Hary.A

Posted: April 19, 2012

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Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	14

First Seen:	April 19, 2012
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Hary.A is a worm that disguises itself as a text document for J.K. Rowling's novel 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' Although the majority of Hary.A's attacks consist of minor mischief such as opening insulting (and Harry Potter-themed) text documents and embedding mocking text into Internet Explorer, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have also found that some of Hary.A's other attacks are security risks. Because Hary.A reduces Internet Explorer's security and also attacks System Restore, you should consider using other security software to find and remove Hary.A posthaste before any serious harm can occur as a result of these conditions. Hary.A, like most worms, has also been noted to use Autorun exploits that can allow Hary.A to infect any computer that accesses a shared drive (regardless of whether the drive is network-shared or simply portable), and preventing Hary.A from propagating should always be a top priority for any victim of a Hary.A infection.

Hary.A: the Bookworm with a Nasty Bite

SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have found that Hary.A uses a combination of social engineering and traditional worm strategies to infect new computers. Although Hary.A is an .exe file, its name is often deliberately mislabeled as 'HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc' or a similar type of text document to capitalize on the enthusiasm of the substantial Harry Potter fan base. Hary.A may also copy itself automatically to computers that share networked or removable drives with already-infected computers. Aliases that Hary.A can also be detected by include WORM_HAIRY.A, W32/Hairy-A, W32.Hairy-A, Virus.Win32.AutoRun.dv and W32/Autorun.worm.g.

Would-be readers of this Harry Potter novel will find Hary.A displaying unusual symptoms, some of which are easily noticed, such as:

An immediate system reboot following Hary.A's installation.
System windows that minimize themselves for no obvious reason.
Various text documents being displayed at arbitrary times. These documents include Notepad files, .doc files and batch scripts, and contain contents that mock Harry Potter and its fans with messages such as the following:
read and repent

the end is near
repent from your evil ways O Ye folks
lest you burn in hell...JK Rowling especially

press any key to continue…

Harry Potter is a dumb kid,so is Daniel

Ron Weasley is ugly but who cares

Hermione is pretty and exploited but who cares?

Dumbledore is old and haggard but who cares?

JK Rowling was an ex-witch but who cares, betcha didn't know.

All we care is that......

Harry Potter is gonna die!

Okay, you can now get yourself a copy of the dumb Harry Potter book.
Internet Explorer's title bar is also be changed to display the text 'JK Rowling Owns You' and its start page is changed to an Amazon link of a Harry Potter parody book, although SpywareRemove.com malware researchers haven't noted symptoms of other browser-related attacks, such as live search hijacks or redirects.
The addition of extra Windows user accounts (with login details themed after Harry Potter characters).

Reasons to Be Concerned About More Than Just Poor Book Criticism from Hary.A

It can be tempting to think of Hary.A as a relatively harmless worm since many of Hary.A's attacks are mischievous rather than highly damaging to your computer. However, SpywareRemove.com malware experts aren't surprised to report that Hary.A also includes some security-related attacks that can make your PC vulnerable to other PC threats. High-risk elements of a Hary.A infection that necessitate Hary.A's immediate deletion by qualified anti-malware software include:

Disabling folder and system tray-related Windows features.
Disabling Task Manager, the Windows default firewall and Registry utilities.
Deactivating System Restore.

However, all of these changes can be undone by removing Hary.A and its Registry-based settings changes with any reasonably high-quality anti-malware application.

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:WindowsCacheHarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.exe

File name: C:WindowsCacheHarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

C:WindowsTempttalk.bat

File name: C:WindowsTempttalk.bat
File type: Batch file
Mime Type: unknown/bat
Group: Malware file

C:HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc

File name: C:HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc
Mime Type: unknown/doc
Group: Malware file

C:HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.exe

File name: C:HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

C:autorun.inf

File name: C:autorun.inf
Mime Type: unknown/inf
Group: Malware file