HijackThis log tutorial

What's good and what's bad?


On the forums of SpywareInfo, a lot of people new to browser hijacking post topics asking for help analyzing logs from HijackThis, because they don't understand what stuff is good and what is bad.

This is a basic guide as to what the log means, and some tips on reading it yourself. This should in no way replace asking for help in the SWI forums, but help you somewhat in understanding the log yourself.

Overview

Each line in a HijackThis log starts with a section name. (For technical information on this, click 'Info' in the main window and scroll down. Highlight a line and click 'More info on this item'.)

For practical information, click the section name you need help with:

R0, R1, R2, R3 - IE Start & Search page

What it looks like:
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page=http://www.google.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL=http://www.google.com/
R3 - Default URLSearchHook is missing
What to do:
If you recognize the URL at the end as your homepage or search engine, it's OK. If you don't, check it and have HijackThis fix it.
For the R3 items, always fix them unless it mentions a program you recognize, like Copernic.

F0, F1 - Autoloading programs

What it looks like:
F0 - system.ini: Shell=Explorer.exe Openme.exe
F1 - win.ini: run=hpfsched
What to do:
The F0 items are always bad, so fix them.
The F1 items are usually very old programs that are safe, so you should find some more info on the filename to see if it's good or bad.

N1, N2, N3, N4 - Netscape/Mozilla Start & Search page

What it looks like:
N1 - Netscape 4: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "www.google.com"); (C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\default\prefs.js)
N2 - Netscape 6: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.google.com"); (C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\defaulto9t1tfl.slt\prefs.js)
N2 - Netscape 6: user_pref("browser.search.defaultengine", "engine://C%3A%5CProgram%20Files%5CNetscape%206%5Csearchplugins%5CSBWeb_02.src"); (C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\defaulto9t1tfl.slt\prefs.js)
What to do:
Usually the Netscape and Mozilla homepage and search page are safe. They rarely get hijacked. Should you see an URL you don't recognize as your homepage or search page, have HijackThis fix it.

O1 - Hostsfile redirection

What it looks like:
O1 - Hosts: 216.177.73.139 auto.search.msn.com
O1 - Hosts: 216.177.73.139 search.netscape.com
O1 - Hosts: 216.177.73.139 ieautosearch
What to do:
This hijack will redirect the address to the right to the IP address to the left. If the IP does not belong to the address, you will be redirected to a wrong site everytime you enter the address. You can always have HijackThis fix these, unless you knowingly put those lines in your Hosts file.

O2 - Browser Helper Objects

What it looks like:
O2 - BHO: Yahoo! Companion BHO - {13F537F0-AF09-11d6-9029-0002B31F9E59} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\YAHOO!\COMPANION\YCOMP5_0_2_4.DLL
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {1A214F62-47A7-4CA3-9D00-95A3965A8B4A} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\POPUP ELIMINATOR\AUTODISPLAY401.DLL (file missing)
O2 - BHO: MediaLoads Enhanced - {85A702BA-EA8F-4B83-AA07-07A5186ACD7E} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\MEDIALOADS ENHANCED\ME1.DLL
What to do:
If you don't directly recognize a Browser Helper Object's name, use TonyK's BHO List to find it by the class ID (CLSID, the number between curly brackets) and see if it's good or bad. In the BHO List, 'X' means spyware and 'L' means safe.

O3 - IE toolbars

What it looks like:
O3 - Toolbar: &Yahoo! Companion - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\YAHOO!\COMPANION\YCOMP5_0_2_4.DLL
O3 - Toolbar: Popup Eliminator - {86BCA93E-457B-4054-AFB0-E428DA1563E1} - C:\PROGRAM FILES\POPUP ELIMINATOR\PETOOLBAR401.DLL (file missing)
O3 - Toolbar: rzillcgthjx - {5996aaf3-5c08-44a9-ac12-1843fd03df0a} - C:\WINDOWS\APPLICATION DATA\CKSTPRLLNQUL.DLL
What to do:
If you don't directly recognize a toolbar's name, use TonyK's Toolbar List to find it by the class ID (CLSID, the number between curly brackets) and see if it's good or bad. In the Toolbar List, 'X' means spyware and 'L' means safe.
If it's not on the list and the name seems a random string of characters and the file is somewhere in a folder named 'Application Data' (like the last one in the examples above), it's definitely bad, and you should have HijackThis fix it.

O4 - Autoloading programs from Registry

What it looks like:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
What to do:
Use PacMan's Startup List to find the entry and see if it's good or bad.

O5 - IE Options not visible in Control Panel

What it looks like:
O5 - control.ini: inetcpl.cpl=no
What to do:
Unless you've knowingly hidden the icon from Control Panel, have HijackThis fix it.

O6 - IE Options access restricted by Administrator

What it looks like:
O6 - HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions present
What to do:
Unless you have the Spybot S&D option 'Lock homepage from changes' active, have HijackThis fix this.

O7 - Regedit access restricted by Administrator

What it looks like:
O7 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, DisableRegedit=1
What to do:
Always have HijackThis fix this.

O8 - Extra items in IE right-click menu

What it looks like:
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES\GOOGLETOOLBAR_EN_1.1.68-DELEON.DLL/cmsearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Yahoo! Search - file:///C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Common/ycsrch.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Zoom &In - C:\WINDOWS\WEB\zoomin.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Zoom O&ut - C:\WINDOWS\WEB\zoomout.htm
What to do:
If you don't recognize the name of the item in the right-click menu in IE, have HijackThis fix it.

O9 - Extra buttons on main IE toolbar, or extra items in IE 'Tools' menu

What it looks like:
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: AIM (HKLM)
What to do:
If you don't recognize the name of the button or menuitem, have HijackThis fix it.

O10 - Winsock hijackers

What it looks like:
O10 - Hijacked Internet access by New.Net
O10 - Broken Internet access because of LSP provider 'c:\progra~1\common~2\toolbar\cnmib.dll' missing
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files\newton knows\vmain.dll
What to do:
It's best to fix these using LSPFix from Cexx.org, or Spybot S&D from Kolla.de.

O11 - Extra group in IE 'Advanced Options' window

What it looks like:
O11 - Options group: [CommonName] CommonName
What to do:
The only hijacker as of now that adds its own options group to the IE Advanced Options window is CommonName. So you can always have HijackThis fix this.

O12 - IE plugins

What it looks like:
O12 - Plugin for .spop: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O12 - Plugin for .PDF: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\PLUGINS\nppdf32.dll
What to do:
Most of the time these are safe. Only OnFlow adds a plugin here that you don't want (.ofb).

O13 - IE DefaultPrefix hijack

What it looks like:
O13 - DefaultPrefix: http://www.pixpox.com/cgi-bin/click.pl?url=
O13 - WWW Prefix: http://prolivation.com/cgi-bin/r.cgi?
What to do:
These are always bad. Have HijackThis fix them.

O14 - 'Reset Web Settings' hijack

What it looks like:
O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://www.searchalot.com
What to do:
If the URL is not the provider of your computer or your ISP, have HijackThis fix it.

O15 - Unwanted site in Trusted Zone

What it looks like:
O15 - Trusted Zone: http://free.aol.com
What to do:
So far, only AOL has the tendency to add itself to your Trusted Zone, allowing it to run any ActiveX it wants. Always have HijackThis fix this.

O16 - ActiveX Objects (aka Downloaded Program Files)

What it looks like:
O16 - DPF: Yahoo! Chat - http://us.chat1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/chat/applet/c381/chat.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab
What to do:
If you don't recognize the name of the object, or the URL it was downloaded from, have HijackThis fix it. If the name or URL contains words like 'dialer', 'casino', 'free_plugin' etc, definitely fix it.

O17 - Lop.com domain hijacks

What it looks like:
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\VxD\MSTCP: Domain = aoldsl.net
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: Domain = W21944.find-quick.com
O17 - HKLM\Software\..\Telephony: DomainName = W21944.find-quick.com
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{D196AB38-4D1F-45C1-9108-46D367F19F7E}: Domain = W21944.find-quick.com
What to do:
If the domain is not from your ISP or company network, have HijackThis fix it.

O18 - Extra protocols and protocol hijackers

What it looks like:
O18 - Protocol: relatedlinks - {5AB65DD4-01FB-44D5-9537-3767AB80F790} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\MSIETS\msielink.dll
O18 - Protocol: mctp - {d7b95390-b1c5-11d0-b111-0080c712fe82}
O18 - Protocol hijack: http - {66993893-61B8-47DC-B10D-21E0C86DD9C8}
What to do:
Only a few hijackers show up here. The known baddies are 'cn' (CommonName), 'ayb' (Lop.com) and 'relatedlinks' (Huntbar), you should have HijackThis fix those.
Other things that show up are either not confirmed safe yet, or are hijacked by spyware. In the last case, have HijackThis fix it.

O19 - User style sheet hijack

What it looks like:
O19 - User style sheet: c:\WINDOWS\Java\my.css
What to do:
In the case of a browser slowdown and frequent popups, have HijackThis fix this item if it shows up in the log.
If something in your log still puzzles you after this short tutorial, there is nothing stopping you from posting at the SpywareInfo forums.
If you have any problems, questions or comments concerning this document, you can email me if you like.

Merijn