COM Surrogate (dllhost) from appdata roaming folder

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danted4

New Member
Thread author
Apr 6, 2022
6
a process (COM Surrogate) from AppData (dllhost.exe) uses abut 25% cpu constantly and i feel it is a program pretending to be from microsoft.
I do remember clicking on one exe file by mistake in past but the defender might've missed the damage that click caused.
I found a relevent forum on this topic which seems to be already solved.
But I'm guessing we need to create a separate one for getting help as per rules.

Also, for now I've disabled that service from startup list which is not a permanent/reliable solution. Let me know if you need me to keep it enabled in order for any tools to detect it e.g.(Farbar Recovery Scan Tool) which I downloaded based on comments from similar topic(s).
 
Last edited:

danted4

New Member
Thread author
Apr 6, 2022
6
A quick update, I tried running offline defender scan (I didn't know about it).
I can see some improvements like I don't see the folder or the process anymore.
But I'd like to be sure about other areas as well don't trust defender 100%.
 

nasdaq

Moderator
Verified
Staff Member
Nov 5, 2019
1,431
Hello, Welcome to MalwareTips.
I'm nasdaq and will be helping you.

If you can please print this topic it will make it easier for you to follow the instructions and complete all of the necessary steps in the order listed.
===

Let's see what we can do.

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from Malwarebytes or
from BleepingComputer


Right-click on the MBAM icon and select Run as administrator to run the tool.
Click Yes to accept any security warnings that may appear.
Once the MBAM dashboard opens, on the right detail pane click on the word "Current" under the Scan Status to update the tool database.
On the left menu pane click the Settings tab, and then select the Protection tab on the top.
Under the Scan Options, turn on the button Scan for rootkits and Scan within archives.
Click the Scan tab on the right detail pane, select Threat Scan and click the Start Scan button
Note: The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
If potential threats are detected, ensure to check mark all the listed items, and click the Quarantine Selected button.
While still on the Scan tab, click the View Report button, and in the window that opens click the Export button, select Text file (*.txt), and save the log to your Desktop.
The log can also be viewed by clicking the log to select it, then clicking the View Report button.

Please post the log for my review.

Note: If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.
===

Please download AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes your Desktop.

Close all open programs and internet browsers.
Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
Click the Scan button and wait for the process to complete.
Click the LogFile button and the report will open in Notepad.

IMPORTANT

If you click the Clean button all items listed in the report will be removed.

If you find some false positive items or programs that you wish to keep, Close the AdwCleaner windows.

Close all open programs and internet browsers.
Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
Click the Scan button and wait for the process to complete.
Check off the element(s) you wish to keep.
Click on the Clean button follow the prompts.
A log file will automatically open after the scan has finished.
Please post the content of that log file with your next answer.
You can find the log file at C:\AdwCleanerCx.txt (x is a number).

===

Download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST).
Choose the 32 or 64 bit version for your system.
and save it to a folder on your computer's Desktop.
Ensure that you are in an Administrator Account
Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
Check the boxes as seen here:
L7kNU5y.jpg

Press Scan button.
It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please copy and paste it to your reply.
The first time the tool is run, it makes also another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply.

How to attach a file to your reply:
In the Reply section in the bottom of the topic Click the "more reply Options" button.
[img=[URL]http://deeprybka.trojaner-board.de/eset/eng/attachlogs.png[/URL]]

Attach the file(s). A 2 Steps process.
Reply to this topic.
Select the "Choose a File" navigate to the location of the File.
Click the file you wish to Attach. <- Step 1.
Click Attach this file. <- Step 2.
Click the Add reply button.

Please post the logs for my review.

Let me know what problems persists.

Wait for further instructions

p.s.

The Farbar program is updated often.
If it's identified as suspicious by your Anti-Virus program trust it if Downloaded from the link I provided.
You should restore the program from the Quarantine folder.
<<<>>>
 
  • Like
Reactions: danted4

danted4

New Member
Thread author
Apr 6, 2022
6
Hello, Welcome to MalwareTips.
I'm nasdaq and will be helping you.

If you can please print this topic it will make it easier for you to follow the instructions and complete all of the necessary steps in the order listed.
===

Let's see what we can do.

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from Malwarebytes or
from BleepingComputer


Right-click on the MBAM icon and select Run as administrator to run the tool.
Click Yes to accept any security warnings that may appear.
Once the MBAM dashboard opens, on the right detail pane click on the word "Current" under the Scan Status to update the tool database.
On the left menu pane click the Settings tab, and then select the Protection tab on the top.
Under the Scan Options, turn on the button Scan for rootkits and Scan within archives.
Click the Scan tab on the right detail pane, select Threat Scan and click the Start Scan button
Note: The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
If potential threats are detected, ensure to check mark all the listed items, and click the Quarantine Selected button.
While still on the Scan tab, click the View Report button, and in the window that opens click the Export button, select Text file (*.txt), and save the log to your Desktop.
The log can also be viewed by clicking the log to select it, then clicking the View Report button.

Please post the log for my review.

Note: If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.
===

Please download AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes your Desktop.

Close all open programs and internet browsers.
Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
Click the Scan button and wait for the process to complete.
Click the LogFile button and the report will open in Notepad.

IMPORTANT

If you click the Clean button all items listed in the report will be removed.

If you find some false positive items or programs that you wish to keep, Close the AdwCleaner windows.

Close all open programs and internet browsers.
Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
Click the Scan button and wait for the process to complete.
Check off the element(s) you wish to keep.
Click on the Clean button follow the prompts.
A log file will automatically open after the scan has finished.
Please post the content of that log file with your next answer.
You can find the log file at C:\AdwCleanerCx.txt (x is a number).

===

Download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST).
Choose the 32 or 64 bit version for your system.
and save it to a folder on your computer's Desktop.
Ensure that you are in an Administrator Account
Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
Check the boxes as seen here:
L7kNU5y.jpg

Press Scan button.
It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please copy and paste it to your reply.
The first time the tool is run, it makes also another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply.

How to attach a file to your reply:
In the Reply section in the bottom of the topic Click the "more reply Options" button.
[img=[URL]http://deeprybka.trojaner-board.de/eset/eng/attachlogs.png[/URL]]

Attach the file(s). A 2 Steps process.
Reply to this topic.
Select the "Choose a File" navigate to the location of the File.
Click the file you wish to Attach. <- Step 1.
Click Attach this file. <- Step 2.
Click the Add reply button.

Please post the logs for my review.

Let me know what problems persists.

Wait for further instructions

p.s.

The Farbar program is updated often.
If it's identified as suspicious by your Anti-Virus program trust it if Downloaded from the link I provided.
You should restore the program from the Quarantine folder.
<<<>>>

PFA the reports from :
1. MBAM
2. AdwCleaner
3. Farbar [Step 1 of 2]
 

Attachments

  • MBAM_report.txt
    4.5 KB · Views: 4
  • AdwCleaner[S00].txt
    1.5 KB · Views: 15
  • AdwCleaner[C00].txt
    1.7 KB · Views: 15
  • FRST.txt
    27.1 KB · Views: 20
  • Addition.txt
    41.2 KB · Views: 17

nasdaq

Moderator
Verified
Staff Member
Nov 5, 2019
1,431
Hi,

Please download the attached Fixlist.txt file to the same folder where the Farbar tool is running from.
The location is listed in the 3rd line of the FRST.txt log you have submitted.

Run FRST and click Fix only once and wait.

The Computer will restart when the fix is completed.

It will create a log (Fixlog.txt) please post it to your reply.
===

Clean the Windows Defender Quarantine folder.

Comment: Delete quarantined files.

How to: Delete quarantined files.

Follow the directives on the page to delete all the files in the quarantine folder.

Restart the computer when done.
<<<>>>

Please post the Fixlog.txt and let me know what problem persists.
 

Attachments

  • fixlist.txt
    4.7 KB · Views: 25

danted4

New Member
Thread author
Apr 6, 2022
6
Action 1 completed (execute fix and attach fixlog)
Action 2 completed (removed all files that were quarantined by defender).

I am also noticing one more thing ( unrelated probably ). I'm unable to type on windows start menu search box. However it works everywhere else. (already tried restarting).
Has to do something with CTF Loader not running automatically as should. Manual run/ restarting explorer does solve the problem though.
 

Attachments

  • Fixlog.txt
    24.9 KB · Views: 15
Last edited:

danted4

New Member
Thread author
Apr 6, 2022
6
I added CTFmon shortcut as a part of startup tasks. Is that ok as a permanent fix (it seems to work now)? Let me know if this is going off this topic and I need to create a separate one to discuss this matter.
 
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