Home Malware Programs Adware Websteroids

Websteroids

Posted: December 13, 2013

Threat Metric

Ranking: 1,152
Threat Level: 1/10
Infected PCs: 154,349
First Seen: December 13, 2013
Last Seen: October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

Websteroids is a gaming application that provides a spinoff of the popular Asteroids game, but also finances itself through the automatic display of advertisements. Like any other adware program, Websteroids may endanger your computer incidentally through its advertisements, but the company responsible Websteroids denies any legal responsibility for policing the safety of its advertisements. Websteroids also requests the theoretical ability to make other unwanted modifications to your browser that cause this application to perform double-duty as a browser hijacker. Malware researchers usually recommend deleting Websteroids and all similar adware, but with Websteroids's history of resisting uninstallation, anti-malware software may be needed to make sure that any uninstallation 'sticks.'

Websteroids: the Clutter of Deep Space Meets the Clutter of the World Wide Web

A clear cash-in on the name recognition of one of the most influential arcade cabinets of all time, Websteroids is a browser gaming add-on that claims to add digital meteor excitement to your Web-browsing life. Simultaneously, Websteroids also includes various other browser changes that aren't as fun as an action-oriented spaceship simulation. Malware researchers have classified Websteroids as adware due to its focus on advertising, although Websteroids does have other functions as noted here:

  • Websteroids may choose to display injected banners, hyperlinked text advertisements, interstitial advertisements (advertisements that load 'between' you leaving one website and loading a second one) and various other types of advertisements without any restrictions.
  • Websteroids reserves the right to change your homepage, your default search page and 'other browser features' indiscriminately.
  • Websteroids also may disable various features that interfere with Websteroids (potentially including advertisement-blocking features).

One important detail that Websteroids doesn't mention directly is the fact that Websteroids usually attempts to avoid being uninstalled. The company behind Websteroids claims that any Websteroids deletion issues are an inevitable occurrence due to the so-called 'complexity' of their software, which malware researchers can't help but find to be an incredibly unbelievable suggestion.

Sailing Your Browser to a Sector Clear of Websteroids Obstacles

If you happen to take the unlikely leap in logic of assuming that all of the claims made by the Websteroids company's terms of use are honest, you're still left with the fact that Websteroids is overall, far more of a problem for your Web browser than a beneficiary program. While adware programs are quite prolific, reputable free games are just as numerous, and malware researchers would recommend you enjoy the latter, rather than expose your browser to the kinds of unnecessary changes espoused by Websteroids. Of course, all of that is ignoring the possibility of some of Websteroids's advertisements including unsafe content, which is a far from unheard of occurrence for adware programs.

Taking into account Websteroids's history of trying to stop itself from being deleted, removing Websteroids can be done relatively painlessly through the system-scanning functions of anti-adware and anti-malware products. For protection against an unwanted Websteroids installation to begin with, malware experts would consider it best to stay clear of all Web domains with a protracted history for adware distribution.

Aliases

Search Donkey [Sophos]ApplicUnwnt [Comodo]

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:



C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\up\2.6.80\Websteroids64.exe File name: Websteroids64.exe
Size: 42.87 KB (42872 bytes)
MD5: a282253b4754476c1205f9e4946612f6
Detection count: 5,883
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\up\2.6.80\Websteroids64.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: October 7, 2022
c:\programdata\websteroids\websteroids.exe File name: websteroids.exe
Size: 150.39 KB (150392 bytes)
MD5: 9d949a38a9199814505ca707356761a7
Detection count: 152
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: c:\programdata\websteroids\websteroids.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 22, 2021
c:\programdata\websteroids\websteroidsservice.exe File name: websteroidsservice.exe
Size: 54.64 KB (54648 bytes)
MD5: 59d55cdc8f9647e2d465629fb4d86cba
Detection count: 150
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: c:\programdata\websteroids\websteroidsservice.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: September 22, 2021
C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: 0e2916c45cae77548ac3c1ac167458f1
Detection count: 119
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: November 20, 2022
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe File name: WebsteroidsService.exe
Size: 61.81 KB (61816 bytes)
MD5: 6c9ebe4e2010d97a2c43b682c5a87911
Detection count: 94
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: January 6, 2021
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\Websteroids.exe File name: Websteroids.exe
Size: 151.41 KB (151416 bytes)
MD5: 1ac85432149157af1bd818a215184309
Detection count: 87
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: January 6, 2021
C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: f213a9a1daeafb74d7a60d120fd581b7
Detection count: 68
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 30, 2021
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe File name: WebsteroidsService.exe
Size: 61.81 KB (61816 bytes)
MD5: 7e16c2ea1ff4fc7fca18754778811b2d
Detection count: 55
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 27, 2014
C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe File name: WebsteroidsService.exe
Size: 61.81 KB (61816 bytes)
MD5: 67170968b55fb9fddb74f5c992b54f0b
Detection count: 52
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 5, 2023
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: 504226343f9817f7d0e4069fdc262615
Detection count: 49
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 23, 2019
C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\Websteroids.exe File name: Websteroids.exe
Size: 151.41 KB (151416 bytes)
MD5: 436b4e97e0f973054979d34e11ee1d33
Detection count: 47
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: C:\ProgramData\Websteroids\Websteroids.exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 5, 2023
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\Websteroids.exe File name: Websteroids.exe
Size: 151.41 KB (151416 bytes)
MD5: 3d1b88202691d42ef0c1e4a1be4dbd36
Detection count: 40
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: October 9, 2021
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe File name: WebsteroidsService.exe
Size: 61.81 KB (61816 bytes)
MD5: f0ae8567f6e114cef7132a446fdebc8f
Detection count: 30
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 27, 2014
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\Websteroids.exe File name: Websteroids.exe
Size: 151.41 KB (151416 bytes)
MD5: aedc8ccf57c8d41f300317df992ed33c
Detection count: 30
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 23, 2014
D:\Users\<username>\Documents\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\C\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll.vir File name: common.dll.vir
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: 436e7f7918ab94e0f68667393c39d5a0
Detection count: 30
Mime Type: unknown/vir
Path: D:\Users\<username>\Documents\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\C\ProgramData\Websteroids\IE\common.dll.vir
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: December 24, 2021
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\WebsteroidsService.exe File name: WebsteroidsService.exe
Size: 54.64 KB (54648 bytes)
MD5: fd64e3730af9239987fee0e26349039c
Detection count: 26
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 27, 2014
C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D0CB3F2B-88E5-4F4A-84F3-27ECAAC14546}\RP5\A0009040.dll File name: A0009040.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: ce2024f33ec99c2e797eb989be1075a1
Detection count: 26
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D0CB3F2B-88E5-4F4A-84F3-27ECAAC14546}\RP5\A0009040.dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 5, 2022
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: f7412f6dbea34d777956ec69ac72c769
Detection count: 19
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 23, 2014
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: 01ced262e2ba3a4ec7f63908c106ad3e
Detection count: 16
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: October 26, 2021
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Dati applicazioni\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: e23e63a5e73812d974491f892d24cd5e
Detection count: 9
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Dati applicazioni\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 23, 2014
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: a7e35ecb02e7450f88621cfe47042337
Detection count: 7
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 23, 2014
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE\common.dll File name: common.dll
Size: 409.46 KB (409464 bytes)
MD5: eb4ae245cf7e6e609aa73c71dd02811e
Detection count: 5
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids\IE
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: June 23, 2014

More files

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

CLSID{2830488C-079B-45C2-88B6-AFE4EAA2DF85}{44ed99e2-16a6-4b89-80d6-5b21cf42e78b}{781CA792-9B6E-400B-B36F-15C097D2CA54}File name without pathhttp_d.websteroidsapp.com_0.localstoragehttp_d.websteroidsapp.com_0.localstorage-journalHKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\d.websteroidsapp.comSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\websteroidsapp.comSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\websteroidsapp.comSOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\WebsteroidsService_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\WebsteroidsService_RASMANCSSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{44ED99E2-16A6-4B89-80D6-5B21CF42E78B}Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{44ED99E2-16A6-4B89-80D6-5B21CF42E78B}Software\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions\support@websteroidsapp.comSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\WebsteroidsService_RASAPI32SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Tracing\WebsteroidsService_RASMANCSSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{44ed99e2-16a6-4b89-80d6-5b21cf42e78b}SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\WebsteroidsSYSTEM\ControlSet002\services\WebsteroidsSYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\WebsteroidsHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}Websteroids{D54E3D9F-FEB8-4D2D-A138-B69A5C80080B}

Additional Information

The following directories were created:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Websteroids%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Websteroids
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