThis, it showed vtsts.dll with "file missing", (A good sign of successful removal!):

O2 - BHO: ATLDistrib Object - {93C6313C-9DB4-4694-8BD0-E378C573A9AD}
   - C:\WINDOWS\system32\vtsts.dll (file missing)

To get rid of this entry was easy. Select it in HiJackThis and click "Fix checked".

Conclusion

• vtsts.dll was hidden root cause of the Trojan Vundo infection on my friend's Windows system.
• This instance of Trojan Vundo had no Winlogon Notify registry entry of vtsts.dll like other reported cases.
• FixVundo.exe from Symantec failed to detect this instance of Trojan Vundo.
• VundoFix.exe from Atribune.org did a nice job to detect and remove this Trojan Vundo. Thanks to all the people at Atribune.org for this great tool!

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