Illegal Operation

Lately when I log onto my MSN message boards I get this
Illegal Operation and program will be shut down error.
Can anyone help?

IEXPLORE caused a general protection fault
in module unknown at 0000:0001a0ea.
Registers:
EAX=000000b3 CS=205f EIP=0001a0ea EFLGS=00010206
EBX=00000000 SS=2067 ESP=0000c918 EBP=0000c940
ECX=3030305c DS=2067 ESI=0000c970 FS=283e
EDX=00000020 ES=2067 EDI=00000095 GS=203f
Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 0c 81 89 4d f4 23 c9 74 14 51 e8 26 58 00 00
Stack dump:
00002067 0000c970 00002067 0001f914 000c9564 00000000
0095b320 000c95b8 00000000 000002a0 0000cbd0 00016cd0
00000095 0000c970 00000001 00002067

Hi Lauren,

unknown module errors are most often caused by spyware.

There are many people who have helped this FAQ improve over time - MVPs and
newsgroup users. I thank all of you who have made the newsgroups,
anti-malware websites and dedicated mailing lists into such a wonderful
resource.

Read the advice at my prevention link
(http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm) to reduce the chances of
your computer being infected.

IMPORTANT: Before trying to remove spyware, download a copy of LSPFIX from
the URL below - some malware can kill your internet connection when it is
removed, and this software should get things going for you again:
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

Also get a copy of WINSOCKFIX available at:
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html

**Note, if you are using XP SP2 the following command, run from start/run,
may get your computer going again - it will reset the winsock catalogue:

netsh winsock reset

The software you should download and have ready to use is:

AdAware [..Warning: AdAware has now released Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition,
available from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ Version 6.181
is, at the time of writing, still supported. All previous versions are NO
LONGER SUPPORTED and will not be updated...]

Spybot Search and Destroy - http://spybot.eon.net.au

HijackThis - http://209.133.47.12/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe

CWShredder - http://www.merijn.org/files/CWShredder.exe

HackerDefender Disabler - http://www.aumha.org/downloads/unhackdef.zip
Extract the BAT file to your desktop.

Trend Micro's 'Damage Cleanup Engine / Template
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp and the latest pattern file
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp

IMPORTANT: After obtaining the required software above, make sure you check
for updates and run the programmes in safe mode.

Malware removal (beginner's guide):

Go to Control Panel, Folder Options, View Tab. Turn on the option to show
hidden files. Turn off the option to hide protected system files.
***WARNING!! Files are hidden by Windows for a very good reason. It is not
wise to 'experiment' with these files. Unfortunately, to successfully
remove modern malware we must turn this protection off. There is a risk to
doing this. Please turn the protection back on when you have finished
cleaning your system.***

Run HackerDefener Disabler by doubleclicking. A DOS window will flash onto
your screen and then disappear. This is normal.

First, go to Control Panel, add/remove programs. Check for malware entries
and use the uninstall programs, then reboot. Check all 'startup' folders
at ..\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup or
...\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Startup

Go to start/run and type MSCONFIG. Go to the startup tab. Disable
everything that you do not recognise as legitimate (do not disable any power
profile options).

Now go to the Services tab. Turn on the option to 'hide all Microsoft
Services'. Disable everything that remains. If you don't have this option,
don't worry about it.

Reboot your computer and hold down the F8 key until the boot menu options
appear. Choose Safe Mode as your startup choice. You will find
information about what safe mode is, and what it does, at this link
[http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/safe_mode.htm]

Empty your IE cache and your other temporary file folders, eg: c:\temp,
c:\windows\temp or C:\Documents and Settings\name\Local Settings\Temp (the
path to your temp folder will change depending on your name) - sometimes
programmes can be hidden in there - watch out for mysterious *.exe files or
*.dll files in those folders.

Go to IE Tools, Internet Options, Temporary Internet Files {Settings
Button}, View Objects, Downloaded Program Files. Delete anything you don't
recognise (hint: check the object's properties by right clicking the object
and select 'properties'. You will often be able to easily recognise
legitimate objects such as those related to java, or Windows Update, and
will even see what URL the object was downloaded from.

Go to IE Tools, Internet Options, Accessibility. Make sure there is no style
sheet chosen (under User Style Sheet - format documents using my style
sheet). If the option is turned on, turn it OFF.

Start CWSHREDDER. Fix anything it finds. Reboot back into safe mode.

Start AdAware.

AdAware SE...

Remember to update using the 'check for updates now' button. Update, then
select 'start' option.

Make sure that 'search for negligible risk entries' is turned on. Select
'use custom scanning options' then select 'customise'. Make sure the
following options are enabled: 'scan within archives', 'scan active
processes', 'scan registry', 'deep scan registry', 'scan my IE favorites for
banned URLs', 'scan my Hosts file'.

Select the 'tweak' option. Under 'scanning engine', make sure 'unload
recognized processes and modules during scan' is enabled. Enable 'scan
registry for all users instead of current users'.

Under 'cleaning engine' turn on 'always try to unload modules..', 'during
removal unload explorer and IE if necessary', 'let windows remove files in
use at next reboot', 'delete quarantined items after restoring'.

Use the 'select drives and folders to scan' option to ensure that your
ENTIRE hard drive is scanned (if you have more than one hard drive, scan all
of them (of course, do not include floppy and CD/DVD).

Adaware 6.181 (versions older than 6.181 are unsupported and useless)

Note that when run using default settings, older versions of AdAware do not
cope with new 'intelligent' malware. Make the following changes to the
default settings.

Use the option 'select drives/folders to scan'. Set AdAware to scan your
entire hard drive.

Make sure 'activate in depth scan' is enabled.

Select 'use custom scanning options' and then click on the 'customize'
button. Turn on the following scan options - scan within archives, scan
active processes, scan registry, deep registry scan, scan [my] IE favorites
for banned URLs, and scan [my] hosts file.

Use the 'tweak' button. Turn on the following options:

Cleaning engine: 'automatically try to unregister objects prior to
deletion', 'let windows remove files in use at next reboot', 'delete
quarantined objects after restoring'.

Scanning engine: 'unload recognized processes during scan'.

After you have finished with AdAware run Spybot to pick up any leftovers.
Fix anything marked in red.

If the problem comes back, start all over again but with the following
changes (this section requires advanced computer skills - inexperienced
users will require assistance, available via the public newsgroups or
various anti-spyware forums, my preferred forum being
http://forum.aumha.org/)

Use Trend Micro's 'Damage Cleanup Engine / Template. Note: You must follow
*all* instructions provided by Trend Micro:
http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/tsc/readme.txt

Turn off the option to automatically clean or delete detected files. Run
the utility. Remove anything that is *not* in 'system volume information'
(thanks for the warning Mow).

Run Adaware etc etc as per above.

The following is for advanced users and professional technical support -
these steps are NOT recommended for the inexperienced. I have not
provided detailed instructions or advance and have assumed a higher than
average level of skill...

Remember, do as much as you can in safe mode. Use the HackerDefender
Disabler above before starting indepth diagnosis.

Go to MSCONFIG and go to the General tab. Turn off the options to process
win.ini file, load system services and load startup items. Restart Windows
and run AdAware etc once more.

The following is by no means exhaustive. Without the amazing brain of Tony
Klein (in particular) and other MVPs I simply could not keep up with what to
learn and where to look when trying to keep on top of malware. Guys, I
simply couldn't do it without you!!! I have learned a lot about where to
look for malware from Tony in a private web forum. If there was a publicly
available URL I would point to it, but as far as I know there isn't, and the
information is critically important to those of us doing at the sharp end of
the cleanup brigade.

Note: I have provided a list of utilities further down that will do a lot of
the following gruntwork for you. Examine win.ini, autoexec.bat, system.ini,
config.nt, autoexec.nt as relevant. Use services.msc. Search for unusual or
unexpected *.bat files and unexpected autostart entries in the Run, RunOnce,
RunOnceEx, RunServices, Services, Winlogon and Scripts registry keys.
Search the rest of the registry for any further references to discovered
malware. Invariably if you find a malware key in one of those keys, you'll
find a further reference to the component elsewhere.

Also watch out for entries at
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\NT\CurrentVersion\ Windows\AppInit_DLLs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\SharedTaskScheduler
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Explorer\Browser
Helper Objects

I strongly recommend that unless you have a lot of experience working in
this area that until such time as I am able to track down a comprehensive
list of legitimate services (or put one together myself), that you post
details of the services revealed by services.msc to a microsoft.public
newsgroup for professional guidance. If you turn off the wrong service you
could cause serious problems, and at the very worst, leave the computer
unbootable.

An experienced computer technician can use programme such as AutoStart
Viewer for in-depth diagnosis:
http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=asviewer

Or Process Viewer for Windows:
http://www.teamcti.com/pview/

Or 'Silent Runners':
http://www.aaronoff.com/silent_runners/

Or APM (Advanced Process Manipulation):
http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=apm

Once the computer is clean, and if it applies to the operating system,
create a new restore point. The old ones may, of course, be infected with
the malware and cannot be used. Run disk cleanup to remove old restore
points (if your operating system has this option you will find it on the
'more options' tab of the disk cleanup utility. If the option to remove old
restore points is not available, stop and restart the restore service which
will flush out old restore points and prevent accidental reloading of
malware.

MS have released a limited KB article regarding what they call 'deceptive
software'.
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;827315

Here is advice specific to:

home page hijackings
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers.htm#home_page

pop-up ads
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/popup.htm

search engine hijackings
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers4.htm#search_engine


--
Hyperlinks are used to ensure advice remains current
_______________________________________
Sandi - Microsoft MVP since 1999 (IE/OE)
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/




Lauren wrote:
Lately when I log onto my MSN message boards I get this
Illegal Operation and program will be shut down error.
Can anyone help?

IEXPLORE caused a general protection fault
in module unknown at 0000:0001a0ea.
Registers:
EAX=000000b3 CS=205f EIP=0001a0ea EFLGS=00010206
EBX=00000000 SS=2067 ESP=0000c918 EBP=0000c940
ECX=3030305c DS=2067 ESI=0000c970 FS=283e
EDX=00000020 ES=2067 EDI=00000095 GS=203f
Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 0c 81 89 4d f4 23 c9 74 14 51 e8 26 58 00 00
Stack dump:
00002067 0000c970 00002067 0001f914 000c9564 00000000
0095b320 000c95b8 00000000 000002a0 0000cbd0 00016cd0
00000095 0000c970 00000001 00002067