For the past few days Avast has been telling me that a threat has been detected at exactly 10:08 and 18:08 every day. I’ve attached a screenshot of the alert.
The odd thing is, I’ve done a scan and nothing has shown up. Nothing shows up in the virus chest either.
I’ve searched this online but nothing obvious has presented itself, so I’d be grateful if anybody has any ideas.
It’s getting bloody annoying!
Mike
Attach your basic diagnostic logs. (MBAM and FRST)
Instructions: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=194892
@ mjmorris335
Aside from following what Asyn suggests.
There wouldn’t be any thing in the virus chest as it is alerting on something on-line. Ordinarily this would be the Web Shield making this detection and it would abort the connection, so it shouldn’t be downloaded.
The process that is making the connection, WindowsPowerShell, powershell.exe isn’t something I would be expecting to make connections. So it could be an indication of malware misusing that executable, hence following Asyn’s advice is important.
Are you running powershell or are you aware that it is running ?
TFT DavidR and Asyn.
Please find attached the relevant logs.
I have a vague recollection of something popping up on the screen a while ago about powershell but I can’t remember exactly what it was.
Mike
OK, now you’ve to wait a bit…
No problem. Whenever you can get to it is fine.
Thanks,
Mike
The wait is for a qualified malware removal specialist to be able to analyse your logs.
Is there any possibility of this being looked at? The problem seemed to disappear of its own accord but has now resurfaced.
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike A malware remover will help you deal with this problem.
Apparently this looks when of those powershell malware.Something is trying to user powershell to download a malware (most probably ransomware) and avast is stopping it.Hold on tight! 
It is nothing dead serious as long as avast keeps stopping it but this is a indicator there is a shady downloader on your system.
Thanks for that. I have launched Malwarebytes Anti-Malware tool but it doesn’t report anything suspicious.
Regards,
Mike
I have checked the logs you provided and see no malware in them. However, Powershell malware could be in the registry. Please run the following scanner as Malwarebytes has utilized this scanner to look for those infections specifically.
Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit from here
[*]Unzip the contents to a folder in a convenient location.
[*]Open the folder where the contents were unzipped and run mbar.exe
[*]Follow the instructions in the wizard to update and allow the program to scan your computer for threats.
[*]Click on the Cleanup button to remove any threats and reboot if prompted to do so.
[*]Wait while the system shuts down and the cleanup process is performed.
[*]Perform another scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit to verify that no threats remain. If they do, then click Cleanup once more and repeat the process.
[*]When done, please post the two logs produced they will be in the MBAR folder… mbar-log.txt and system-log.txt
[quote author=dbrisendine link=topic=198767.msg1391937#msg1391937 date=1494128790]
I have checked the logs you provided and see no malware in them. However, Powershell malware could be in the registry. Please run the following scanner as Malwarebytes has utilized this scanner to look for those infections specifically.
Thanks for your reply. The scanner reports no malware found.
Regards,
Mike
No malware found. Logs attached.
Regards,
Mike
Good; those logs look clean. Let us clean up what shows on the FRST logs and see what remains. Thanks.
https://sites.google.com/site/cannedfixes/farbar-recovery-scan-tool/FRST.gif
Fix with Farbar Recovery Scan Tool
https://sites.google.com/site/cannedfixes/home/hosted-images-formatting/icon_exclaim.gif
[b] This fix was created for this user for use on that particular machine.
https://sites.google.com/site/cannedfixes/home/hosted-images-formatting/icon_exclaim.gif
https://sites.google.com/site/cannedfixes/home/hosted-images-formatting/icon_exclaim.gif
Running it on another one may cause damage and render the system unstable.
https://sites.google.com/site/cannedfixes/home/hosted-images-formatting/icon_exclaim.gif
[/b]
Download attached fixlist.txt file and save it to the Desktop:
Both files, FRST and fixlist.txt have to be in the same location or the fix will not work!
How is the system running now?
That seems to have cured it. Avast was triggering at exactly 10:08 every morning but hasn’t since I applied the fix.
Log attached.
Thank you very much for your help.
Mike
That’s good news. Let’s see what one cleaner finds.
AdwCleaner by Xplode
Download AdwCleaner from here or from here. Save the file to the desktop.
NOTE: If you are using IE 8 or above you may get a warning that stops the program from downloading. Just click on the warning and allow the download to complete.
Close all open windows and browsers.
- Click the [b]Scan[/b] button and wait for the scan to finish.
- After the Scan has finished the window may or may not show what it found and above, in the progress bar, you will see: [b]Waiting for action. Please uncheck elements you don't want to remove.[/b]
- Click the [b]Clean[/b] button.
- [b]Everything checked[/b] will be deleted.
- When the program has finished cleaning a report appears.
- Once done it may ask to reboot, allow this
Optional:
NOTE: If you see AVG Secure Search being targeted for deletion, Here’s Why and Here. You can always Reinstall it.
Log attached as requested.
Mike
Everything still running well?
Yes, everything seems to be OK.
Mike.
If everything else if fine for you (Avast is running / scanning with no warnings, etc.) then I will remove our tools and get you on your way …
Clean up of Malware Removal Tools
Now that we are through using these tools, let’s clean them off your system so that should you ever need to have malware removed again (we hope not) fresh, updated copies will be downloaded.
[]Download Delfix from here to your desktop and double click it to start the program
[*]Ensure Remove disinfection tools is ticked
Also tick:
[]Create registry backup
[*]Purge system restore
[*]Click Run
[*]The program will run for a few moments and then notepad will open with a log. Note: Please save this log first before rebooting your system (if asked to); DelFix does not save the log as it is trying to remove all traces of our work on your system. Please attach the log in your next reply.
You can delete any log files left on your desktop as these are no longer needed.
==Some Tools to consider to help keep your system safe ==
Unchecky is a small service that runs in the background to help keep those “extra toolbars” and tag along search engines from automatically installing. By automatically directing you to a custom install with all the options unchecked, only what you manually choose and confirm gets installed.
CryptoPrevent is a free program that prevents CryptoLocker / ransomware from infecting your PC by locking down the OS so the malware can not get a grip on your system. You can read the details about this program here.
Also, consider keeping MalwareBytes Antimalware in your arsenal of safe keeping programs. Use the free version (not the paid or trial version) and you won’t have a problem with your antivirus scanner program. Keep it updated and run a scan with it once a week.
Lastly, if you use Firefox as your main web browser, consider adding the NoScript and uBlock Origin add-ons to the browser to block scripting hijacks and remove unwanted ads from the pages you view.
You may also find some information and tips at this thread:
How did I get infected in the first place?
and
COMPUTER SECURITY - a short quide to staying safer online
I’ll leave this topic open for a few days so that if you have any questions you can come back here. Surf safe, my friend!!