RE: Windows 98 box is 'owned'

["Akins, Keith A (EM, ITS)" <keith.akins () ge com>]

 This a actually a virus. Mydoom if I remember right. It looks for any
folder named download and makes copies of itself with various names like
you mentioned. Download the fix tool from Symantec. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Darren Kirby [mailto:bulliver () badcomputer no-ip com] 
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 10:04 PM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Windows 98 box is 'owned'

Hello all,

I am writing this on behalf of my Mom. She was complaining that her
computer was sluggish, and that her HD space was getting used up faster
than it should. So I went over and fired up my trusty Linux live cd and
had a look.

Anyway, I found a directory right in C: named 'Downloads', and inside
were about 50 or so files, which were all warez, porn, windows exploits
and cracker 'howto's. Quite obviously this computer is owned, and is
being used as a warez server. I deleted the files, booted win, but they
reappeared after about 10 minutes. The strange thing is that these files
are ALL 29k, and all have filenames like:

Adobe Photoshop crack.exe
Smashing the Stack.txt.exe
Eminem - full album.mp3.exe
Office 2003 full.exe
...
On further inspection I found an identical directory at
C:/windows/Downloaded Program Files/. God only knows how many trojans
and other nasties are sprinkled around...

So I yanked the power cord out of her adsl modem, and told her not to
plug it back in unless she was checking her mail. Bad advice for sure,
but try telling your mom that her computer is rooted by punk kids and it
is too cracked to have safe internet access at all. Seems that a
complete OS reinstall is in order, but it seems to me that if they can
own her box once they can own it again just as easy, which leads me to
this list...I would like to try some investigating, and try to figure
out where the backdoor is, what exactly they are doing...and of course
how to prevent it.

Some background on myself...I am a Linux sysadmin, and have a great deal
of experience with UNIX operating systems...however, I have never run a
windows box, and have only used one in the 'point-and-drool' sort of
way. So I really know nothing of how the underlying OS works (or
doesn't...). 

So I guess I am just asking for some opinions of the situation, and
perhaps some links to docs about this type of attack, and how to prevent
it. Also, any software along the lines of chkrootkit or other forensic
tools, but for windows would be a big help.

TIA
-d
--
Part of the problem since 1976
http://badcomputer.no-ip.com
Get my public key from
http://keyserver.linux.it/pks/lookup?op=index&search=bulliver
"...the number of UNIX installations has grown to 10, with more
expected..."
- Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson, June 1972