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Asked on 23/12/2002, 2:13

Hello, this is my problem. Every time I open word , excel or another office item I notice that my cursor on itself again to write . They call it JS Seeker.Please you help me get rid of this thing . it's making me crazy. thanks

Reply Posted on 23/12/2002

The first thing you need to do id get a good antivirus program such as McAfee, Norton, etc. The web sites for these (www.mcafee.com and www.norton.com) have options to download fuly functional evaluation versions. Both also a great deal of information on this Trojan and other viruses/trojans...I have included the description and removal information from the Norton web site below:

JS.Seeker
Discovered on: December 15, 2000
Last Updated on: November 19, 2002 10:50:15 PM

JS.Seeker is a Trojan horse program that alters the default startup and search pages of your Web browser.

The Trojan horse sometimes arrives as a file named Runme.hta. This file runs only if the Windows Scripting Host is installed.

Type: Trojan Horse

Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) *
December 19, 2000

*
Intelligent Updater virus definitions are released daily, but require manual download and installation.
Click here to download manually.

**
LiveUpdate virus definitions are usually released every Wednesday.
Click here for instructions on using LiveUpdate.

Wild:

Number of infections: More than 1000
Number of sites: More than 10
Geographical distribution: Low
Threat containment: Easy
Removal: Easy
Threat Metrics

Wild:
High
Damage:
Low
Distribution:
Low

Damage

Payload:
Modifies files: Registry
Distribution

Name of attachment: Runme.hta
Size of attachment: 3 to 5 K

When JS.Seeker is executed, it makes changes to the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Search Bar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Default_Page_URL
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Default_Search_URL
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Netscape\Netscape Navigator\Main\Home Page

The original registry values are saved in the \Windows folder as Backup1.reg and Backup2.reg .

The Trojan horse creates the file Homereg111.reg in the \Windows folder and sets the previously mentioned registry keys to its own values. It then runs Removeit.hta, which deletes the file Runme.hta from the C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder.

JS.Seeker also creates the Prefs.js file in the \Windows folder. This is a JavaScript file that changes Netscape Preferences to its own.

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.

To remove JS.Seeker you need to:

Run a full system scan and delete any files that are detected as infected.
Delete the Homereg111.reg and Prefs.js files.
Restore original settings by merging Backup1.reg and Backup2.reg into the registry.

For instructions on how to do this, see the sections that follow.

To run a full system scan:
1. Make sure that Norton AntiVirus is set to scan all files.
2. Run a complete system scan.
3. Delete all files found to be infected with JS.Seeker.

To find and delete the Homereg111.reg and Prefs.js files:
1. Click Start, point to Find, and click Files or Folders.
2. Make sure that Look in is set to (C:) and that Include subfolders is checked.
3. In the Named box, type the following file names:

homereg111.reg prefs.js

4. Click Find Now. Windows will find the files (if they exist) and display them in the lower pane of the Find dialog box.

NOTE: You are about to delete files. One of them is Prefs.js. If you are using Netscape, there is a legitimate Netscape file that is named Prefs.js. If you delete the legitimate Prefs.js, it deletes your Netscape preferences. If you use Netscape, and do not want to do this, when the files are found, just delete copies of Prefs.js that are not in a Netscape subfolder. For example, if you find a copy of Prefs.js in the \Windows folder, that does not belong to Netscape and should be deleted.

5. Select each displayed file, press Delete, and click Yes to confirm.
6. Leave the Find: All Files window open, and go on to the next section.

To find and merge Backup1.reg and Backup2.reg into the registry:
1. Click New Search, and click OK to confirm.
2. Make sure that Look in is set to (C:) and that Include subfolders is checked.
3. In the Named box, type the following file names:

backup1.reg backup2.reg

4. When found, double-click each of these files to restore the registry settings.
5. Once the registry has been restored and the computer is working correctly, delete Backup1.reg and Backup2.reg.

Additional information:

There are other things that you can do to protect your system from this type of Trojan Horse.

Script Blocking

If you are using Norton AntiVirus 2001, a free program update that includes Script Blocking is available. Please run LiveUpdate to obtain this.
For other versions of Norton AntiVirus, SARC offers a tool to disable the Windows Scripting Host.

Install the Microsoft patch
This worm takes advantage of a known Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express security hole. Microsoft has provided a patch for this security hole at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS99-032.asp

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